Does your dog constantly lick and chew his paws? There are many reasons why dogs chew on their paws and they all need to be addressed by you to help ease the pain. Once you know the reason, you can stop your dog from chewing on your toenails.
The reason why my dog is chewing his paws
Dr. Gary Richter, medical director of Comprehensive veterinary care of Berkeley, California, and founder of Ultimate Pet Nutrition, outlines the most common reasons dogs chew on their paws:
- Richter says the first thing to do is check and make sure your dog doesn’t have a leg injury that causes it to lick and chew. Look for limping, bleeding, swelling, and a foul odor, which could be due to an infection. Something as simple as a crumb or a small cut can cause your dog to over-chew!
If it’s a minor cut or scratch, Dr. Richter says apply a pet-safe antibiotic, such as Vetericyn Plus Antibacterial All Wound and Skin Care for Animals, after cleaning with pet-safe soap. If not, see your vet for treatment including x-rays, ointments and/or antibiotics if needed.
- Mental health. Some dogs chew their paws because they are bored, depressed, or anxious. Richter says dogs that are not sufficiently exercised or mentally stimulated will chew on their paws.
Toenail chewing is difficult to treat due to anxiety and will take some time to fix. Richter says it’s important to use conditioning to change your dog’s response to situations that cause him stress. For example, he says this could mean getting your dog to associate you with leaving with something nice, like a gift. When you leave the house, fill in a jigsaw puzzle With food your dog really enjoys, a treat will take at least 20 minutes to complete.
- Sometimes a parasite that bothers your dog will cause paw chewing. Dr. Richter said visible pests like Ticks and fleas can be the culprit, but also invisible things like ticks.
A vet visit is required to diagnose these smaller organisms. Once the parasite is identified, your veterinarian can give you the right medication to get rid of the pest.
- Dogs that chew on their paws can develop sensitization or allergies. This could be an allergen in the environment — grass, floor cleaners, chemicals on the sidewalk, etc — or Food-related allergies.
In this case, doing allergy testing to determine the cause of your dog’s discomfort is the first step. Once you know what your dog is allergic to, you should avoid it completely and/or mitigate it with allergy medication.
Home remedies for dog paw chewing
If you’re looking for something to help soothe your dog’s chewing while waiting for your vet appointment, try a soothing spray. An example is Skout’s Honor Probiotic Paw Spray. Jenny Gilcrest for Skout’s Honor explains that it supports a dog’s natural ability to fight off overgrowth of harmful bacteria like yeast and fungi, which are often the culprits for itchy, foul, and uncomfortable paws. . It’s great for extremely sensitive dogs, with a drug-free, alcohol-free and hypoallergenic formula.
Other products to help soothe dog paws at home:
