Why is my dog biting his red, irritated paws and yelping when touched?

I would recommend bringing Barney to a veterinarian. Biting and chewing at his paws could indicate allergies, an abrasion on his foot or even a foreign body. If they are red and sore this can indicate an infection whether it be yeast or bacterial. At a vet they should be able to adequately restrain Barney to get a good look at his paws. If it is just an allergy they can discuss allergy medication with you and if there is an infection antibiotics, wipes and/or anti-fungals can be prescribed to help. I hope Barney starts to feel better and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

It sounds like something is really bothering Panda on her paws. You need to take her into your vet to find out why she is doing this. It could be allergies, a foreign body stuck in her paw (like a grass seed or foxtail), mange, or ringworm. For her to chew on her paw so much that it's bloody and red says that it is really bothering her, and she needs to see a vet as soon as possible to get relief. She will likely need antibiotics to treat the paw if there's infection, and an Ecollar to stop her from chewing it. She will need the underlying cause to be treated in order to stop the behavior completely.

Thank you for posting your question regarding Cody. The pictures are definitely helpful in getting the full picture of what is going on. There is hair loss and the skin is inflamed and reddened in the pictures. If he is biting / licking at his feet and they look like this, he may be dealing with allergies. Does Cody come into contact with grass? If he does, he may have a contact allergy with the type of grass that is growing this time of year. Epsom salt soaks probably won't help a huge amount but they also won't hurt. The soaks may provide some relief while the feet are soaking. The primary problem probably won't be addressed with epsom salt soaks alone. I would suggest administering Benadryl over the counter. You can give 1mg per pound of body weight, so Cody's dose would be approximately 50mg every 12 hours if he is indeed 50lb. There are multiple causes of allergies but if it is isolate to the feet, I think a contact allergen leading to the above mentioned symptoms. Your veterinarian will be able to send you home with better products to relieve the symptoms further such as sprays and oral medications if the benadryl is not working. There are specific anti-itch drugs available now and injections that are quite safe to use. I would also suggest natural supplements such as Omega 3 fish oil (Welactin for canines), Essential 6 spot on by Dermoscent is another great natural oil product and a shampoo such as Duoxo PS to bathe Cody twice weekly until the symptoms are gone. Hope this answers your question and if you have any other concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me for further help.

Hello. This is a very typical presentation of a dog with Atopy, an inhalant or contact skin allergy. Your veterinarian can recommend several different manners in which to address this problem, including medicated shampoos or oral/injectable antiallergy treatments. It is curious that we commonly only see this in 1 foot, but the irritation can develop anywhere on the body. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi, thanks for using PetCoach! Based on your picture it looks like a rough paw pad and likely not the reason for the chewing. But if that is the only feet and pads that look like that it could be an injury. I would use an E-collar to prevent further licking and chewing. Soak his feet twice daily is an Epsom salt bath and start an antihistamine. The most common reason for feet licking and chewing is allergies. Good luck! https://www.petcoach.co/canigive/dog/zyrtec/

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Deogie. Poor guy sounds very uncomfortable! If he is biting and licking his paws a lot, that tells me he is quite itchy, and that is usually a sign of allergies. It's not a sign of a fungal infection, and it's not called athlete's foot in dogs, it's called ringworm. This is something that needs to be diagnosed by a vet in order for him to be treated correctly, and I would take him into a vet today or tomorrow. Until he sees a vet, put a cone on him to keep him from biting at his paws. You can buy one at a pet store if you don't have one at home already. I hope this helps!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing his allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!