# Biting/licking paws what does it mean?



## poochie2 (Jan 14, 2010)

My malt on occasions licks her paws like a cat would do... just gently as if she were grooming herself. Well a few times and most recently today I found her in her bed with her face facing the wall as if she is hiding and she was biting her paws. When I picked her up all four were soaking wet. She's going to get groomed on Monday. I think her nails may be too long. Her paws are not red at all and she has zero tear stains so I don't think it's allergies. Any thoughts?


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## Cosy (Feb 9, 2006)

It could be a habit or it could be she felt her feet were dirty and she's cleaning them, as a cat would. Cosy will do that sometimes. Usually it's something they are getting on their feet that causes itching or irritation so they try to lick it away. You might try rinsing her feet after being outside and see if that helps.


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## wooflife (Aug 8, 2007)

It means itchy feet!! 

Brit's right - try a rinse. You can do a vinegar rinse or a lemon rinse or even just water to remove any allergens, chemical, dust or dirt that might be irritating those adorable widdle paws.


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## poochie2 (Jan 14, 2010)

Thanks.
On my way to rinse her feet............:walklikeanegyptian:


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## almitra (Apr 24, 2009)

I have never owned a dog that did that, but then again I have never owned a cat that didn't.  My ex-dh's Schnauzer does it constantly and she has red staining all over every part of her body her tongue can reach, as a result. She is also covered from time to time with what he terms "schnauzer bumps"...yeah, whatever. It appears that she is exhibiting some kind of response to a skin condition of sorts.


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## yukki (Aug 22, 2007)

Has she been doing this for a long time or is this something that has cropped up recently. My Yukki used to chew his feet A LOT and the vet at the time suggested that he might have allergies. It is possible that he is having a reaction to something on the grass or if it has been going on for a while now, it might be a food allergy as well. I switched Yukki to a better food than I was giving him at the time and he has not chewed his feet for over 3 years now. Let us know how she is doing please. Good luck and hugs to your baby!


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## Nikki's Mom (Feb 13, 2008)

My Bichon did that all the time. It was a food allergy. She was inside potty pad trained, so it wasn't grass or pollen.


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## njdrake (Apr 23, 2007)

I have a friend who has a dog that licks his paws a lot and the vet said its allergies.


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## wooflife (Aug 8, 2007)

I am aware of several malts that actually bite their nails and chew them into short points. I wonder if maybe she was doing that?

Did rinsing her feet help? I know when I take Izzy to FL she goes nuts cuz of the sand in her paws she hates it and it's hard to avoid it so we rinse paws a lot.


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## Maidto2Maltese (Oct 19, 2004)

I'd say it's allergy related as well.. food or environmental is often hard to tell. Giving the feet a rinse is a good idea and if the licking subsides then likely environmental... if it keeps up then I'd wager a bet it's food related.


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## poochie2 (Jan 14, 2010)

wooflife said:


> I am aware of several malts that actually bite their nails and chew them into short points. I wonder if maybe she was doing that?
> 
> Did rinsing her feet help? I know when I take Izzy to FL she goes nuts cuz of the sand in her paws she hates it and it's hard to avoid it so we rinse paws a lot.


Thank you
I rinsed off her paws and her paws look dry to me almost a little faded so I put a little coconut oil on them..........I have not seen her licking or biting her paws since then.:thumbsup:


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