Licking paw non stop

[DngrsDan]

Monday night she holds her left paw up and doesn't put any weight on it at all. Tuesday she's walking normally. By Thursday she is licking that paw to the point she makes it raw-which makes it hurt more-so she licks it more-which makes it hurt more-so she....... you get the drift. (She's licking it as I type this)
I've tried putting antiseptic spray on it, along with a skin sealer that's SUPPOSED to have a bitter taste and discourage licking. HAH! Never slowed her down.
She's done this before, I don't see any visible wounds in her paw other than what her licking has done. I BELIEVE she's bruised her pad while running around the back yard.

Can I do anything other than coning her? In the hopes that a couple of days respite from being licked constantly may promote her paw healing, that's about the only option I can see.

[zorro13]

Anytime any dog is licking something to the point of it being raw and you have no clue what is going on, a trip to a vet would work.

[cerulean]

Yes, please take her to the vet.... she's obviously in pain. Maybe she stepped on a hornet, or maybe she has a broken toe... maybe it's a bruise but maybe it's cancer. Who knows?? If she's "done this before" it would give you peace of mind to know why.
our best wishes....

[Anne]

Yes, you can do more. You can take her to the vet for examination and diagnosis. It could be a grass seed or an allergy. Either way you need to find out what is the problem before it gets much worse.

[hokisteph5]

I've been going through something similar with my male for going on 2 weeks now. When he did the paw licking thing 18 months ago, it turns out one of his front nails had split and the quick was exposed. I took him to the vet and he was given antibiotics to stem off infection. The second time it happened, I just kept cutting his nail down until it wasn't split anymore.

This time I didn't see a split nail, though, and didn't feel anything in or around his paw. He's putting weight on it, but did lick a couple spots raw on the side of his paw and underneath, between the toes.

I did buy a cone and put a product like neosporin on it. The spots between his toes (like if you licked the palm of your hand) cleared up so I took the cone off and he started licking the side of his paw again.

Last Friday he went to the vet and the vet thought like I did, the combination of the damp, rainy weather we've had recently flared things up. She said he could be given Benadryl, Claritin, or Zyrtec to help with the itching he may be feeling. She also gave me Panalog ointment to put on his raw spot.

He's been coned for the most part, but the couple times he's been without the cone he's not licking his paw. Things seem to have cleared up, but he has a couple more days of getting the ointment applied.

[Nishasmom]

Dngrsdan; what kind of food is your dog eating? While grooming I notice a lot of dogs who eat poor quality food have itchy, swollen paws. It seems like that (and the ears) is sometimes the first thing to get irritated.

[OnyxGold1]

[quote=DngrsDan;818323I've tried putting antiseptic spray on it, along with a skin sealer that's SUPPOSED to have a bitter taste and discourage licking. HAH! Never slowed her down.[/QUOTE]

The only thing I have found that is yeechy enough to deter my guys from licking small wounds is tea tree oil. I usually put a small amount of antiseptic ointment on the wound and then spread a little tea tree oil on the hair around the wound.....none of my guys will touch it then......I do get a lot of snorting and carrying on tho as they try to gallop off the smell and then rub it off on the carpet

Heather

[catwomqn]

My Sam had the same problem. As it turned out she was allergic to something that was growing in my backyard. After she would come back in I would wash her feet with soap and water to wash away the irritants. As long as I remembered to do that she never licked her paws again.

[babydollz676]

our dog did this too.he was sensitive to the carpet fresh powder i put down on the rug.wash her paws off with hypoallergenic baby wash and if she keeps it up take her to the vet.

[DngrsDan]

Thank you all for your replies. Although I was a tiny bit hurt by the implications I won't/don't/didn't take my girl to the vet. She is strictly an indoor dog. Whenever we are not outside together, her on a leash, she has a fair sized fenced yard in the back to run around in. While I'll go out with her a lot of times, at others if she wants/needs out she'll let me know, but she comes right back in. The last two times I took her to my vet the verdict was a bruised paw, which she irritates by licking. While she is graceful she will take a mis-step at times-hit the back (concrete) steps at a run and catch a corner, seen her do it. I AM taking her to the vet's, she goes in tomorrow. The night I posted I had just (like 2 a.m.+) gotten home from a trip with Josie. She didn't start doing that until I was halfway to Pennsylvania and didn't really get it to this point until I was about leaving there for home. I took her with me because I didn't have the heart to board her, and would have missed her terribly. I would not have enjoyed it ~damn....I'm almost breaking up right now thinking of it......~ being apart from her, nor would she enjoy being separated from me. Good people you would NOT believe me if I told you what a change Josie has been in my life. I do take care of her, believe me.

Someone else mentioned food.....I asked a poster in another topic about their mention of Taste of the Wild improving their dogs coats. Didn't get a response, but would appreciate recommendations. Josie has eaten Beniful all her life, never seemed to have any problems with her coat. Poster mentioned that feeding TOTW her girl didn't have "eye boogers" anymore. Josies eyelashes are not rolled in, had her checked by a vet, thank you kindly, but she does get boogers every so often. Input appreciated, truly.

This is why I come in here. Everyone in here has an extreme attachment to these furry loving beasts, so I listen and trust the comments. Thanks for your time and effort.

[brunie's mom]

Change the food!! Beneful is not fit for any dog. Full of corn, wheat and by-products and food colouring. Frankly, any food you change to will be an improvement.
Taste of the Wild is good, as is Innova, Canidae, Wellness,etc. I would probably change her to California Natural, since she may have food sensitivities.

I'm sure most of her health problems will improve once she is on a better diet. You will also have to feed her far less of a good food. It's not normal for a dog to be licking it's paws raw...bruised paws do not cause them to lick raw.

Change the food and you will see big improvements.

Gina

[lblax]

Originally Posted by brunie's mom

Change the food!! Beneful is not fit for any dog. Full of corn, wheat and by-products and food colouring. Frankly, any food you change to will be an improvement.
Taste of the Wild is good, as is Innova, Canidae, Wellness,etc. I would probably change her to California Natural, since she may have food sensitivities.

I'm sure most of her health problems will improve once she is on a better diet. You will also have to feed her far less of a good food. It's not normal for a dog to be licking it's paws raw...bruised paws do not cause them to lick raw.

Change the food and you will see big improvements.

Gina

while beneful would not be my choice of a food there certainly isnt anything wrong with it all dogs differ and all foods have to meet a gov. standard but to say its not fit for any dog is a gross exageration. canadae and innova are 2 of the dog foods that are habitual offenders concerning food allergies(just to many ingrediants) if your dog truly is thought to have food alergies california natural is the way to go. any kind of injury whether it be a bruise a cut or a burn causes the dog to lick they will lick until the pain is gone because its the only thing they can do. if this happened before and your vet diagnosed it as a bruise and it went away after time( while on the same food) i would suggest she may have injured it again.

[Nishasmom]

yes I agree; despite the wonderful commercials, beniful is not a good quality food . It could very well be the cause of her itchy feet.

[Mikoman]

You may want to ask for an allergy test at the vet. I struggled with two of my dogs for months trying to find the right food. I finally broke down and did the allergy test and I they were both allergic to different things. They are doing great now but it did take a couple weeks for the scratching to stop. My female had licked her paw so bad it still has a scar on it. My vet told me to start with a very limited diet, like only one meat and one carb then after about a week or so add something else in. Whenever my boy has allergies the inner flap of his ear gets real red and he starts to develop an ear infection. They are all on different diets now and doing great.

[webangel2b]

I made a food change for the same food you're using now.

You will be AMAZED by the difference. Please don't take all these words to heart however, now that I've been on the boards a lot I know why they say these things.

When a Rott gets cancer, it can go from a little pain (licking paw) to death in a matter of days. We must be HIGHLY "on guard" and overly careful. Honestly, that's all they want you to do.