Poor Aevyn has been really worrying my boyfriend and I the past few days.

He's been chewing his paws when he's laying around, sometimes up his legs. He's been doing this for a while, it never seemed much of a problem. When he looks like he's getting at it too much I always bring him one of his toys and he'll chew on that instead.

However, we had him in his crate last night and when we went to get him out we noticed his paws were stained pink. They were wet and he'd been chewing them, to the point where his claws are looking a bit cut up, pieces are flaking off. And on one of the pads of his feet he's got a gash in it. He's been chewing so much he actually cut himself.

He usually only excessively goes at it in his crate, but this is the first time he's drawn blood. When he's outside his crate he'll only nibble at his paws (as well as legs and tail)

What could be the issue? Is this separation anxiety or something else? How can we prevent further damage to his paws, and should I be taking him to the vet?

Thanks guys. He really has me worried.

My first thought would be could this be an allergy to something? Have you checked his paws to make sure there is nothing in there that could be irritating him?

Our Chihuahua, Glory, has an allergy issue and it expresses itself mainly through itchy paws. She bites and licks at her paws excessively but diet modification has helped keep it slightly less excessive...although she still does it daily.

My mom's dog had itchy feet for the longest time until she put him an a better diet.

Faith even had really badly itchy paws as a reaction to fertilizer that we had put down on the lawn. It was so bad that she chewed her feet till they bled.

It's not always allergies though, some do it out of boredom so when that's the case it's best to nip that in the bud right away. You're doing good by redirecting his attention to something else when he does it.

Being summer, it's possible he could just be itchy from higher temps and humidity. My sibe has a problem with that moreso in the summer months down south than up north. Any chance there is a chemical pesticide or fertilizer in the grass or something that he could have stepped in? I know my grandmothers dog is allergic to grass so she has to wipe her dogs paws down every single time they come in from being outside or she'll get extremely itchy in the paws.

I had thought maybe allergies, but he only seems to do really do it in his crate. Which made me think maybe separation anxiety. : /

However, I want to rule out everything. If it is allergies what can do i to help? Should I be worried about the gash in his pad?

I'm not sure what gets used on the grass around here, or even at the dog park. So that could be it. Maybe.

My poor baby.

As for diet, he's on Orijen Puppy, which I thought was good. o_o; He's on his second bag now, and during the first bag he didn't really have any issues that we noticed.

On the pad with a gash in it I would clean it up if it needs it then apply an antibiotic ointment such as Neosporin, then apply some gauze to cover the broken skin, then wrap it in something like vet wrap to keep it nice and secure so he doesn't mess with it. If he won't leave it alone then maybe try putting some bitter apple spray over the wrap (assuming he doesn't like bitter apple).

That is odd that it's mainly when he's in his crate, that would point more towards possible anxiety. Does he have chews in his crate that would take attention off his feet when he's in there?

He's got his tire-rope toy, as well as a kong (usually with the insides coated in a peanut butter) to keep him busy in there. We can't give him his favorite toys because their plush and he tends to destroy them beyond repair when he's in the crate. Outside, they get a bit more lifespan.

I don't know what vet wrap is. Is there something I'd have around the house we can use? Or where can we get vet wrap?

He does seem to lick his paws a bit outside of the crate, but nothing even close to what happens when he's in the crate. And, I don't know if he's only licking them because he caused them to bleed while in his crate.

Would he need a trip to the vet to determine if its allergies?

KareBear wrote:

I don't know what vet wrap is. Is there something I'd have around the house we can use? Or where can we get vet wrap?

This is vet wrap: 3M Vet Wrap
It's self adhesive bandaging tape and you may have it at home already. If not you can get it anywhere, like Walmart for a few bucks...I think you can also find generic brands too. It's really nice because it sticks to itself and adheres really well without really having an adhesive like tape which would stick to and pull the fur. With Vet Wrap it won't stick to the fur and it gives a really good hold.

KareBear wrote:

Would he need a trip to the vet to determine if its allergies?

I'm not one to go to the vet over allergies unless things get severe. I'm the type to try diet changes or environmental changes via a process of elimination to see if that doesn't make some difference in the allergies. Failing that you could get an allergy test at the vet. That's just me though.

Sounds great, thanks for all the help.

I'll get this wound of his cleaned up and see how it goes from there. Maybe he just got something in it that's irritating him. Although he didn't seem to be in any pain when we were checking his paws for anymore damage.

I really wish he wouldn't worry me so much. Silly boy.

I would do some research on hot spots too. It could possibly be that as well. Dakota had one on his tail, it got to the point where he pulled a chunk of hair off his tail all at once!

I actually had to leave work to take him to the vet. When I called the vet and explained what Kota was doing, he said to bring him in directly that only a cortizone shot would help. Since then, Kota's tail has gotten all it's fur back. I hope this helps.

Drake has been doing this lately and it's driving me crazy, mostly because I'm worried that something's wrong. I called the foster and asked if she ever noticed him chewing/licking his paws and legs and she said no...I really hope it's not allergies. The only time he goes outside is to go to the bathroom, and he's on better food now than before (Taste of the Wild, and sometimes mixed with other food, like pumpkin or boiled eggs).

I really think that the cause is boredom. He has always had other dogs in the house to play with, and now he just lays on the floor or in his crate and licks and I really think it's because he's either anxious or has nothing to do. I've tried giving him toys, chews, etc and he doesn't really know how to play alone (or with me) so that doesn't really work.

His paws don't look pink or raw, they're more of a gray color but they do look rough and a little cracked. I don't know if that's normal or not, I never paid attention to my family dog's paws growing up. He's going to the vet today so I'll just have the vet look at it and hopefully it's nothing!

You may want to get it checked out. When my Dalmatian was about a year old he started licking his paw obsessively and wouldn't stop no matter what I did! I tried bandaging it, he would rip it off, I sprayed bitter apple on it and he would lick it anyway! I even ordered this special "Comfy E Collar" and he would some how get it off and go right back to licking! He licked it until he drew blood and I took him to the vet and she said he had gotten bit by a bug or stung by a bee and he licked it so much he licked the hair follicles off and doesn't grow hair on his one paw ... I treated it with antibiotics, but the vet said it can become a nasty habit, so you should try and take care of it right away.

Hayden tends to chew his paws too, I'm not sure why. I try to take his mind off it by giving him a bone, bully stick, kong, or something that will keep him occupied long enough to get his mind off his paws.

Chili has a lot of allergies - so I've seen this. Could be seasonal allergies. It's been unseasonably warm there, too - right? Spring, pollen, grass, etc... Definitely check with the vet.

Allergies would be my guess. Luka chewed most of the hair off her legs before we figured out what she was reacting to! They can test for environmental allergies at your vet, but its quite costly. We had to do the whole elimination diet thing in addition to the test at the vet to finally get everything under control. For seasonal allergies, we use a product called Aller-g Free made by Azmira. Doesn't totally get rid of the symptoms, but it does help with Luka's environmental allergies.

Lu&Katsmom wrote:

For seasonal allergies, we use a product called Aller-g Free made by Azmira. Doesn't totally get rid of the symptoms, but it does help with Luka's environmental allergies.

I might have to look into that as a possible alternative for Glory if her current stuff doesn't yield results. Our vet put her on a holistic product called Allergena I think. How often do you use the Aller-G Free stuff on Luka? Year round or only during certain seasons?

Huskyluv wrote:

Lu&Katsmom wrote:

For seasonal allergies, we use a product called Aller-g Free made by Azmira. Doesn't totally get rid of the symptoms, but it does help with Luka's environmental allergies.

I might have to look into that as a possible alternative for Glory if her current stuff doesn't yield results. Our vet put her on a holistic product called Allergena I think. How often do you use the Aller-G Free stuff on Luka? Year round or only during certain seasons?

Year round, but up the dose in spring and fall when she seems to be the worst. In the winter we can get her down to 1 capsule a day, which we split into two doses. Spring and fall she gets two capusles daily.

Thanks Melissa!

I mentioned the whole paw thing at the vet last Friday, and the vet said that it was a grass allergy...I don't know how he can conclude this just by looking at his paws and acting like it's the only possibility...especially since Drake is hardly ever outside.
Anyway, for now I've just been saying, "Drake, no" firmly whenever I see him doing it, and thankfully he stops when I say something. I know I can't watch him 24/7, especially when he's in his crate at night or while we're gone during the day, but at least I've been able to stop it when I catch it.

Either grass, pollens or molds are the most common causes for paw licking.

rnelsen wrote:

I mentioned the whole paw thing at the vet last Friday, and the vet said that it was a grass allergy...I don't know how he can conclude this just by looking at his paws and acting like it's the only possibility...especially since Drake is hardly ever outside.
Anyway, for now I've just been saying, "Drake, no" firmly whenever I see him doing it, and thankfully he stops when I say something. I know I can't watch him 24/7, especially when he's in his crate at night or while we're gone during the day, but at least I've been able to stop it when I catch it.

My grandparents have a dog that is allergic to grass. They have to wipe her paws with a wet wipe every time she comes in from being outside. That has helped their dog quite a bit.

It can also be an anxiety thing... Seamus does it when he's being his weird Border Collie self. Usually if I wrap the thunder shirt on him he stops and goes to sleep.

Have you just noticed it? How long ago did you switch to TOTW?