Dog licking paws on grain-free food. Why is my dog still licking?

Unfortunately, that us hard to know. I recommend to continue feeding the diet for at least one month. If Kaiya continues to have problems, then I would switch the diet. The MOST common allergy is to protein, not carbs/grains. I would make a list of the diets she has eaten and see if you can find a pattern in the ingredients and try to narrow down what could be causing her to react. Grain allergies are very rare but they are out there. In that instance, consult with your veterinarian about diet recommendation. Just so you know, wheat is the most common culprit for grain allergies. I hope this helps.

Switching his food will only help if this is a case of food allergy, but this is only one possibility among many other causes of allergies. changing his food without knowing if he has food allergy and to what ingredient exactly is a very long shot, but you can try an hypoallergenic diet if you want and see if it helps.

The most common allergy is environmental. Only 10% of dogs with allergies have a food allergy, but a protein allergy like chicken is one of the most common. I'd consider licking excessive if Kai's paws are stained from licking them and he does it a lot of the time.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Unfortunately, Nikki's itching is more likely to be related to environmental allergies than food allergies. Environmental allergies are usually to things like grass, pollen, trees, etc - all the same stuff humans are allergic to. And these allergies can appear at any age. If benedryl helps, it is considered quite safe to use long term for most dogs (talk with your vet first). If you are trying to avoid medicaitons and side effects, talk with your vet about the cytopoint injection. It is not a medication or drug- it is actually just a protein that blocks the itch receptor and is considered very safe. It lasts 1-2 months in most dogs. If it works for Nikki, it also shows that her allergies are environmental in nature (that shot does not work well for food allergies). There are also many great sprays, mousses, and foot soaks that may help - talk to your vet about these options. Getting back to the food situation, if you have any concerns about the safety of the food, I definitely recommend switching. Though I will say I have several patients on Core Wellness doing fantastic as far as I can tell. For allergic dogs, I do like to avoid the common allergens which are chicken, pork, and beef (it's almost never grains). So sticking with fish or a more "novel" protein like lamb, kangaroo, or rabbit may help. hope this helps and best wishes to you and Nikki!

Itchiness/licking can be caused by various reasons such as fleas, mites ,fungal infection, bacterial infection and allergies. the first 4 needs to be ruled out before we start treating for allergies. in order to do that first de-flea Jango with a high quality flea treatment such as advantage spot on, if it doesn't help - take him to the vet in order to check for/treat the other possibilities. If everything is ruled out, then an allergy treatment can be started. Usually an hypoallergenic food is a good way to start together with anti histamines. if it doesn't help - the best solution is a medication called Apoquel which treats allergies with great success and without side effects.

I'm wondering if Koa has allergies, as chewing paws can be a sign of allergies. I'd ask his vet if this can be a possibility and discuss potentially using an allergy medication on him like Apoquel or Cytopoint. I'm sorry he's doing poorly!

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Excessive licking can be related to skin infection between the toes, skin inflammation or an allergy. A visit at your local vets is recommended to make the definite diagnosis and to start treatment for Koda. In the meantime, try and stop Koda from licking the paws as he will likely make the skin more inflamed. Using a head collar or bandage the paws (and change the bandage daily) may be necessary.