# Chewing and licking paws



## CaroleG (Aug 13, 2016)

My 2 year old Hav has started licking and chewing paws. We have not taken him anywhere new, and there is not any chemicals on the grass. Any ideas on what to do because I dont want this to become a nervous habit. No sign or any debris on the paws and otherwise seems in good health.


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## Jackie from Concrete WA (Mar 23, 2015)

Willow licks her feet a lot too. The vet thinks it is an allergic reaction to something. We live in the Pacific NW where we almost always have wet grass because of dew or rain. The vet thinks that could be the cause for the feet licking. He has said he sees a lot of seasonal allergies in dogs. I've noticed when we camp in a dryer part of our state, she seems to not lick much or at all. I had Willow on Apoquel and it did help with the licking but after reading some online info, I decided not to use it. Other people have used Benadryl but you need to check with a vet first and he will recommend what dosage to use. I don't know if this is the cause of you dog's licking, but it's just a thought.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Jackie from Concrete said:


> Willow licks her feet a lot too. The vet thinks it is an allergic reaction to something. We live in the Pacific NW where we almost always have wet grass because of dew or rain. The vet thinks that could be the cause for the feet licking. He has said he sees a lot of seasonal allergies in dogs. I've noticed when we camp in a dryer part of our state, she seems to not lick much or at all. I had Willow on Apoquel and it did help with the licking but after reading some online info, I decided not to use it. Other people have used Benadryl but you need to check with a vet first and he will recommend what dosage to use. I don't know if this is the cause of your dog's licking, but it's just a thought.


Zyrtec is another one to check with the vet about. That's what Kodi takes. it does help a lot with his allergies, and, unlike Bendryl, is not sedating, and also doesn't wear off as fast. Zyrtec they only need to take once a day, just like humans.


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## Jackie from Concrete WA (Mar 23, 2015)

krandall said:


> Zyrtec is another one to check with the vet about. That's what Kodi takes. it does help a lot with his allergies, and, unlike Bendryl, is not sedating, and also doesn't wear off as fast. Zyrtec they only need to take once a day, just like humans.


Thank you. I will check with the vet. When I asked about Benadryl, the vet said it could make her sleepy but then she said it could also have the opposite effect and make her hyper!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Jackie from Concrete said:


> Thank you. I will check with the vet. When I asked about Benadryl, the vet said it could make her sleepy but then she said it could also have the opposite effect and make her hyper!


I know it does with me! I HATE it!!! It makes me feel all buzzy and I can't sleep even though it ALSO makes me sleepy!!!


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

Once when our puppy was licking his paws a lot I found a small piece of a rock stuck pretty far up where it was hard to see.


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## Frank (May 18, 2010)

Pippin, our short hair, is a relentless paw licker. We have tried bitter apple, cortisone and the spray bottle. At this point it is an ingrained habit. 
Last night we tried a thunderjacket. It seemed to work. It also helped his medicine induced restlessness.


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## ShamaMama (Jul 27, 2015)

Shama chews a lot on one paw. We've had her stand for 30 seconds in a Betadine solution as suggested by Dr. Karen Becker in the article below, and it seems to provide temporary relief, but then she eventually starts again. Seems to be related to stress and/or boredom. Not really sure . . .

https://healthypets.mercola.com/sit...-seconds-to-relieve-your-pets-itchy-paws.aspx


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## Linda3612 (Apr 15, 2011)

I haven't posted here in a long time but happened to notice this post. Maggie was licking her paws a lot. I examined all of them and could not find any reason why she was doing this so I asked the vet. She says it's seasonal allergies and suggested I try Benadryl which I did. It mostly sedated her which stopped some of the licking because she was so tired! The vet also suggested I bathe her twice a week in medicated shampoo which helped a lot. She also gave her an injection of Cytopoint the other day. The licking has pretty much stopped.


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## Jackie from Concrete WA (Mar 23, 2015)

Linda, Willow does the same thing - lick, lick, lick. The vet also thinks it's allergies, probably dust allergies. I tried Apoquel first. That seemed to help quite a bit but I took her off as it's a pretty strong drug and seems to have controversial online posts. I called the vet to ask about Zyrtec as others on this forum use it with success. However, due to Willow's small size (7-1/2 lbs), he didn't want me to use it. Then I started using Benadryl. It did help somewhat but like you posted, I think she was just too tired to lick! I noticed that her energy level was not what it seemed before and I just wanted my crazy dog back. So I took her off the Benadryl. She just had a wellness checkup at the vet and he said we could try Cytopoint. She just had her first injection a few days ago. Honestly, I don't see a whole lot of improvement. I,m hopeful since you said the licking has mostly stopped. How long did it take for you to notice a change in licking? He didn't mention anything about medicated shampoo, but she just had a bath at the groomer's. The groomer said her coat seemed really dry so she used a heavy duty moisturizer on her. I wonder if the dry coat was due to the Benadryl.


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## Linda3612 (Apr 15, 2011)

Jackie from Concrete said:


> Linda, Willow does the same thing - lick, lick, lick. The vet also thinks it's allergies, probably dust allergies. I tried Apoquel first. That seemed to help quite a bit but I took her off as it's a pretty strong drug and seems to have controversial online posts. I called the vet to ask about Zyrtec as others on this forum use it with success. However, due to Willow's small size (7-1/2 lbs), he didn't want me to use it. Then I started using Benadryl. It did help somewhat but like you posted, I think she was just too tired to lick! I noticed that her energy level was not what it seemed before and I just wanted my crazy dog back. So I took her off the Benadryl. She just had a wellness checkup at the vet and he said we could try Cytopoint. She just had her first injection a few days ago. Honestly, I don't see a whole lot of improvement. I,m hopeful since you said the licking has mostly stopped. How long did it take for you to notice a change in licking? He didn't mention anything about medicated shampoo, but she just had a bath at the groomer's. The groomer said her coat seemed really dry so she used a heavy duty moisturizer on her. I wonder if the dry coat was due to the Benadryl.


Hi Jackie--at this point we are 6 days out from Maggie receiving the Cytopoint injection and she has pretty much stopped licking. I think the medicated shampoo has helped too--I started using it a week before she received the injection. This shampoo is made by Patterson Veterinary and is called Suffusion 4% +PS antiseptic shampoo. After lathering it has to be left on for 10 minutes before rinsing, and it seems to have an almost immediate soothing effect. My vet said to use it twice a week. Maybe you could ask your vet if he thinks this is an option for Willow in addition to the Cytopoint.


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## Jackie from Concrete WA (Mar 23, 2015)

Linda - thanks for the info. Willow had her shot almost 1 week ago. I think I do see some improvement. What has really improved is her energy level. I didn't realize how lethargic she had become until I discontinued the Benadryl. Holy cow! She is back to being a whirling dervish at times!


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