Why is my dog constantly chewing his paws? Pads are red, nails brown.

A common cause for color change on the feet of dogs is from a yeast infection. Yeast can grow on the skin around the nails and between paw pads and is very itchy. The dog then licks and chews the area which will also cause saliva staining, which turns the hair a reddish-brown color. The most common cause of a yeast infection on the feet of dogs is allergies. Allergies could be to a food protein, the environment, or fleas. Other less common causes of the issues you have described would be bacterial infection or immune-mediated disease. I recommend that Hadley be checked by a vet so that the appropriate medications or allergy treatments can be used. While you are waiting for the appointemnt, you can try using a pet product that contains chlorhexidine (an antibacterial agent) and ketoconazole (an antifungal/antiyeast agent) to treat topical infections. I like this one: Mal-a-ket Shampoo Formulated for Dogs.

Red skin can be caused by several things including parasites, allergies to something in the environment, food allergy, contact allergies or endocrine disease. Each one of these problems is detected and addressed differently and I recommend to discuss with your veterinarian which one to start hunting down first. Parasites are often ruled out with an oral medication like Simparica or a skin scrape. Food allergy is best ruled out with a diet trial using a hydrolyzed protein. Endocrine diseases are detected with blood work. Environmental allergies are a little more difficult to detect but a response to therapy or a blood test can give an indication. Contact allergies are addressed by keeping pets away from things they are allergic to. Once you figure out and address the underlying cause, the redness should not come back. There are a couple things you can do at home and they can help but they may not address the underlying cause. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing his diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. Also protect the area from trauma by having Luka wear an elizabethan collar if needed. 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.

Since this has been going on for some time, I recommend getting him in to your vet for an exam. Without being seen by your vet, there is no way to know why your dog is so itchy, it could be allergies, fleas, bacterial or fungal skin infection, or more and the treatment is different depending on what the underlying cause is. Your vet can help you get to the cause of the problem so that can be treated rather than just treating the symptoms.

He could have allergies and/or a nail infection. He should be examined by a vet to diagnose and treat the problem. Your vet can prescribe an antibiotic, anti-histamine, and/or a corticosteroid to treat. You could also soak his paws in a warm Epsom salt solution and see if that helps.

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.

It looks like King has a skin infection. This is called potodermatitis and can be caused by allergies to food or something in the environment, irritation from salt on the ground in the winter, and many more causes. You can try soaking King's feet in Epsom salt bath twice a day for a couple days and also placing an e-collar on him so he's unable to lick at his feet. If they are still red and he still wanting to lick at them after a couple days of this I would recommend taking him to his veterinarian because he probably is in need of some medication to stop the itching, as well as antibiotics. Good luck to you and King!