Why is my dog constantly licking paws?
We have a 4.5 year old male corgi. Ever since he was a puppy he has always licked his front paws- the right side more than the left. We’ve taken him to the vet several times for this because sometimes it gets very infected. They give him an antibiotic and it clears up. Last time this happened(about two months ago) the vet had us put the cone on him when we weren’t home or weren’t able to watch him constantly while we were home and gave us an antibiotic. It cleared up and we continue to put cone on while we are out but we don’t want our dog living in the cone. The vet office we go to has had some veterinarian changes since we’ve been there so we’ve had a handful of opinions and advice given to us as possible things causing this-habitual, boredom, stress, diet, allergy, one even said possible benign wart(we’ve never seen any warts between his paws). We have recently changed his food but my husband and I really don’t think it’s food related because wouldn’t we see problems on his entire body and he is only licking front paws and it’s mostly his right one that he concentrates on licking, but he does do the left one. We are thinking possible environment allergy or habitual/boredom. He has plenty of toys and things to keep him busy. We have also recently started washing his front paws nightly with an antimicrobial dog wash. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated to what is possibly causing this and any ideas to make this stop.
It could be the food that causes this. Chicken and chicken byproduct is usually the number one culprit. It can and more than likely will take up to 6-8 months to see a difference if it’s food related. Toxins are built up in the system and the baby has to clear them out before results are seen.
My dog Marley started doing that years ago. The inner paw area would become infected, red, and a clear like mucus. Marley had food allergies to the chicken protein. Causing a yeast infection causing him to lick his paws. Sometimes his ears were affected. I changed food to a beef or fish protein.
Also I can tell you much more but it only allows me so many words. Feel free to reach out to me via email: randi@designedconveyor.com Or you can text or call: [removed] I'm happy to help especially since my baby boy went through it.
Randi, if you use the Answer function, then you aren't limited. Also, I can't imagine in what universe anyone would post their phone number on a public board.
Karen, I appreciate the tips. And the universe I live in is a very happy, laid back, and stress-free. I'm not worried about posting my contact info lol. Especially due to the pet friendly community I'm open to help anyway possible. That's the universe you're finding difficult to understand. Hmmm :)
We did switch his food to lamb(vet rec lamb or salmon) but I did notice it has chicken byproduct in it. He hasn’t been licking as much but idk if it’s food related or we’ve been really on him about not licking- hard to tell.