Chewing/Licking paws

Lily has had a history of allergies and I'm pretty sure that we have it under control. She hasn't had a break out in quite a while. It took us a long time to find the correct food for her, but we've finally gotten it right. The only problem I notice is I think she's in a habit of licking/chewing her paws. I think it's habit from when they were actually bothering her. I try and tell her to stop every time that I catch her, but I can't do it when I'm not at home! Her feet barely have hair left in some places because of this habit! What can I do to make it stop!?

At this time of year your grass is still growing, both our whites are allergic to grass in the growing season, then when it rains it brings spores down from trees which dont help either

Antihistamines help - Atarax is what both of ours are taking this year, one 3 times a day. Only on perscription from the vet tho

You can try washing their feet in saline (salt/water) or mild solution of Melaseb (vet) shampoo twice a day & let dry naturally

I personally would go back to your vet, her feet sound sore & ask for antihistamines & quick acting jab to help the itch/scratch cycle

I don't know if this is a silly idea or not, but if it is irritation from the grass, would socks/booties help at all?

This could be because of an allergy or it could be because it has become a learned behaviour.

Can you provide her something else to lick? Like a stuffed kong?

There are anti lick strips you can try to interrupt the cycle.

http://www.anti-lickstrip.co.uk/

When Toby had made his feet bad we ended up using a buster collar just so they got chance to heal. I just put it on when his chewing was obsessive and he had some stuff from the vet which soothed the itch. He also had piriton if it was really annoying him.

With Toby I can usually tell now if he is just grooming or if it is itching so I only stop him when he is chewing/nibbling at them. Now its under control sometimes just holding his feet for a minute is enough. Sounds like you need to break the cycle though so I would suggest a collar when she is chewing. Check with your vet for something to soothe the itch (piriton etc) and also something which is anti-inflamatory, anti-bacterial etc to keep the sores clean.

At the moment we are finding that a porridge bath is helping his skin (I put oats in a sock and run the water through it). Depends if getting her feet wet will make it worse though. We also have malaseb but unless it is sore, broken skin I prefer the oats for soothing.

It shouldnt make any odds if the feet are wet or not except from salavia - excessive chewing can cause bacterial infections which then require antibiotics

By letting the feet dry naturally they stay cooler for a while - this came from the Skin Specialist we consulted

Some Boxers - not just Whites, are prone to skin problems. Worst we ever had was a dark brindle.

My advice is to go back to your Vet

Thanks for all the replies, but I really think it's a learned behavior because when she's at my parents house she's rolling all in the grass and gets stuff all on her but her skin still looks great! If she was allergic to the grass wouldn't it break out from rolling around on the ground? I never see her scratching now we have her on Lamb and Rice formula from Blue Buffalo. For the longest time I was feeding her Fish and Potato from BB because we found out she has an allergy to Chicken. Her allergies were still acting up a little, but not as severe though and I thought it was allergens from outside. Then I found out that they use chicken oil/fat in the Fish and Potato formula so I changed her over to Lamb and Rice and she's been itch free!

Back on subject, I was in the pet store yesterday after this and directed to Natural Pet Botanics "Bitter End" which I could spray on her paws and supposedly keep her from licking them. I'll update you guys on if it works or not!

However if she keeps it up, I will take her to the vet!

We found the sprays worked for a while - good luck with it

You mentioned she has chewed hair off her feet in places, just take care there are no bacterial infections present

My boxer had the same problem. My vet said she was allergic to the dye in her food also may have been chicken. i switched to lamb and rice with no dyes and seemed to help. we also had new wood floors put down replacing carpet "not for this reason" and she stopped completely after that. Maybe a few allergies together caused the feet eating...

Will do!