Trying to stop my dog from licking her paw

Better_Days

For about 6 weeks now I have been trying to stop my 13 yo dog from licking her paw raw. She has been to the vets twice. We were told that there is no infection or anything wrong that they can spot. To be on the safe side she has had 14 days of clavaseptin (anti biotic). It made no difference.

I have tried putting tea tree cream on the paw, she doesn't like it but the urge to lick is stronger. I put on a trainer sock and she licks the sock. It gets to the point where the pad has healed, I take the sock off, and within a few hours she has licked the pad raw again.

Thought I might try one of the anti lick, sprays or cream - anyone tried them to any effect?

lostinrates

Paw licking is a common sign of stress, boredom or pain elsewhere.

Could anything else be upsetting her? Has a routine changed for example?

It might be worth trying a dap diffuser.

Better_Days

Thanks LIR
Not much has changed recently although we did move house in January. She is on Onsior for her joints which helps with pain and inflammation. I did wonder if she had a bit of arthritis in her toe but the vet didn't seem to think so.

I don't think boredom is a problem, she is with me all day, and happily sleeping on our bed day and night (apart for getting up for necessities and barking if the doorbell rings).

She is a rescue and has always been a bit neurotic since we got her 11 years ago. I suspect the problem is at least in part behavioural, it's just trying to work out the best way to manage the problem. The last thing I want is an infected pad.

DAP diffuser is a good idea, do they work?

chris_n_tj

Try a light rinse with bicarb fixed in warm water. If there is something bothering her paw this will take away the itch x

lostinrates

Hi better days, sorry, read the post, not the user name, forgive me.

Yes, could be a mixture of change, excitement in the environment with houses, maybe sensing enthusiasm, then loss of it a few times. could be differed from joint pain.

Onsior is meant to be 'friendlier' than rimadil on guts etc, but the joint pain could be getting her down still.

Behavioural...yes, breaking the habit is probably going to be almost impossible. This sort of stereotypical behaviour usually 'makes her feel better' when she performs it at a biochemical level.*

We have had paw kickers, they have always been older dogs, with onset of joint pains, whose lives have slowed down, keeping their days gently full has helped, and medicating well. But its never been so advanced that infection has been a risk. With the gray it might be in the future.....I can imagine it.

Honestly, I cannot remember ever using dap ourselves. If we have I cannot ATM remember the outcome. We've recently used feliway for mauve squeaker who hates the builders in and its fantastic. Worth a go.


*canone stereotypical behaviours are far from my area of expertise and I'm extrapolating. There are lots of people here with good working knowledge of canine behaviour who may have good tips.

W

Better_Days

chris_n_tj wrote: »

Try a light rinse with bicarb fixed in warm water. If there is something bothering her paw this will take away the itch x

Thanks Chris, will give it a try, what dilution do you use? (I do like bicarb - it is great for cleaning out the plug hole with some white vinegar - the fizzing is very satisfying!)

Better_Days

lostinrates wrote: »

Hi better days, sorry, read the post, not the user name, forgive me.

Yes, could be a mixture of change, excitement in the environment with houses, maybe sensing enthusiasm, then loss of it a few times. could be differed from joint pain.

Onsior is meant to be 'friendlier' than rimadil on guts etc, but the joint pain could be getting her down still.

Behavioural...yes, breaking the habit is probably going to be almost impossible. This sort of stereotypical behaviour usually 'makes her feel better' when she performs it at a biochemical level.*

We have had paw kickers, they have always been older dogs, with onset of joint pains, whose lives have slowed down, keeping their days gently full has helped, and medicating well. But its never been so advanced that infection has been a risk. With the gray it might be in the future.....I can imagine it.

Honestly, I cannot remember ever using dap ourselves. If we have I cannot ATM remember the outcome. We've recently used feliway for mauve squeaker who hates the builders in and its fantastic. Worth a go.


*canone stereotypical behaviours are far from my area of expertise and I'm extrapolating. There are lots of people here with good working knowledge of canine behaviour who may have good tips.

W

Thanks again for your help LIR.

Doh - I hadn't considered that the ups and downs of the past 9 months could be the reason. We are very close and I'm sure she picks up on my stress.

We chose the Onsior as we had an old black lab on Metacam and the poor chap ended up with a stomach ulcer. Felt awful when we found out what the meds had done. He died of a gastric torsion while we were away on holiday in the Peak District. Not nice. So we hope the Onsior will be preferable. There is scope to up her dose, but not by much.

Interesting that your paw lickers have been older dogs too. I need some more flea treatments so I will get a DAP at the same time. As she spends most of her day on the bed with me, I can plug it in in the bedroom, perhaps it will chill me out too :cool::cool::cool::cool:

krlyr

I've heard of dogs licking their paws due to joint pain elsewhere - so even if her foot is clear of arthritis, it could be worth checking she's got adequate pain relief.

lostinrates

krlyr wrote: »

I've heard of dogs licking their paws due to joint pain elsewhere - so even if her foot is clear of arthritis, it could be worth checking she's got adequate pain relief.

Yes, that's what I believe it's been in our cases. For us it's a sign medication or lifestyle needs review....fewer long walks, more short ones, that sort of thing.

Better_Days

Thank you krlyr and LIR. I like the idea of a 'lifestyle review'. DH walks the dogs, he is a postman, so walks a good distance and at a fair rate too, so it maybe that it is getting a bit much for her. I have been resting her over the past few days though, but she probably need a longer term change.

The Onsior has helped her mobility in her hips so I took it that it was working. These NSAID's do have side effects and I am trying to balance efficacy with adverse effects.

Better_Days

Hello again everyone, I thought you might like to hear about the outcome of Ellie's 'lifestyle review' which LIR and krlyr suggested.

Well, firstly I thought she might like a more comfy bed. So I cut up a memory foam mattress topper and made it 4 thickness's deep so it would be ultra comfy for her to sleep on. Unfortunately our daft as a brush lurcher adores it (even though he has a very nice bed in front of the radiator) and is rarely off it. But Ellie continues to sleep happily for most of the day on my bed (which also has a memory foam mattress topper).

You may recall that I thought the problem was mainly behavioural. We had been trying a combination of a sock on the foot at night and smelly cream during the day to stop her licking for quite a few weeks and it wasn't working at all. I think it was just making her more stressed. So time for a different approach.

I stopped putting the smelly cream on her foot (which she hated). Instead, when I noticed her licking her foot I distracted her by calling her over and giving her a tasty treat. Zooplus sent me some freebie Cosma Chicken snackies cat treats which she loves along with Dreamies. I am aware that I mustn't reward the licking with treats, but calling her to me and making a fuss of her combined with a tasty treat doesn't seem to have created a link in her mind with licking her foot. She is a clever dog (she has some collie in her) so I do know I have to be careful.

I have also had more 'quality time' with her. When she is lying quietly I have been stroking her more, and gently massaging her to try and relax her. During the day I have been more often than previously calling her to me and give her a treat and make a fuss of her.

I bought some of the Mushers paw protector wax in case her pads were a bit sore. DH feeds her treats to distract her while I rub a little of the wax into her pads every day or so.

And it has worked! She is licking her paw much less frequently and less intensely, in fact today I have only noticed her licking her paw once. The pad is a little red, but nothing like as raw as it was before I started the new regime.

When we move to the new house (fingers crossed) I will add in a DAP diffuser to the regime and hopefully she will cope OK.

So, thanks for your suggestions, a different approach really has worked.:):)