Licking Feet

[EdwinEarls]

I have a 4 year old female shitzu.  She has beautiful hair and skin but she constantly licks your feet.  The bottom of her feet.  Her 3 feet are stained from her licking and chewing the pads of her feet.
What could I put on her feet or giver her orally to help with the itching?

[Pooja_Batra]

I use this on my pets! And it has helped!

First give your pet a regular bath/ shower with their shampoo or soap!
Then left them shake the water off them self's!
Then add the medicinal water to the tub or bucket with regular water and soak your pet in the tub or use a mug to soak them!  (as per your pets preference)
After 20 min to 30 min let them sake the water off them selves and let them sit in the sun for  a bit to naturally dry!
If you live in a cold climate then use a hair dryer (keep distance from their skin) to dry them!
Dont use a towel as you don't want to remove the medicinal coating which has been created!

Method to make medicinal water!

-Use ither neem leaves or eucalyptus leaves or us can use the combination of both!
-Add these leaves to a big pot of water and boil,  then let it cool down for a lukewarm temperature!  
-strain the water!
-Dilute medicinal water with regular water but should be warm/ lukewarm
Example- in a bucket half medicinal water and half regular water for a medium size dog!
-Add this to ur bath tub filled with water and let ur pet sit in it for half an hour or till their fur soakes the water!


If your pet doesn't like sitting in the tub then use a bucket and mug to soak their fur with your hand!  
Remember it must soak the entire fur all the way to their skin!
These leaves I have mentioned above are available in nature and a few shops! They not harmful to ur pets skin!
caution - keep way from eyes and dont all to drink it! And use cotton in ur pets ears to prevent water from getting in it!

Regards
Pooja

[ginger899]

...Sorry I forgot to mention the obvious! Let the mixture cool, of course, before bathing her feet!!

[ginger899]

Echinacea Angustifolia -either the tincture slightly diluted (not much), or get 1 teaspoon of the root, bring to the boil with a cup of water. Use a soaked cotton-wool pad to bathe her feet regularly in this. It will help healing. I always use it for wounds that need a little help, on myself or my dog. It works very very well. It will not harm her if she ingests some of it, as it is not toxic for dogs, but I would not let her ingest TOO much of it if possible. It is a wonderful herb to stimulate and 'boost' the immune system, but over-use is not advisable. (Do not use this if you know your dog has history of an auto-immune disease.)

It will probably not stop her licking at her feet however. Put an Elizabethan collar on her (poor thing!) You will be able to get one from the vet. Use this for as long as it takes for the feet to heal. Whenever she starts licking and biting again, put the collar back on.
I know that seems mean, but for her to bite her feet for 5 years sounds extreme. It makes me wonder if this hasn't become an obsessive kind of behaviour pattern that has become ingrained.

I do wish you luck.

[75sunshine]

My name is Erica, and my little ones name is Abbie Mae. I hate to read the above stories because I hate to say that theres no cure or at least we have not found one yet. We have had the above licking problem until her feet have bleed, she has no pads left on her back feet and can't get around outside hardly at all. We have had this problem for over 5 years now, shampoos, atopica, antiboc's, bendryl, many months and many dollars and still no change. I will not put her down, its out of the question. So if anyone comes up with an answer I'm game to try anything. :(

[lonewolf07]

Our shih tzu is going back to the vet today about his feet licking.  They said it wasn't a fungus infection but his constant licking is driving me crazy - I feel like he's trying to tell me something.  He's a lovable little guy with a think about licking his feet.  So he's going back to the vet.

This was not my posting but all the responses have helped.

[BamaSherill]

Dogs will lick there feet for several reasons.
One of the most common is allergies.  Just as humans have allergies, dogs to to. Allergies of all kinds manifest themselves on
the skin and paw pads of dogs.   Allergies cause hot spots on their skin
and tenderness of their paw pads.  The licking and biting is an attempt
to find relief.   The allergies could be from flea bites, grains in their dog food, pollen, house hold cleaners, or other allergens in our environment.  
What to do???
For temporary  relief, however not a cure....Use Sea Salt (not table salt)  combine 1/2 of sea salt to 2 gallons of fresh water in  a large pan of water for the dog to stand in.  
A bath tub works great for large dogs.    A good overall bath with a tick and flea shampoo will help them to rid them of these parasites, while riding their coat of pollen and other irritants.
Gently wash their paw pads in the salt water.  
Another reason for paw pad tenderness is detergents and fragrances used in household cleaners.   A dog doesn't have to make contact with an irritant, it can be airborne and still
cause their paw pads and skin to become irritated.
The most effective way to help your pet is to identify the problem and eliminate it.
Clean walking surfaces of pollen, keep your dog safe from ticks and fleas with topical meds every month (the most effective is K-9 Advantix), avoid grains in dog food, it's a cheap filler, however dogs have NO nutritional requirement for grains,  and use natural household cleaners in your home.  If your dog suffers greatly from allergies, you may want to see your vet for a cortizone shot, especially during spring bloom.
I hope this helps.

[krtrnrs]

I would see my vet about the constant licking.  This could be a sign of allergies.  It can be something she is coming in to contact with, something she eats, or even something in the air.  Also, she could have a fungal thing going on due to the constant moisture from licking which makes the feet itchy, yeasts love damp environments.  Taking an antihistamine may be in order or trying a hypoallergenic diet if no fungal infection is found.  The staining on the coat is from the proteins in the saliva and is noticeable especially on pups with a white or light colored coat.  Good luck!

[24estreela]

hi my dog ionstantly lickiing her feet she s a pretty white poodle and her feet are getting red andd she is also bitting them

[Jaybay]

She might have a little "doggy athlete's foot" going on - a yeast/ fungal infection.  Have a sniff at her paws and I bet they smell pretty strongly of doggy odor.  It's an itchy, uncomfortable feeling for the dog, so they constantly lick and worry at their feet.  All the licking provides a great environment for fungus to grow, so it just gets worse.  A little DermaChlor Flush Plus should take care of that.  It's available from your vet, and immediately makes a difference.  Dogs that have thick or hairy toe pads tend to get the fungus foot, so keep a bottle of DermaChlor handy and use it as soon as you notice odor or obsessive licking.