# Red Paws



## mandym (Jan 15, 2014)

I have a male maltese that is almost 3 years old and I we have stumbled upon discoloration of his paws here lately. He has always been completely white..no tear stains..no red feet. Well here lately he has had a tiny bit of tear staining (only at the very corners of his eyes) and his paws have turned a red color. I have read on here that it is most likely caused by him licking/chewing on his feet (which he does often). Not sure why. I went to the pet store about 3 weeks ago and was going to buy "angel eyes" but decided to get "naturvet" brand instead since it was in a pill format vs the powder. I have 3 dogs and they all eat the same food so trying to only give the supplement to my maltese would be challenging and I was afraid that if I were to put it on a little bit of wet food the food would discolor his face. (the hair around his mouth has turned a little red I assume from his saliva when he chews his feet) I have been giving him the "naturvet" tear stain supplement for 3 weeks now and I haven't noticed any difference. I bathe him once a week with whitening shampoo and conditioner and I always take extra time to scrub his feet. I always keep the hair trimmed from his paw pads to help with the staining but it has NEVER been a problem until recently. I don't know if he is chewing on his feet or his nails. The base of his nails are discolored too. It's just really weird and I'm not sure what I should do. Any help is greatly appreciated!


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## IzzysBellasMom (Jan 16, 2013)

Have you changed his food lately. One of the most common reasons for them to lick or chew their feet are allergies and food allergies are very very common. Let us know what food you are using. I think most on here prefer grain free, and I know poultry products are very common allergy also. 

If you can get him to stop licking, you will probably get rid of the yeast which is causing the red staining. I also use a yeast treatment shampoo on my daughters yorkie mix because he was licking his feet so badly. His feet and breath were so so bad. I got it at petsmart, it has a lavender fragrance that I really like. 

I think most on here do not recommend using a whitening shampoo on a weekly basis. It can be really drying to the skin. I am still switching shampoos and haven't found one that I absolutely love yet. But there are lots of threads on shampoos and others can help on that.


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## mandym (Jan 15, 2014)

I changed his food about 4 months ago to a grain free poultry free food. I feed Taste of The Wild. I switched because my Doberman puppy has a very sensitive stomach and couldnt handle the grain or the poultry. My maltese seems to like it. 

Any time I see him licking his feet I stop him but I know he does it when I'm sleeping because sometimes he will wake me up from his licking. I don't know how to get him to completely stop without me having to make him. I will definitely try the yeast shampoo. I didn't know that it wasn't good to use a whitening shampoo every week (oops) but he doesn't seem to have any dryness. I ALWAYS use a conditioner (thats not whitening) but maybe I should be switching it up like you said.


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## IzzysBellasMom (Jan 16, 2013)

If you recently changed his food, I would probably say that was the culprit. Although it sounds like you made a great move, there may be another ingredient in the new food that he may be allergic to. I have heard from others that Taste of the Wild is a quality food. I would recommend you going back to search for posts that Crystal (her user name is Crystal&Zoe) has posted. She seems to be very knowledgable in this area and has given some great information on foods. Or you could PM her and ask if you can't find the answer on one of her posts.


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## Ann Mother (Dec 18, 2013)

If this licking is new it is an allergy or yeast infection(dogs athletics feet). Go to vet & get some medicine.


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## suzy25 (Jul 13, 2008)

Hi Guys, it's been years since I posted.. out little Ali's feet( Paws) are turning brownish from licking.. She is only eating raw and has since we have her 6 years.. She had a holistic vet but he is very ill and we haven't had her anywhere nears vet in almost a year.. She is an inside dog and gets no shots ... Now I noticed she is licking her feet.. We took her off chicken a few years ago and she was doing great...now she looks like a ragamuffin.. I am in S Fl. boca Raton if anyone has a recco for me... I am using the bitter apple spray but she still licks. Maybe I am not doing it often enough.. She is not tear stained hardly near her eyes.. I am sort of lost.. Ali is 9 and we rescued her at 3.. She hates toys and does chew on good bully sticks.. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated..... Thanks Suzy


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## Ann Mother (Dec 18, 2013)

She must not feel right. Licking can be a stress or pain reaction. I'd have her checked by a vet.


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## Mindi's mom (Aug 24, 2010)

Mindi licked from allergies. It took us 3 years to find a food she wasn't allergic to. No licking for over a year. I switched food this week for my other dog and I just caught Mindi licking her feet again. I guess I'm going to have to feed them each their own kind of food. 

I never figured out what Mindi was allergic to. We had to do monthly cortisone shots and sometimes she had to have topical anti-fungal/antibacterial meds. She would lick and nibble her feet until she was bleeding.

I hope you figure out what is bothering him!


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