# licking paws



## tosca (Sep 17, 2012)

my lovely 13 month old gsd licks and chews his paws excessively.. he can easily do it for an hour twice daily. when he chews them it's almost like he's biting his nails. when looking at his paws they are cracked a bit, I'm not sure if that is whats causing it or if it's normal. any help would be appreciated!


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## briantw (Oct 1, 2012)

tosca said:


> my lovely 13 month old gsd licks and chews his paws excessively.. he can easily do it for an hour twice daily. when he chews them it's almost like he's biting his nails. when looking at his paws they are cracked a bit, I'm not sure if that is whats causing it or if it's normal. any help would be appreciated!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using PG Free


Probably allergies. My Boxer does the same things at times during the year. Make sure you check between his paws. If they smell foul or have little flecks of black all around between the toes (or between the pads underneath), he may have an infection. If you think he has an infection, take him to the vet. They can give you a spray or a pill to stop the itching.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Yes, it's usually allergies.

You could start by changing foods, not sure what you use now, but chicken and beef, along with corn and soy, are implicated strongly in dog allergies.

If using one of those, you could try Natural Balance in venison, duck, or fish, or even try the Bison.
The goal is to move to a "unique" protein source, one they don't get often.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Benedryl will help while you are figuring out the allergies, it is probably environmental. 1mg per # of the dog. I buy the grocery store brand equivilant(Meijer) and get 100 caps for under $10. Onyx has allergies and has really started licking/chewing her paws in the past couple weeks. I hate allergies!


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## briantw (Oct 1, 2012)

Two other great suggestions from the two posters below.

My Boxer takes an off-brand Claritan (spelling?) every morning with his first meal. If you start giving your dog allergy pills, you probably won't notice a change for a week or so. I'd also recommend you at least chat with your vet on the phone before doing so to make sure you get the correct type of pill and dose.

Also, Natural Balance is a great food. I switched over to Taste of the Wild (which works great for both of my dogs), but only because Amazon jacked up the price of Natural Balance to almost $70 a bag and it isn't sold in any stores where I live. 

Really, though, any premium food with a grain free allergy formula will probably work. It's mostly just about finding a brand that ends in solid stool from your dog, and every dog is different. For example, I know several people who get great results from Blue Buffalo, and it's obviously a good premium brand, but my Boxer's stool was just never firm when I tried switching him to it. Luckily, Shepherds usually have less sensitive stomachs, so you should have an easier time finding the right food if you decide to switch.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Natural Balance is sold at Petco, if there's one close


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## briantw (Oct 1, 2012)

msvette2u said:


> Natural Balance is sold at Petco, if there's one close


There was one about fifteen minutes away but it closed. Now there aren't any reasonably close, at least not when you consider Amazon will drop off a bag of Taste of the Wild in two days for free.


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## Courtney (Feb 12, 2010)

Most likely an allergy like already mentioned. I would recommend doing a wipe of his paws when he comes in the house. Could be food or environment. My boys allergies are the fall and I do a damp cloth wipe down when he comes in from outside, it does help. Of course if this is a food allergy the above won't help.

Another thought just really take a look at his paws/nails and make sure there's no injury. My boy was licking his paws and after a close inspection he had an injured toenail, foot soak in epson salt for a couple of days and he was good to go.


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## Olivers mama (Oct 13, 2010)

OK - let's say you've ruled out allergies. Do any of you guys have home-made remedies for this?

(Aside from the remedies that promise they'll work cause they "taste bad" if the dog licks it.) If you have a dog that turd-munches, obviously, "bad-tasting" is not an issue!


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