constant paw licking?

 probably allergies - contact/environmental most likely

any ideas what i can do to alleviate their itching?

i don't know if i should take them to the vet, or just try changing their food..or whatever.

Jamison does that sometimes, too.  I give him Benedryl.

Deb W.

I agree, environmental allergies are pretty high this time of year.  My Darby (bichon) has one terribly itchy foot, it is inflamed and red and ooky.  Lexi  has a hotspot on her foot (bichon) and Echo is just generally itchy here and there with the scratchscratchscratch.

Benedryl is good. There is alos another one that worked well for my girls- chlorpheneramine (chlortrimeton) but I can't recall the dosage on that one.

 Ditto the allergy suggestion.  

coco&teddies mommy

  any ideas what i can do to alleviate their itching?

i don't know if i should take them to the vet, or just try changing their food..or whatever. 

If the only symptom is licking their feet, I doubt it's food related.  More likely they are reacting to something environmental.  Try wiping them off with a damp washcloth or baby wipes after they've been outside.  Don't forget their feet!    I found that helps relieve the itchies.  Another option for the feet is to keep a bowl of water by the door and dip their feet in it when they come back inside.  Also, and this isn't supposed to be a knock on your housekeeping, vaccuum more frequently.  I'm far from the world's best housekeeper, but this summer I started vaccuuming at least once a week and spraying our carpet with the Febreeze Allergy Release to keep Caleb comfortable.  Seems to be working.    Of course, I almost had to perform CPR on my husband due to the shock from me vaccuuming so much.  LOL

micksmom

  Of course, I almost had to perform CPR on my husband due to the shock from me vaccuuming so much.  LOL

LOL!  Rocky has been itching and licking and scratching alot this year too.   ?? dont have a clue.   His is not just his feet but also seems to be his behind also.   I have washed, checked for no see-ums and everything I can do topical.   I even dropped the newest of the food I was giving although I dont think it was that because this obsession has been more recent.  It must be something in the air that is much more prevalent than last year.

I give my dogs generic claritin.  I think the dosage is one tablet per 25lbs of body weight, so I give my 13lb dachshund 1/2 a tablet and give the other half to my 30lb dog.  It was worked fantastically for both of them!  I had them on the benadryl before, but they were off their food a bit and were drowsy all of the time.  With the claritin they're eating MUCH better and they're also playing around a lot more, and most importantly, they are not itching!

 I agree that it's been a horrible year for allergies, both for dogs and humans.

 It does sound like contact allergies. It's been a rough year for allergies. I'm typically not bothered by environmental allergies unless it's very bad, and I've been bothered. Ari's been bothered and benedryl has been a savior for us both (though I can only take it at night, unless I want to sleep 24/7). Washing the feet is something I would also recommend, like others have mentioned. It really does help.

If your noticing any other issues, itchy spots elsewhere, yeasty ears - then you might want to look into food related problems, but if it's just the feet it's likely just something environmental. 

Our little papillon had quite the paw-licking summer, as well.

 Few suggestions: Bowl of half water/half vinegar to dip their paws in when they come in from outside (of course, make sure there are no open wounds on paws first).

Mal-A-Ket wipes (Amazon is one sourece)-the vet recommended these, as well.  Very inexpensive.  Just wipe their paws once or twice a day.  Here's some info:

Reading reviews, it seem folks use them on the foldy skin of bulldogs and similar breeds. Apparently, they can get yeasty in the folds.

The vinegar/water worked well. Am still using it.  The vet recommended using the wipes once a day for two weeks, in our case.

Good luck!

I agree it sounds like allergies. Benadryl or Claritin will band-aid the problem. Avoidance to the trigger is best IMO, if possible. You could look into allergy testing if you really wanted to narrow down the culprit. They also have allergy injections for dogs. That might be a bit much to consider, especially if it's a mild allergy... I have used and had great success with an all-natural wax called "Mushers Secret" that you apply to the feet prior to having the dog go outside. Haylee, my Italian Greyhound has environmental allergies, grass being a big one and this stuff really helps, it's safe and not messy, I've only had to apply it once to twice a week. It's also used in the winter on all my dogs to protect their feet from the snow (they have a hard time tolerating the "booties" I have tried, Haylee refuses to walk around with these on her feet and when I've forced her too she has no interest in concentrating on anything else except for how to get them off.) Hope this helps! Good luck!