# Chewing legs and feet



## Yoshismom (Jul 6, 2005)

I know that chewing feet and legs is a sign of allergies and it is usually food related but..Chibi is 1 yr 9 months old and has been on Wellness Core for probably 10 months now and has never done this before? Nothing else has changed in his diet or environment? Any ideas?


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## *Chloe* (Feb 6, 2006)

usually when Twig does this she needs her anal glands emptying


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## pam6400 (Oct 5, 2008)

*Ben has licked and chewed his front legs since the day we got him. He seems to do it when he is bored. I don't think he has any allergies, vet says his skin does not appear to be dry either.:coolwink:*


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

My mil's sheltie did this and the vet said he was bored. He actually licked a sore onto his leg!


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## lilbabyvenus (Feb 8, 2009)

Venus always chews on her hind legs and feet when she's bored. Or when we hold her on her back, she has super easy access to them, so she just chews away. Vet said there was nothing wrong with her, she's just playing. Like babies do when they discover new things I suppose.


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## Yoshismom (Jul 6, 2005)

Chloe..Anal glands, really? that is one I havent heard yet, LOL. Wonder why they chew feet and legs for anal gland issues?

I will give them a squeeze and see if that helps;-)

My vet has always told me that when they chew and lick their feet and pads it is due to an allergy to something? I had to change my GD's food to stop him from doing so.


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## Dazy Mae (Aug 10, 2008)

OMG..Lulubelle does this all the time. Since I changed her food to Natural Balance grain free she is much better, but sometimes I think it might be from boredom or when she is in one of her hyper ..let me out of the playpen moods!!


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## *Chloe* (Feb 6, 2006)

Yoshismom said:


> Chloe..Anal glands, really? that is one I havent heard yet, LOL. Wonder why they chew feet and legs for anal gland issues?
> 
> I will give them a squeeze and see if that helps;-)


cant quite remember vet did tell me a few years ago think it makes them itchy bit like a food allergy - its the only way i know Twig needs hers emptied sure enough as soon as they are she stops chewing her legs/feet


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## Chico's Mum (Sep 9, 2008)

Chico also does this if his boerd or before he sleeps. I think thats his proses before sleeping. 
Nothing to worry about.


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## barefoot (Sep 24, 2008)

You have to wonder if the ingredients in food don't vary even a little from time to time. 
I have an example with makeup. I know someone who is allergic to sheep. If the talo in her beauty products is sheep in that batch she has a reaction. But other times the talo might be from beef or pig. THey don't moniter where the talo comes from . It is gross but the animals are all mixed together in a vat and the rendering is scraped off.
She has since turned to vegan beauty products.


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## Rosiesmum (Oct 14, 2007)

Brodysmom said:


> My mil's sheltie did this and the vet said he was bored. He actually licked a sore onto his leg!


It can also be sign that they are stressed in some way. When I got married and my dogs moved house with me, one of my crossbreed "girls" started doing this and the vet said it was probably due to boredom and that I should play ball with her in the yard. I explained that she had an hour walk every morning, which included off lead time on beach, then a good walk on leash in the afternoon and then out again for a run in the evening! The dogs were never left alone for more than a couple of hours or so and if longer my dad popped in to see them.

Vet said it probably wasn't boredom then  But had no idea what was wrong! Personally I think it was the "stress" of a new environment.
It took a couple of months or so, but it did gradually ease and stop.


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## ahra1284 (Sep 3, 2008)

bam always chews on his left hind leg - but i've asked the vet and he didnt seem to think it was allergies or anything. i think i'ts just a habit or something, like how i bite my nails haha


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

Rosiesmum said:


> It can also be sign that they are stressed in some way. When I got married and my dogs moved house with me, one of my crossbreed "girls" started doing this and the vet said it was probably due to boredom and that I should play ball with her in the yard. I explained that she had an hour walk every morning, which included off lead time on beach, then a good walk on leash in the afternoon and then out again for a run in the evening! The dogs were never left alone for more than a couple of hours or so and if longer my dad popped in to see them.
> 
> Vet said it probably wasn't boredom then  But had no idea what was wrong! Personally I think it was the "stress" of a new environment.
> It took a couple of months or so, but it did gradually ease and stop.


Yes, exactly! My mil's sheltie was nervous and excitable anyway. She is older and wasn't able to exercise him much (mentally or physically) and I think his licking become an obsessive disorder! The vets said it was a lick granuloma.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lick_granuloma

My mil bought some puzzle toys for him and paid a neighbor to take him on walks. Eventually, it went away and he stopped licking but it took a long time. He just got in a bad cycle of licking and then couldn't stop.

I'm sure that this isn't the problem with Chibi though!

Brodysmom


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