# Paw licking



## Naturelover (Nov 30, 2013)

Hi all,

Just figured I would share something I learned lately. I noticed that Archer had been licking his paws more and more, and that the fur between his toes was turning red. His feet also also had that "corn chip" smell, and his skin looked a bit red. It almost looked like it was itching or bothering him as he was starting to spend a lot of time doing it. 

I switched him to raw food, though, he is still on the same protein, chicken, and I also spoke to the vet when we were there for something else- and she recommended a shampoo and some paw wipes. She said with the red staining it was likely Malasezzia yeast, and that in 80% of the cases washing the paws regularly with the shampoo (Malacetic) would clear it up. Well sure enough after a couple of weeks and a couple of washes with this stuff his paw licking has really reduced. You have to let it sit on the paws for 5-10 minutes, but Archer doesn't mind just standing in the sink eating treats. 

I wanted to take care of it before it became too much of a habit or before he got a lick granuloma or something (my friend's dearly departed Corgi had HUGE issues with paw licking to the point of raw sores so any sign of it starting is kind of terrifying to me now). So it could also be the switch to raw food as well (less starch in the food means less fuel for the yeast), but, he did start licking his paws again more recently, and we washed his feet with this stuff and it calmed down again.

So for anyone who is wondering if their Hav may have an issue with paw licking, may I suggest you consider that it could be a yeast issue on the paws and look at some of the specialized shampoos. There are also some available online called Malaseb I think, which is very similar. 

Part of why he had the problem could also be that we are often in and out in very wet weather here in Vancouver, so his feet were frequently moist. Dry feet apparently are less likely to have this issue.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

yes the first thing is to see a vet. Never go this alone. Thanks


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Naturelover said:


> Part of why he had the problem could also be that we are often in and out in very wet weather here in Vancouver, so his feet were frequently moist. Dry feet apparently are less likely to have this issue.


Kodi has more problems when his feet are wet too, but in his case, it's specifically wet grass that causes the problem. Wiping his feet down every time he comes in from wet grass definitely helps.


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## sandypaws (Aug 8, 2012)

My first Hav, Bailey, had the same issue, licking his paws and red staining of the fur between his pads. In his case, it was seasonal allergy to whatever he was coming in contact with in the grass. His vet thought that when we moved from the Metrowest area of the state to Cape Cod, it might stop due to different pollens and he was right. However, after many years of living on the Cape, he developed allergies to the grasses here as well.


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## Naturelover (Nov 30, 2013)

davetgabby said:


> yes the first thing is to see a vet. Never go this alone. Thanks


Thanks Dave! Maybe I should have been more explicit about not just randomly deciding to order shampoo. I think though if I hadn't pressed the vet about it that I might have just still thought it was allergies or something and not been as active in clearing it up. So of course speak to a vet but it may be worth asking about the yeast specifically when you do. Our insurance didn't cover it because I guess they figure it is just a shampoo, but the vet did prescribe it!


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## RitaandRiley (Feb 27, 2012)

Naturelover, 

Does your policy have a specific exclusion for this? If not, I would question them. If it's a prescription product used for a medical condition it should be covered. Unless, as I said, there's a specific exclusion.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

RitaandRiley said:


> Naturelover,
> 
> Does your policy have a specific exclusion for this? If not, I would question them. If it's a prescription product used for a medical condition it should be covered. Unless, as I said, there's a specific exclusion.


I'm not sure it's JUST a prescription product, though&#8230; I was able to find it from multiple pet supply places on the internet.


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## Hsusa (Dec 21, 2014)

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/10/25/dog-foot-bath.aspx 
This is a helpful discussion of foot baths. The idea is to soak the dogs paws by letting them stand in a shallow footbath.


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## bubarkanpssi (Apr 18, 2015)

Hsusa said:


> http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/10/25/dog-foot-bath.aspx
> This is a helpful discussion of foot baths. The idea is to soak the dogs paws by letting them stand in a shallow footbath.


Thanks for link suggest!


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## Naturelover (Nov 30, 2013)

I thought about doing the footbath but couldn't figure out a way to do it in my teeny apartment. For us, it worked better to lather little buddy's feet up and have him stand in the sink for a few minutes. But I think you could also just make a footbath in the sink if you didn't have room to have a tray at your door.


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