# feet chewing



## BnBdreamin (Oct 27, 2004)

My Bunker has been chewing on his feet for about a month now. More one his back feet. His fur gets a little thin but not bald and the skin is pinker. I have given him a bath and rinsed really good but I am not sure if it is just a nervous nilly chi thing or could he have dry hands and feet! Does anyone have any ideas before I take him to the vet? Maybe he needs doggie lotion!


----------



## stelun (Mar 14, 2004)

My Luna chews a little, but most of all she constantly licks her paws !! She is a licker!  

When we took her to vet, he noticed that (her paws are very pink and super soft) but didn't say anything about it. He said a few dogs do that....maybe it's just a habit. (probably a nervous one)I believe it's the same for chewing.


----------



## BnBdreamin (Oct 27, 2004)

Thanks for the reply. That makes me feel better. My childhood chihuahua used to lick a lot. We used to say Peanut, no lick lick. Now years later, no lick lick still comes up! But that is reassuring that someone else does it. He does little nibbles like for scratching purposes and then licks. I just cannot stand the licking sound! No lick lick!!! I feel better that I am waiting for his next visit to the vet instead of taking him right away.


----------



## Vala (Jul 8, 2004)

stelun said:


> My Luna chews a little, but most of all she constantly licks her paws !! She is a licker!
> 
> When we took her to vet, he noticed that (her paws are very pink and super soft) but didn't say anything about it. He said a few dogs do that....maybe it's just a habit. (probably a nervous one)I believe it's the same for chewing.


  Same here, I think Stinky has some cat in him..he licks his paws and grooms his head just like a cat! :shock:


----------



## stelun (Mar 14, 2004)

Vala444: that's exactly what I think about Luna.......she must be a cat mix or something    

BnBdreamin: I can't stand too much licking sound either......it drives me crazy..... :sad2: Seriously...she ALWAYS licks......it's impossible. We tell her to stop but there's no way that she would listen.


----------



## KB (Apr 13, 2004)

Usually obsessive licking can be an underlying allergy or even separation anxiety. Make sure the area does not get raw as this could lead to infection. It's not a good habit for any animal to have for that reason. :wave:


----------



## SC (Oct 15, 2004)

Annabelle does that because of allergies. She is on an allergy dog food and it is not nearly as bad as it was. I can't feed her any people food. My vet said when they lick at their feet and scratch at their face it is usually caused by allergies.


----------



## stelun (Mar 14, 2004)

I was searching around now....I found some website saying that it might be allergies and some others saying that it might be beacuse they are "clean" (habit) :? Here are a couple:
http://www.countitdown.com/peanut/pagespea/info.html
http://www.faqs.org/qa/qa-1187.html

I don't think Luna's problem is allergies....considering that the most common cause of allergies is food......well, we don't feed her table stuff and we kept the dogs on a prescription diet for a while. :? 
I don't know. Our other chihuahua NEVER licks........I have to ask the vet again.....it might be better for me to continue their prescription diet :? 

Gosh.....dogs are like babies.....everything they have makes you worry


----------



## Vala (Jul 8, 2004)

stelun said:


> I was searching around now....I found some website saying that it might be allergies and some others saying that it might be beacuse they are "clean" (habit) :?


  I'll go with the clean thing...they don't mention species confused  Stinky does it before and after sleeping...oh and after he eats...just like a cat!  He's one little weirdo!


----------



## SC (Oct 15, 2004)

Well if she doesn't have any kind of rash that goes along with the licking she is probably just a clean freak.  Annabelle gets a rash with her allergies.


----------



## stelun (Mar 14, 2004)

Luna doesn't get a rash. 
Poor Annabelle.....the rash must bother her...poor lil baby.


----------



## SC (Oct 15, 2004)

Yes it does bother her. When she first got it and we didn't know what it was, she scratched it so much it bled.  Now we keep her strictly on the allergy dog food and she doesn't really have any problems.


----------



## Zabet (Aug 1, 2004)

I've noticed Callie doing this. I just get her one of her bones and that usually distracts her.


----------



## joebeans (Sep 29, 2004)

Jose was doing this for a while, and he developed scab like things all over him, took him to the vet and he had Pyoderma, (skin infection). Read the "Poor Jose" post where I talked about it. He finishes up his Ancef antibiotics this week. YAY! If your dog keeps it up, or you notice more hair loss, or these scab like things, get them to the vet, they may need to do a skin scrape to look for bacteria or mites (mange).


----------



## Ms_P (Apr 25, 2004)

My Rottie female use to lick her feet constantly. About twice a year she would lick her pad off of 1 foot.
I would have to clean it with peroxide and put antibiotic ointment on it, bandage it and put a sock over the entire thing to keep her from licking it and taking the bandage off. When I took her outside I had to put a plastic bag over the sock. Bandages and socks got changes at least once a day.
You might want to bring it to your vets attention and see if they have any advice.
At least try and distract them if you notice them licking a lot.


----------



## BnBdreamin (Oct 27, 2004)

That's what I was thinking... allergies. But more towards him being allergic to the lawn fertilizer or grass seed. We try not to let the dogs out after doing the grass but that could be it. Maybe I should wash his feet more often. Washing feet was not too good for Jesus... so why not for me!


----------

