My dog chews on her feet

[krazykate]

My brown lab, MollyBrownBear constantly chews on her paws. The vet said she has allergies. I have tried all kinds of dry dog food. I even bought the food from the vet. She was put on steroids and once they are done, she goes right back to chewing on her paws. I have tried putting on the bitter stuff to discourage her, but it really doesn't work. I have also tried putting on coritsone cream on her paws.

Help, I don't know what to do next besides giving $$$$ to the vet.

Thank you.:shrug7:

[Doglover8180]

My retriever did the same thing - chewed her paw (same paw each time) until it was raw - no fur - she just had a pink irritated patch of skin... then she kept chewing on it cause it was so irritated... I finally used this purple stuff (that's often used on cattle and such) I can't remember the name of it - put that on her paws for a few days (it will stain anything it touches though before it dries so be careful) but after a few treatments of that - she quit chewing on the paw and it has begun to heal over.... I will try and figure out what the name of that is. Does anyone else know what it's called?

[jeweltea]

Mine does it too but not as bad as he used to. The vet told me he had allergies and to wash off his feet a lot. Also I only use a hypo-allergenic shampoo (from Petsmart) on him which seems to work. I give him 1/2 a claritan pill everyday before bed (mine is a small dog so that might need to be adjusted) and that helps but I would discuss that with your vet. I feed him Nutro-max. He was on Iams but I think the Nutro seems to help with the allergies. I am not sure what works but doing all of the above has really helped my dog.

Also make sure your dog doesn't have fleas because many dogs are really allergic to flea bites (mine was) but now he doesn't have fleas.

[couponsmakecents]

My dal used to do the same thing and it was food allergies. I finally got to the point of making his food from scratch every other day and getting a RX pet food from purina. I also put one of those cone on him to keep him from chewing all the time. But check for fleas too.

[MrsAlias]

CORN ALLERGY! Our Beagle chews his paws also... hes actually chewing the hair between the pads on his paws. There is no damage to this paws or anything, he just bites at them a few times a day.

Honestly... we dont do anything about it. The vet tired to tell us we needed this dog food, its 80 bucks for 20 lbs.. I THINK NOT!

[twomoms]

My black lab is constantlly chewing, or licking his feet, its the most annoying noise EVER especially at 3 am, I have never heard of a corn allergy I will look into it. He eats Beneful right now maybe I will switch it and see if that works.

[kawakii]

Your dog most likely has a a grain allergy or a grain and protein allergy, most dogs do not need or do well with grains in their food. Grains such as corn as a byproduct for dogs, they have no real benefit. You need to change your dog to a food that contains no grains or is grain free.

Petco sells a few no grain food, called Wellness and it also has fish within it which will soothe and lessen itchiness and shedding. It is absolutely not good to not fix the problem as the biting and licking of paws will lead to bigger problems such as yeast infection between toes, etc... not pleasent. It is also like having poision ivy for us --always itchy, not something you want your dog going through all the time. This is a great food, start feeding a grain free food and give it a few weeks and you'll see a difference.

Here is a link:

http://www.petco.com/product/110682/...gFlink_Allergy

[motherofmolly]

my lab does this too...he also chews on his legs...but he only does this out of boredom. if it one of those rainy days especially when he just didnt get as much activity as needed, then he chews....
it can be allergies, nerves, or boredom....
i would try to find a thick animal safe creme to put on it that will help heal and stop him from biting that particular area

[mainelycoupons]

Not all wellness is grain free, in fact most of them have grains. I'm not actually sure they sell a grain free although I haven't paid attention to a couple of the new lines, I recall the last one I read about being single protein not grain free.

It is most likely a grain or protein allergy. Beneful has very low nutritional substance, although it is a "nutritionally complete food" according to the governing bodies for such things. Its the difference between filet mignon and hotdogs.

I would look into a couple single protein source foods or meatless foods. You can also make your own for a bit using boiled chicken/meat and grains. Feed one at a time for a day or so. The most likely allergens are chicken corn and wheat. Even switching to a lamb and rice or turkey and rice kibble could eliminate the issues.

Purina normally has coupons for most of their foods, including ProPlan sold at Petco.They make a few different kibble choices not normally seen, especially in their selects varieties (albeit a bit more expensive still not as much as Wellness).

Try to think back if your dog was ever not chewing their feet and what they were eating at the time, or if it was a time of year. My lab get seasonal allergies bad in the fall. He gets crusties in his eyes which is the only real symptom but it can be pretty bad if he's been outside alot. Alot of dogs get them in the spring/summer when things bloom.

It may take awhile and some more expensive food (although probably not prescription) but I would never shirk buying what would make my dog comfortable and happy just because it was expensive or had no coupons. I can't imagine being itchy all the time and wouldn't want someone else to deal with it either.

[meems]

My Golden had that..allergic to grass...wash frequently as others said...