# How about Paw licking?



## vgallo6 (Jul 10, 2010)

My boy Duncan licks his paws alot. Anyway to help stop him or is it something normal? Sometimes i notice his paws get a little pink - the pink is on and off. Or maybe im just jumping to conclusions?


----------



## Brianchris (Oct 22, 2010)

he could like to just be extra clean, my boy does it too, But if you are really really worried about it and it bothers you more than it bothers him, you could go to your local pet store and pick up "Grannick's Bitter Apple spray" and spray one pump on each of his paws, it leaves a bitter but HARMLESS smell and taste on things you dont want him to lick or chew, ie: furniture, hotspots, (paws) lol. hope that helps. It works for some dogs and others don't seem to mind the bitter, one of my dogs wont touch ANYTHING the spray touches, and the other could care less and he will lick at things anyway LOL. Hope it helps  By the way, what color are his paws naturally, black or pink???


----------



## junkyard (Oct 14, 2010)

I have had two that were cleaner than any cat ive ever seen. Literally coughing like a cat because they had hair in their throat!


----------



## vgallo6 (Jul 10, 2010)

He has white paws ..... I just changed the avatar to the dog im talking about.


----------



## Brianchris (Oct 22, 2010)

my mistake, i thought you were talking about him licking his paw PADS.. the bottoms... lol well, so far the situation is not alarming, as i have stated, it could just be that he likes to be clean, as long as there is not EXCESSIVE BITING going on with his paw, then you should have nothing to worry about. if it really does start to bother you, try that bitter apple spray... its only a couple of bucks at the store, so IF your dog likes it, no harm done, just like 3-5 bucks out the way.


----------



## k8nkane (Jul 9, 2010)

Some dogs just do that. My boy Kane nibbles on his paws all the time, picks at his dewclaws, whatever. It's usually only when he's bored or ... just feels like doing it. The only thing to worry about is if it gets irritated really bad or if it seems to be obsessive.


----------



## vgallo6 (Jul 10, 2010)

Yeah its not obsessive or anything..Maybe it's just me. I don't want it to lead to anything bad. I started with the bitter apple the other day and i havent noticed him licking lately. So we will see. Thanks for the tips everyone! I really appreciate it.


----------



## k8nkane (Jul 9, 2010)

Some dogs like the taste of Bitter Apple or get used to the taste, so it might not work forever, just so you know. If he does get used to it and starts up again, I wouldn't worry. It's just a quirk.


----------



## geo fishtown (Dec 11, 2010)

My girl licks and cleans her paws all the time.especially in the winter she plays in a stick ball court (asphalt) cause she won't let.the vet cut her nails.so sometimes they get a little raw usually doesn't bother her but I noticed in the winter there is a lot of snow salt everywere and it gets in her paws and really bothers her .so she does clean her feet a lot more in the winter I just let her go.


----------



## teasha (Aug 3, 2010)

That licking is called lick granuloma and become VERY bad. Research it and try to put a stop to it, not a good habit to develop.


----------



## k8nkane (Jul 9, 2010)

teasha said:


> That licking is called lick granuloma and become VERY bad. Research it and try to put a stop to it, not a good habit to develop.


It CAN be lick granuloma, if it is *obsessive*. If your dog stops licking when you tell him to stop, you're probably fine. If it was obsessive, they wouldn't care if you told them to stop.


----------



## Randi (Aug 3, 2010)

95% of the time paw licking is caused by a food allergy which pits are proned to especially blue or red dogs you should try switching to a hypoallergenic diet here's a couple of good ones. Merrick the wilderness blend it's a green bag and can only be found at specialty pet stores not petco or petsmart, another is call of the wild venison, or natural balance either the bison, venison, or fish flavors


----------

