# Chewing and Licking at Front Paws



## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

Allergies?


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## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

Skylar said:


> Allergies?


Not unless they've developed recently, in both paws, and nowhere else. 
He's not been allergic to anything before.


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

Paw licking is often a sign of anxiety or boredom. Has anything changed in his life lately ?


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

Allergies can develop at any age by repeatedly being exposed to a certain protein. According to Dr. Becker that is usually when a dog is fed the same food over and over again.
Molly chronically chewed her right foot until it was raw sometimes and co-incidently when I started feeding her a fish based limited diet food as her kibble she stopped....I don't know for sure that is why she stopped but after three years of trying to get her to quit it, that seems to be the answer so far! I still feed her raw chicken though and I thought that that would be the most common culprit, but I guess not! I also read that 'yes' chewing can be a result of arthritis or pain.


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## glorybeecosta (Nov 11, 2014)

Yes they dog get arthritis, but I would not think in both legs at the same time. Cayenne does this every night when we go to bed, chews on her front feet nail. Vet found nothing wrong, she is a nervous dog, so I think that is part of her problem. But I have broken that by reaching down and pulling her head and and saying Sage, no chew. Now if she starts and I say that she will through her head up and look me straight in the eyes. Only does it when we go to bed though.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

If you were in the UK I would suspect harvest mites (chiggers) https://www.myitchydog.co.uk/blog/harvest-mites.html - Sophy had them once and they only really affected two paws. I don't know whether you get them round you, but the symptoms were very similar, with a fairly sudden onset. Here they are very localised - one field can be full of them while the surrounding fields have none. But it could be pain - I would go for a vet check.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Dogs do get arthritis as glorybee noted. And Molly is correct that one can develop allergic sensitization at any time in life, so possibly an allergy. Was he groomed recently? Javelin is not a fan of my digging out hair from between his toes and he will often obsess over one or two feet he thinks I went too close on even though when I look at those feet it is clear I didn't nick anything.


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## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

A little more background:

Around mid-July, Bonehead jumped out of a big U-Haul truck window... about five feet to the ground. It noticeably impacted him for a few minutes... then all was fine. A couple of weeks later he started limping dramatically, favouring his right paw.

Off to the vet who could find nothing wrong but gave me some anti-inflamatory/pain-killer... Meloxicam. I dosed him with that for a couple of days and noticed that now he's licking and chewing his left paw too. 

So maybe a strain, pull, twist of some tendons? Which should go away after a while. *The vet could see nothing from palpitating and manipulation.*

So lingering effects of the jump may be number one on the list of causes. BUT... he'll be fourteen this January... and is probably getting subject to old age aches and pains too.

I suppose my question involves old age and the possibility of accompanying chronic issues... and whether he deserves some anti-inflamatory relief on a daily basis now. Has anybody a geriatric dog that has gone thru this nearing the end?


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## glorybeecosta (Nov 11, 2014)

Oh my heavens at that age he is really spry. Hope he is ok.


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

Countryboy said:


> A little more background:
> 
> Around mid-July, Bonehead jumped out of a big U-Haul truck window... about five feet to the ground. It noticeably impacted him for a few minutes... then all was fine. A couple of weeks later he started limping dramatically, favouring his right paw.
> 
> ...


Well, it seems like your goofball is still quite lively for his age......good for him, but no more leaping out of trucks. I suspect you have had that conversation with him. During Iris' last 2 yrs of life it was apparent from time to time that she was stiff at times and possibly aching. I did have my chiropractor work on her back, wrists and toes. She liked it and it did help. He works on those same parts for me too! In addition, I gave her a suppliment for her joints. It is Connectin by InClover. They make a soft chew which even miss picky liked. In about 10 days there was a noticable new spring in her step and she no longer was stiff when getting up off the floor. I got the Connectin at a local store where I worked, but you can get it at Amazon as well. My right hand and wrist gets all jammed up, painful and very stiff from time to time. This is due to a bad fall some time back where I landed on my hand and messed up the wrist. My chiropractor works on the wrist and finger joints to get it all realigned again. It gives me immediate relief. It might be that your boy jammed up his wrists and toes in his acrobatic stunt and could benefit by a doggie chiropractor putting things right again. Just a thought.

Good wishes to you and your goofy guy......we love them so, don't we?


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

I have seen paw licking as a response to allergies and as a self-soothing compulsion. With the allergies, we would do a paw wash with one of those allergy shampoos. I would let the dog lick my hand instead of his paw or try to redirect some other way. Tonka is 14? That is wonderful.


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## Asta's Mom (Aug 20, 2014)

My springers developed arthritis toward the end of their life. Used a joint supplement, Cosequin, I think and I really noticed a difference with their movement. Otherwise I have seen paw licking as anxiety helped by anti-anxiety meds. Maybe a vet visit is in order to try and determine the correct cause and help out Tonka. Thoughts and prayers are with you guys.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Does a few days of pain medication reduce the licking? That would indicate to me that it is probably pain related. Similarly if an anti allergy shampoo helps, or Frontline spray (which kills Trombiculidae - the spot ons don't), then those are an easy and inexpensive way of ruling out those causes. I assume you have already taken a close look under a good light - chigger larvae, which cause the itching, are extremely tiny, but the irritation they cause is more obvious.


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## glorybeecosta (Nov 11, 2014)

Mfmst said:


> I have seen paw licking as a response to allergies and as a self-soothing compulsion. With the allergies, we would do a paw wash with one of those allergy shampoos. I would let the dog lick my hand instead of his paw or try to redirect some other way. Tonka is 14? That is wonderful.



I agree with the self soothing compulsion or in Sage's case it maybe attention. Sage does this every night when I go to bed at the sametime. However, if I put her to bed before I go she does not lick her paws I check to see if they are wet). When she started I would say NO Chew and put her paws under my hand (toy poodle) so I am thinking she is doing it for that attention. When I tell her to stop she throws her head right up and looks me in the eyes.


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## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

Good idea, VQ... I hadn't thought of that. And actually, he has his own veterinary chiro. She's dealt with him a few times. She would have the knowledge and the sensitive touch to diagnose the wrist/paw area. I'll ask her about joint issues as he gets older... and how to deal with them.

In the meantime, I'll get on with fjm's idea of eliminating possibilities from the list of suspects.


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

Countryboy said:


> Good idea, VQ... I hadn't thought of that. And actually, he has his own veterinary chiro. She's dealt with him a few times. She would have the knowledge and the sensitive touch to diagnose the wrist/paw area. I'll ask her about joint issues as he gets older... and how to deal with them.
> 
> In the meantime, I'll get on with fjm's idea of eliminating possibilities from the list of suspects.


This is really a smart conclusion. My last dog Sahara started having serious arthritis issues the last 2 years. We pretty much carried her around everywhere and got her a giant dog stroller/ bike hitch. We had also given her Glucosamine supplement but it didn't do anything. We cooked her homemade beef/ chicken/ pork for the last year of her life. She really enjoyed this. Sorry not to sound gloom and doom but I would try to do an x-ray because had we done that early, we might have saved her life. She ended up having osteosarcoma, which the vet couldn't diagnosis with just bloodwork.


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## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

Well we started him off today with a good bath and clip. 

'Cept a new groomer gave him Poodley feet! AAAACK! lol

Anyway, he's crashed out... no licking yet tonite. :thumb:


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Osteopathy has helped Sophy enormously, but that was for a known spinal issue. I was a bit amused how rapidly my vet's attitude changed after he himself had a bad bout of sciatica - when I first asked him to sign a referral his concern was to ensure the practitioner was sufficiently qualified to do no harm, obviously very sceptical that it might do any good. After experiencing something similar to Sophy's pain the scepticism was much reduced, and the attitude more that it was worth trying anything that might help! And it definitely helps Sophy - from hurting and squealing every time she stood up to wanting to jump out of the car in one session! But, like Tonka, I suspect that car jumping is one of the things that jars her back and sets it off again, so try to have her wait to be helped.

Good luck with your hunt for the cause, and then the solution.


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## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

AHA! I've got it! From something we're tracking up here in gardening forums... an unusual Grass Rust. 

I noticed an orange tinge to the grass Tonka walks thru every morning. I thought it was simply grass browning off... it's not. It's a Rust... a type of fungus. From Wiki: "Rusts are plant diseases caused by pathogenic fungi of the order Pucciniales."

Not pathogenic to dog's paws fortunately, but very likely something he'd lick at. And your dogs may too if they encounter it.


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## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

And now some images are starting to come in. It turns out that the new groomer did him a favour by trimming his feet. Yesterday morning he licked a few times then stopped. But it all makes perfect sense now.


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

Shows up pretty dramatically on a white dog......it would never show up well on a black, like Poppy. Thanks for sharing that...good to know. Hopefully that's all that Tonka is dealing with, licking rust off his "poodle feet"? Excellent detective work.


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

I keep a spray bottle of 50% ACV and 50% Hydrogen Peroxide handy for itchy feet when it's needed for pollen allergies.....works well to help the itchiness and the staining! Also TropiClean's Oxy-Med Anti-itch Spray works too!


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