Why are my dog's paws red and he's licking them while on Apoquel?

If this is related to allergies, you may want to consider allergy testing. This can be intradermal or blood testing. Once her allergies are known, she is given a special serum to help modify her immune system's response. This therapy has about an 80% success rate. I recommend to discuss this option with your veterinarian. Protect the paws from trauma (you may consider dog booties) and have her examined as much as needed. An elizabethan collar will also help prevent licking which can make things worse. Best of luck.

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.

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.

She could have allergies or an infection. You could soak her paw in a warm Epsom salt solution and see if that helps. Otherwise, she should be examined by your vet. She may need an antibiotic, anti-histamine, and/or a corticosteroid to treat.

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 medications such as Apoquel or prednisone which may help with the itch. 

 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!


In addition to the apoquel you can give omega 3 capsules, a total of 2000 mg daily. This will reduce inflammation and improve his coat also. Bathing in mild hypoallergenic shampoo weekly will help too. In addition keep him busy with toys and exercise as the more he licks his feet and rubs his eyes the worse it gets. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Tig.

These look to be inflamed and irritated not infected so antibiotics are unlikely to cure and may make the condition worse if the underlying cause is not addressed. Allergies, mites and yeast overgrowth would be quite common and I recommend a vet check to determine the best possible action