ptquilts

you are a sweetie for adopting this older dog - hope you have many happy years together -she is very lucky!!

Mitch's mom

I second the allergy diagnoses. What are you feeding her? Look at the ingredients on the bag of food. If the first 2 or 3 are not a recognizable meat source, the food is not nutritionally sound. Sure - it will fill her up, but she won't get any good from it. It certainly isn't your fault! The dog food manufacturers are clever marketers.
Most dog food sold in the grocery store and Walmart or other discount stores are full of corn and by products. Dogs eat meat.
Just say "no" to corn. we are feeding dogs, not cows or chickens!
If you would like some links about dog nutrition and foods let me know and I'll PM them to you.
Thank you for rescuing her.

veronajules

Hi! It probably is allergies. I have 16 year old Springer and she licks her paws also. The vet gave her antihistamines.She only takes them as needed. Can you show us a picture of your new dog?

DogHouseMom

I personally wouldn't use any products on her, I would wait and see if they grow out.

The licking could be caused by a couple reasons. One is boredom, the other is allergies. If it's allergies, this time of year the most likely culprit would be a food alergy (most common food alergens in dogs are Beef and Corn). Find out what the former owner was feeding, then eliminate the ingredients in that food. Initially you can try another brand of dog food with a different source of protien (ie lamb instead of chicken, chicken instead of beef), and if the previous food had corn, eliminate that as well. If that doesn't work you either have a differnt food alergy or a behavior issue.

IF she stops licking, the staining should go away soon enough. You can comb/brush the hair in that area regularly (weekly or more often) to assist faster hair growth.

Oh ... almost forgot. There is a third cause that we discovered recently. Some foods, especially the semi-soft foods, and treats, have colorant in them, most often the colorant is red. This red WILL come out in the dogs coat and ummmmm ... waste. Is her waste orangey? If so, colorant might be the culprit.

Sue

SunQuilts

In am familiar with allergies in dogs; our previous dog licked his paws almost bare until we found an antihistamine that worked. I can't be sure but I don't think this is the problem with Molly. As for food, she gets Enova salmon and herring; with my vet's advice and recommendation, I plan to start weaning her to another food. Her present diet leaves her with the worst fish breath you can imagine and she also can clear the room at times with flatulence (don't mean to offend anyone but you all seem to be dog lovers so I think you will understand). We are hoping a change in diet will address that issue too!

Jingle

Oldest Daughter took StepSon's dog as he had to move and can't have her anymore, he had treated her for fleas and she had sores on her body and stunk to high heaven. Vet said she is allergic to flea bites, put her on several med.s and special shampoo to wipe on and wipe off. In a few days she was much better, he gave her a shot also. She is a beautiful Chocolate Lab, this is her 3rd home and she is so lucky to end up with them, they will take good care of her and see that she has care she needs. StepSon never had a clue nor time to take proper care of her.
Flea allergies are very common.

tdgiffin

My Bassett does that especially whennhisnears get infected. the vet that there are glands between the tors that when licked, send out a chemical in a dog's body that helps to lower pain. Maybe you had better check your doggie's ears, or have your doggie checked for allergies.

Chantel41

I used to breed persian cats- yes, white ones. They got stains on their paws from grooming, and of course around their eyes. I used a combination of perixide, baking soda and toothpaste(colgate) and made a paste. You leave it on till it dries and brush out. Be careful around the eyes. It takes about three applications, but really works well.

lalaland

A little off the mark but breeders who "throw away" dogs after their breeding days are over should not be allowed to breed dogs ever again. You don't kill a living, breathing, thing just because it has outlived its "usefulness" to you.

Sorry, just had to vent over this one.

Becca Bear

My dog was licking his paws to the point that the skin was bleeding. The vet said it was probably an allergy to wheat and advised eliminating wheat from the diet. I now buy wheat free food and it has eliminated the problem.