Why Dogs Chew Their Paws
While the occasional nibble on their paws is normal behavior for dogs, excessive paw chewing often signals an underlying problem that requires attention. If you notice your dog frequently chewing their paws, it’s crucial to identify the cause to prevent further irritation and potential injury.
Persistent paw chewing can lead to raw, inflamed skin and secondary infections. Understanding why your dog is chewing their paws is the first step in addressing and resolving the issue, ensuring their comfort and health. This article explores the common reasons behind this behavior and offers guidance on how to help your furry friend.
Common Causes of Paw Chewing in Dogs
If your dog is chewing their paws excessively, you’ll have to dive deeper to determine the cause.
Allergies Are a Common Culprit
Just like humans, dogs can have various types of allergies, which can cause them to chew their paws a lot. Knowing the different kinds of allergies and how they affect your dog is key to addressing and managing this behavior.
Pollen, Dust, and Mold Exposure
Environmental allergens like pollen, dust, and mold can make dogs’ skin itchy and irritated, leading them to chew their paws to get relief. These allergens can be around all year but often get worse during certain seasons. For example, pollen levels are usually higher in spring and fall, which can make dogs with pollen allergies chew their paws more during these times.
Seasonal Variations and Their Impact on Allergies
Seasonal changes greatly affect the amount of environmental allergens. During spring and fall, more pollen in the air can cause allergic reactions in dogs, making them chew their paws to ease the itching and discomfort. Understanding these seasonal changes can help pet owners anticipate and manage allergy symptoms better.
Common Food Allergens
Food allergies are another common reason dogs chew their paws. Ingredients like grains, certain proteins (e.g., beef, chicken), dairy, and soy can cause allergic reactions. These reactions often lead to itchy skin, which makes the dog chew its paws to soothe the irritation. Identifying and managing food allergies is crucial to reducing these symptoms.
Identifying and Managing Food Allergies
To find out which foods your dog is allergic to, vets often suggest an elimination diet. This involves removing potential allergens from the dog’s diet and slowly reintroducing them to find the specific trigger.
Once the problematic ingredient is found, managing the allergy means avoiding it and giving a balanced diet with hypoallergenic alternatives. This can greatly reduce symptoms and improve your dog’s quality of life.
Request an Appointment to Check on Your Dog’s Paws
Infections Can Cause Itching and Swelling
Infections could be the cause of your dog’s constant paw chewing. The question is; bacterial or fungal?
Bacterial Infections
Look for signs of redness, swelling, pus, and a foul odor if you suspect a bacterial infection. Your dog may also excessively lick or chew the affected area. Common bacteria such as Staphylococcus and Streptococcus are often responsible for these skin infections, which can lead to persistent paw chewing.
Fungal Infections
Fungal infections present with symptoms like redness, itching, and a musty odor. You may also notice flaky or scaly skin. Yeast infections, particularly those caused by Malassezia, are common in moist areas like between the paw pads, leading to itchy and irritated skin, prompting your dog to chew their paws.
Problems with Parasites
Two common parasites may be responsible for your dog’s paw problems.
Checking for Fleas
Signs of flea infestations include the presence of flea dirt (tiny black specks), visible fleas, and intense scratching or biting. Flea bites cause irritation and allergic reactions in some dogs, leading to excessive chewing of the paws and other body parts as they try to relieve the discomfort.
Look through your dog’s fur to see if there are any signs of fleas. Even if you only find one, that could be the problem. Where there’s one, there’s more.
Watch Out for Mites and Ticks
There are different types of mites, like Sarcoptic mites, which cause sarcoptic mange (scabies), and Demodex mites, which cause demodectic mange. Mite infestations can lead to symptoms like intense itching, redness, hair loss, and crusty skin. These infestations cause severe discomfort and can result in secondary infections if left untreated.
Check for Problems with Your Dog’s Nails
You may not think about it immediately, but your dog’s nails could cause them irritation or frustration. They could be torn, overgrown, or ingrown. Consider how you feel when you experience any of these. It’s definitely not comfortable.
Overgrown Nails
Overgrown nails are incredibly common and can make walking hard for your dog. If your dog has overgrown nails, they will make contact with the ground which causes the nail to move back into the nail bed. This puts a lot of stress on the toe joints and can be painful.
Torn Nails
Torn nails may happen when dogs catch their toenail on something indoors or outdoors. When a nail is torn or fractured, it could be painful or, at minimum, irritating.
Ingrown Nails
Ingrown nails can become painful due to their growth into the dog’s skin in the paw pad. Not only is the nail pushing into the skin uncomfortable, it can result in infection.
Chewing Can Be a Stress Response
Separation anxiety is a common cause of paw chewing in dogs. When left alone or separated from their owners, dogs may chew their paws to cope with their anxiety. Loud noises, like thunderstorms, fireworks, and other sudden sounds, can also cause significant stress, prompting dogs to chew their paws as a way to manage their anxiety.
It doesn’t have to be anxiety cause by separation, though. Generalized anxiety and stress can lead dogs to develop compulsive behaviors, including paw chewing. This behavior provides a distraction from their anxiety and serves as a method of self-soothing. Unfortunately, it then becomes a habit which makes it even more difficult to address.
Over time, persistent paw chewing can lead to physical damage and requires addressing the underlying anxiety to prevent further harm.
Injuries and Foreign Objects
Check your dog’s paws for visible injuries, like cuts, abrasions, or splinters. These injuries can cause pain and lead to persistent chewing as your dog tries to alleviate discomfort. Regularly inspecting your dog’s paws can help you catch these issues early and prevent further complications.
Injuries can cause irritation and pain, prompting your dog to chew their paws to try to relieve the discomfort. One of the most common complications involving injury of the paws is something being stuck in them.
Then, they chew and chew until they’re able to remove whatever it is. It could be a piece of wood like a splinter or even a pebble lodged between their paw pads. Persistent chewing can exacerbate the injury, leading to infections and more severe problems.
Take Preventative Measures
Prevention is better than treatment and you don’t want your dog’s paws becoming raw and irritated if you can help it. To prevent your dog from starting the habit of paw chewing, take these preventative measures:
Regular Grooming and Hygiene
Keeping your dog’s paws clean and well-trimmed is crucial in preventing paw chewing. Regularly washing and drying their paws helps remove dirt and allergens that can cause irritation.
Frequent checks for foreign objects like splinters or small stones and inspecting for injuries such as cuts or abrasions can catch potential issues early, preventing further discomfort and paw chewing.
Providing Mental and Physical Stimulation
Ensuring your dog receives adequate mental and physical stimulation can significantly reduce stress-related behaviors like paw chewing. Engage your dog with mentally stimulating activities like puzzle toys, training sessions, and interactive play to keep their mind active.
Regular exercise, such as daily walks, runs, or playtime, is essential to keep your dog physically fit and reduce anxiety, further decreasing the likelihood of compulsive paw chewing.
Maintaining a Clean Living Environment
A clean living environment helps prevent paw chewing by reducing exposure to allergens and parasites. Regularly clean your dog’s bedding, toys, and living areas to remove dust, pollen, and other irritants. Consistent cleaning routines, including vacuuming and washing floors, can help minimize the presence of potential allergens and parasites that might irritate your dog’s paws.
Using Protective Gear
Using protective gear such as booties can be beneficial in protecting your dog’s paws from harsh conditions and potential irritants. Booties are particularly useful during walks on hot pavement, in snowy or icy conditions, and on rough or rocky terrain. They can help prevent injuries and keep your dog’s paws clean, reducing the risk of paw chewing due to irritation or pain.
Treatment Options
If your dog has chewed their paws excessively, there are some steps you can take to restore them back to health.
What To Do at Home
Oatmeal baths can be particularly effective for relieving itching and irritation in your dog’s paws. To prepare, grind plain, unflavored oatmeal into a fine powder and mix it with warm water to create a soothing bath. This helps cleanse the paws, remove allergens, and reduce inflammation. Soothing baths can provide immediate relief by calming the skin and reducing itchiness.
Using paw balms can also aid in healing and protecting your dog’s paws. These balms moisturize the skin, helping to heal cracks and prevent further irritation. Look for natural ingredients such as beeswax, shea butter, coconut oil, and vitamin E, which have soothing and healing properties. Regular application of paw balm can maintain your dog’s paw health and comfort.
Over-the-Counter Treatments
There are various over-the-counter treatments available to help alleviate symptoms of paw chewing in dogs. These include antiseptic sprays, which can disinfect and clean wounds, antifungal creams to combat fungal infections, and hydrocortisone sprays to reduce itching and inflammation. These products can provide significant relief and aid in the healing process when used correctly.
Always choose products specifically designed for dogs and follow the instructions on the label carefully. It’s important to consult your veterinarian before using any new treatment to ensure it’s appropriate for your dog’s specific condition and to avoid potential adverse reactions. Proper usage and veterinary guidance can help effectively address the symptoms and promote healing.
Professional Veterinary Care
Your veterinarian may perform various diagnostic tests to identify the underlying cause of your dog’s paw chewing. These tests can include skin scrapings to check for mites or infections, allergy tests to identify environmental or food allergens, and blood tests to detect any internal issues. Accurate diagnosis is crucial for effective treatment, as it helps pinpoint specific problems like allergies, infections, or parasites, allowing for targeted treatment plans.
Prescription Diets
Prescription diets play a significant role in managing food allergies by eliminating common allergens and providing balanced nutrition tailored to your dog’s needs. Depending on the diagnosis, your veterinarian may also prescribe medications such as antihistamines to control allergic reactions, antibiotics to treat bacterial infections, antifungal medications for yeast infections, or anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce inflammation and pain.
Implementing these treatment options can help restore your dog’s paw health and prevent further issues. Always consult with your veterinarian to ensure you’re providing the best care for your pet and to receive guidance on the appropriate treatments for their specific condition. This professional care is essential for maintaining your dog’s overall health and well-being.
Why Choose Revel Vet?
Choosing Revel Vet in Queen Creek, Arizona, ensures your dog receives the highest standard of care for paw chewing and other health issues. Our veterinarians are experts in diagnosing and treating the underlying causes of paw chewing, utilizing their extensive experience and specialized knowledge to provide effective treatment plans.
At Revel Vet, we pride ourselves on having state-of-the-art diagnostic tools and facilities. These advanced resources enable us to perform precise diagnostic tests, including skin scrapings, allergy tests, and blood tests, to accurately identify the root cause of your dog’s paw chewing. Our comprehensive approach ensures targeted and effective treatments for your pet’s specific condition.
We also employ fear-free techniques to make veterinary visits as stress-free as possible for your dog. By creating a calm and welcoming environment, we help reduce anxiety and ensure a positive experience for both pets and their owners.
Schedule a consultation with Revel Vet today to address your dog’s paw chewing and ensure their overall health and well-being. Our team is dedicated to providing compassionate and expert care for your furry family members.
For further reading, we recommend:
Malassezia—Can it be Ignored? – PMC
Streptococcus canis – an overview | ScienceDirect Topics
Long-Lasting Chews Elicit Positive Emotional States in Dogs during Short Periods of Social Isolation
Malassezia-Associated Skin Diseases, the Use of Diagnostics and Treatment
