Your dog licks his paw and you wonder what the reasons and causes could be? Licking paws in dogs is basically nothing unusual and to some extent normal. But if your four-legged friend is constantly licking his paws, then this can also indicate serious health problems.
Behavioral problems, such as boredom and separation anxiety, can also be a reason for excessive paw licking in dogs. While it is normal for dogs to lick and groom their paws from time to time, excessive licking often indicates an underlying problem that should be investigated dermatologically. Especially if it occurs overnight and your dog doesn't settle down at night either. You will learn more about these and other causes here.
Dog licking paw - meaning and possible causes
Possible causes can be diseases of the paw or claws, allergies and itching, but also behavioral problems due to fear, stress and boredom can lead to addictive licking and gnawing (nibbling). So-called skip actions can manifest themselves in excessive licking of the paws or also other body regions.
In stressful situations, the body prepares for cursing or fighting, energies are mobilized and the body comes under tension. However, if this energy is not needed, it can express itself in jumping over actions. This involves actions from normal grooming or mating behavior, such as excessive licking of the paws.
It is comparable to nail biting or hair pulling in humans when they are under stress. Such licking of paws is normal within certain limits, but it indicates stress for your dog. Therefore, you should also try to find the reason and stop it, or offer your dog an alternative to escape the stressful situation.
Often, in dogs with a light coat color, you can see a dark, reddish discoloration due to the saliva on the fur of the paw. Since a four-legged friend cannot tell us about his suffering or problems, it is important that every dog owner always pays attention to body language, signals and general behavior.
If your four-legged friend can't stop licking his paws despite sufficient exercise and exercise and this doesn't subside even at night, then you should by no means ignore this behavior, as diseases can be the reason for constant licking of paws.
Since we have already addressed the psychological behavior problems such as anxiety, stress and boredom, mainly medical diseases are listed here. These are examples. For an exact diagnosis and therapy you should definitely consult a veterinarian. If the dog constantly and pathologically licks his paws, then the following diseases can be responsible:
- Allergies
- Parasite infestation
- Skin fungus
- Inflammations
- Tumors (cancer in dogs)
- Claw fracture
- Foreign body
- Fur felt
1. allergies
Dogs can also suffer from certain allergies. Especially contact allergies cause itching on the paws of a dog. This in turn leads to constant licking of the paws. We speak of a contact allergy when problems occur only on the parts of the body where there has been direct contact with the allergen. Allergens are the substances or materials that cause an allergic reaction.
Chemicals from carpet cleaners or fabric softeners that the dog's paws have come in contact with can trigger an allergy. If your dog is constantly licking his paws, especially in winter, then road salt may be responsible for a burning or itching sensation.
Other allergies, such as a food allergy, can also cause itchy paws. However, usually other regions are also affected, often the ears, or other symptoms join in. Read more on the next page!
2. parasitic infestation with mites.
Demodicosis is a parasitic skin disease in dogs caused by the proliferation of demodex mites. They live and multiply mainly in the hair follicles and sebaceous and sweat glands and can be detected by the veterinarian with the help of a microscopic examination.
Due to the excessive reproduction of Demodex mites, small pustules and hair loss often occur in the affected areas, reddening of the skin, scaling and severe itching. In isolated cases, secondary bacterial infections with pustular crusts and ulceration may also occur.
Skin lesions typically begin around the eye area and front legs and may spread to the entire dog. Some dog breeds are more susceptible to this condition, disease than others.
For example, German Shepherds and West Highland Terriers are at increased risk. Cortisone and ointments containing cortisone can aggravate demodicosis. Itching and hair loss should therefore always be clarified by your veterinarian.
Cortisone administered to the dog can also promote demodicosis. Especially in summer, the grass mites, which, as the name suggests, are particularly at home in grasses, can lead to itching, especially of the paws.
Often these, or their nits can be seen with the naked eye as small orange dots on the paw. Other mites, such as sarcoptes and other ectoparasites can also cause itching on the paws.
However, other areas of the body are usually affected and many diseases have a very typical distribution pattern or can be easily diagnosed by your veterinarian under a microscope or in a blood test.
Secondary infections, however, can quickly change the clinical picture and make the diagnosis more difficult, so it makes sense to present your pet to your veterinarian at an early stage in case of skin and coat changes or itching.
3. skin fungus (malassezia dermatitis)
Paw licking in dogs can be an indication of certain skin fungi such as yeast, filamentous and shoot fungi. They often occur on the paws as well as limbs and can lead to infection (inflammation), which in turn can cause itching in the dog. In case of chronic course, severe skin lesions may also occur.
In addition, skin fungi damage the hair follicles and very often lead to circular hair loss and severe skin redness. Among others, the West Highland White Terrier, Shih Tzu, Labrador Retriever and German Shepherd are particularly susceptible. The veterinarian can diagnose fungal disease and advise you on appropriate therapy.
Please note that skin fungi (dermatophytes) are contagious to humans and animals. In case of a fungal disease, all susceptible contact animals as well as the surrounding area must also be treated. Since fungi are very resistant, treatment should always be carried out beyond the disappearance of the skin lesions and can be very protracted.
4. intermediate toe abscesses (pododermatitis)
Interdigital abscesses are inflammations of the skin between the toes. This disease can be caused by different reasons, mostly the front paws are affected, but also all paws can be affected. Problems with the paws, such as flat feet, hair shafts can penetrate into deeper skin layers and cause foreign body reaction.
However, environmental and other factors such as cold, salt, and even allergies such as food allergy can also irritate the interdigital membranes, causing inflammation of the paws. Itching, hairless and swollen intermediate toe skins, blisters, abscesses and skin redness are the consequences.
These in turn are painful for the dog and can result in constant licking of the paws. Interdigital abscesses are treated with antibiotics, ointments and baths. In chronic cases, surgery may even be necessary.
5. breakage of claws in dog
Due to trauma or accident, the dog's claws can break or break off. This does not always lead to bleeding, so injuries to the claws are often overlooked by dog owners.
These are of course painful for the animal and can also become infected if left untreated. The dog licks the paw constantly because it causes him pain. Often, a limp is also a clear indication that something is wrong with a paw and is painful.
If a claw fracture or break is suspected, a veterinarian should always be consulted so that the wound can be treated. Usually this is then cleaned and possibly bandaged to prevent inflammation.
Claw debris should be pulled to allow for healthy regrowth and to eliminate pain from movement of loose horn debris. Most dogs are much better after the torn claw pieces are removed.
If the dog is still in pain, a painkiller can also be administered by the veterinarian. Bleeding claw injuries usually look very dramatic because blood stains heavily and the dog moves, spreading the blood everywhere.
However, these injuries are not threatening and the dog usually loses only a few ml of blood. A bandage is nevertheless useful to prevent the penetration of germs, to immobilize the claw and thus reduce the pain and to protect the surrounding area from contamination.
6. foreign body
If the dog's paw licking occurs acutely only on one paw, then a foreign body should always be considered. A grain grenade, especially in summer, can quickly bore into a dog's paw and cause the dog severe pain.
But needles, small nails, broken glass and other sharp objects can also penetrate a paw. Especially for long-haired dog breeds, the paw or all paws should be checked for foreign objects after walks through meadows and fields.
So if your dog licks only one paw in particular, then you should examine it thoroughly for foreign bodies and, if necessary, consult a veterinarian, as they can often only be removed surgically. You can use a bandage or collar to prevent the dog from constantly licking the affected paw.
7. what else can be behind it?
Some systemic diseases may involve a change in the claws or skin, leading to increased paw licking. Osteoarthritis can also lead to increased licking of painful joints.
We humans often rub joking joints to activate mechanoreceptors and thus override the pain; animals lack hands, so they often help themselves by licking these painful areas. Excessive or abnormal growth of the claws may indicate leishmaniasis, which is also transmissible to humans.
Changes at the transition of the pad skin to the rest of the skin could indicate autoimmune diseases and pad horn changes could indicate certain viral infections, which may also have occurred some time ago. Due to the multiple causes and rapid changes in the primary symptoms, finding the cause and therapy in dermatology can therefore often be a lengthy and time-consuming process.
Conclusion about dog licking paw
Licking your dog's paws can be normal grooming or a habit, but it can also be a symptom of a disease. For a quick diagnosis and thus quick relief for your dog, don't put off visiting the vet for too long. The original cause can quickly become obscured by secondary infections, complicating diagnosis and also treatment. This text was revised by veterinarian Dr. Berit Ullmann.