My dog is constantly licking and biting his paws

[SwissPhil]

Hi
Dylan, our 3 year old Golden Retriever has started to lick and bite his paws. This has been going on for about a week to the extent that the left paw now has a small red area where there is no fur left.
What can we do to stop him and any ideas what might be causing him to do this?
Thanks in advance for your response.

 

[MomOf7]

Could be allergies or many things. Have you examined his foot thoroughly?
Might be something there thats easily missed. I would get dylan into your vet to get an elizabeth collar and have his foot examined. Being a golden they may want to shave it since theres so much hair inbetween the toes.
Hope Dylan gets better

 

[Doberluv]

How much exercise does he get? Does he get some good, hard running in every day? What about obedience training or something to stimulate his mind...making him think a lot?

I guess, if it were me, I wouldn't draw too much attention to it, but would try distracting him....and give him some commands, teach him a few tricks. Get his mind off of it for the time being.

If your vet doesn't find anything physical, doesn't suspect allergies, you might ask him about OCD. (obsessive compulsive disorder) You can look that up online and read about it.

But I agree to see if it might be allergies...(if you don't find a sore or sticker in there). Sometimes certain foods are the culprit. You could try giving him a single source protein food. I feed Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance venison and brown rice forumula to my Dobe with a sensative stomach. It is specifically designed to be good for dogs with allergies and sensative tummies. Then don't feed him other things for a while so you can tell better what may be causing this...too many ingredients makes it impossible to go through the process of elimination. Even if you do treats...just use that kibble. There are some other single source protein foods out there. I don't recall what there is. But that is often recommended for allergies.

 

[thoughts_refracted]

A friend of mine had a dog who did this. He did it when he was bored or stressed. He wore an elizabeth collar for awhile and now only does it occasionally (they give him more exercise).

 

[Doberluv]

Good points Thoughts refracted. I failed to mention boredom or stress. Good catch. I hate the thought of those Elizabethan collars though. How fun would that be? But I guess if they must, they must.

So, more fun stuff for the dog to do? Maybe you already do have lots for him to do...just guessing. What about a Kong with peanut butter or some frozen yogart inside? You freeze it over night and he can keep busy licking on that for a while. I bet there are some other neat toys which he could keep occupied with too. Dogs normally love to chew things too which exercises their jaws and it's just a good pass time for them when you're not doing something with him.

 

[MomOf7]

Yeah I was thinking about bordem and stress too that is why I said it could be many things
I hope we get an update

 

[poodlesmom]

Being as he is 3 yrs old and this only started up within the past week I tend to go more with the idea that something is irritating his paws. Have you treated your lawn with anything or have you used a new cleanser on your floors or a deodorizer on your rugs? Have you recently washed his bed using a different detergent? Is there a new treat or food that he has been given? I'm sure you have already checked but he could have a something small stuck in his paw or between his pads that is irritating him. If he isn't itchy and scratching all over I think it is something more localized that is just affecting his paws.

I hope you can find relief for your furpal!