My dog won't stop chewing his nails. Is it allergies or infection?

Biting or chewing of the feet can be a sign of allergies, or infection of the nail beds or other nail bed disease. I would recommend bringing her in to your vet for an examination. She may need medicated wipes or oral medications to help decrease the irritation and biting.

Hello. It does sound like possible allergies, which can start at any age, most commonly around 1-2 years of age. But we can see the presence of mange mites & nail bed infections too. To rule these out, you will need to see your veterinarian who can perform some skin scapes around the base of the nails & look under the microscope for the presence of mange mites. Oce the source of the irritation is found, the proper treatment can be started to stop the chewing. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Poor Bjorn! It sounds like he may have allergies (food allergies, or an allergy to something in the environment), a bacterial or fungal skin infection, or even some type of mange - these are all common causes of excessive itching and redness affecting the paws. Epsom salt baths were a very reasonable thing to try - but since they aren't helping anymore, I'm afraid it's definitely time for a vet visit. Your vet can do some simple skin tests to help determine what is causing the redness and itching, and will prescribe appropriate medication to treat the problem depending on what is found.

Hello. These are commonly a chronic infection that has both bacteria and yeast involved. It is often necessary to treat with an oral antifungal plus a form of antibiotic (either topical or oral). These types of infections can take many weeks of treatment (6-10) to clear completely. A recheck with a veterinarian is needed in order to discuss the appropriate medications necessary to effectively treat this, but be prepared for a longer course of treatment than just the typical 10-14 days. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach

It’s possible but some dogs do show a preference for chewing on one set of nails versus another. Check to make sure there is not redness on the skin or discharge between the paw pads. If you see anything like that then it could be infected and she should see the veterinarian. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

The most common cause of brown discoloration of nails is a yeast infection. Most yeast infections are secondary to allergies and excessive licking of the paws. If he licks his paws then you should talk to your vet about trying medications to control his allergies. In the mean time you could soak his paws in a warm Epsom salt solution and see if that helps. Dry them well after soaking.

Hi, and thanks for your question. This could be due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment, then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!