i have a 14 month golden retriever who just recently has been chewing or sucking her back feet.any ideas why

Has she had her anal glands checked? Licking at the feet can be a displacement activity with this condition.

yes they have been checked recently .but will do a check again.i am just puzzled by it as the other two dont have a problem

Could be allergy related i.e. grasses etc (more so this time of year).  Hope you get to the bottom of it

Hi Rumrat,

I did read a post on here a couple of months ago posted by someone with exactly the same problem. Although I believe the poster's dog had progressed to biting her back feet. In the end it turned out that her dog had ear mites. The mites had transferred onto the dog's feet whilst scratching hers ears and were causing her to bite her feet.

This may not be the case, but it might be worth checking out?

I have found it to be a displacement activity due to some discomfort elsewhere, it then becoems a habit.

My Jozi started licking her back paws when she had to wear a lampshade collar due to having an eye ulcer.

After this if she was bored or stressed/frustrated (say a long car journey) she would glob all over her feat and of course it discoloured them, so I had to wash them to stop the discolouration starting.

I will catch her doing ti once or twice a year and tell her no and get a clean wet cloth and rub the fur clean.

Our setter did this and turned out to be berry bugs (harvet mites) between her toes - vet had to sedate her to clear them out. They are tiny - but bright orange, although it might be a bit early in the year for them. Have you tried washing her feet when you bring her in from a walk?

i am taking her back to the vet when i can get a appointment will let you all know the outcome.many thanks for your replies

I had a rough collie that would get harvest mites between the toes we used to spray with Frontline it killed them but they then takes a while to disappear as they are like ticks they burrow into the skin.  I also had a aussie which got a patch on his tail it took several sprays to get rid of them very stubbond little things.

It can be food related too

>I have found it to be a displacement activity due to some discomfort elsewhere, it then becoems a habit.

ditto

My sheltie started licking her front feet last week-I have absolutely no idea what caused it although she has spent some time with my mother lately-so possibly an allergy to something she has washed her floor with(at a guess).Anyway,I sprayed her feet with Dermacton and the licking stopped almost straight away and she hasn't done it since.

i have been to the vets and he seems to think it could be a habit she has developed.one injection to try and stop which he thinks might be a irritation but apart from that everything is fine .will keep a close eye on her

this dermacton what is it and what does it do

Hi Rumrat,Dermacton comes in a cream or spray and it relieves itching,its worked every time I've either used or recommended it-it might just give your dog some relief.http://www.aromesse.com/pages/petnat/dermacton.php

i have sent for dermacton so will keep you posted how we get on.Thanks for the info

no luck she is still doing it.a breeder mentioned calamine lotion.any other in put please

Other things to consider: this is a high allergy time for a lot of dogs so even dogs that haven't had a problem before can get itchy paws.  Many of the fields are full of thistles - these are the low growing type and often get trodden on by mistake.  If you are walking in rural areas, cow muck and urine is acid and irritates paws.  My two have suffered from any or all of the above at one time or another.

After a walk - slosh her paws off with a weak solution of Hibiscrub to be sure it's not an irritant she's picked up outside.  Do dry her paws too as my dogs will often lick and worry at wet paws.

Once you've eliminated anything medical you just need to guard against the habit element.  If you see her chewing or nibbling - say No and give her something else to do.  Try moving her to a new position, doing a few training exercises (with treats) or give her something else to chew, a Kong, a Nylabone or a carrot maybe.  I've used Dermacton (recommended by Helen) and it's brilliant stuff.  If it's not working for you it does suggest it may be more to do with habit and boredom so always try and move her onto something else if possible.

I wouldn't use Calamine lotion - when it dries it will contract her skin and bother her even more I would imagine.  One of mine has that problem if mud dries between his toes! :)

Good luck

i think its habit so i will keep a close watch on her.many thanks for your input...many thanks

Sometimes just dipping their feet in a solution of salt dissolved in boiled water then cooled does the trick. It just soothes the irritation.

My dog regularly licks and chews at her back feet.  I've checked with other owners of my breed and they say it can be a common habit.

> After this if she was bored or stressed/frustrated (say a long car journey) she would glob all over her feat and of course it discoloured them, so I had to wash them to stop the discolouration starting

Just a bit of useless information but it fascinated me. My vet told me that the discolouration cause by biting/licking parts of the dog's body is in fact the saliva digesting the hair!!!! Wow! You probably all knew this but was new to me.

she is in and out of the sea where i live so i dont think that treatment would apply would it

> she is in and out of the sea where i live so i dont think that treatment would apply would it

Hmmm, not sure. I suppose the salt dissolved in boiled water then cooled would be sterile and I know that sea water can be quite dirty. I think the salt solution just calms down the irritation she might be feeling and is quite healing if she's chewed any raw patches. Personally I always wash ours' feet after they've been in the sea/sand just in case of setting up any irritation. One of ours does have the odd bout of foot licking. In the past we've used Malaseb when it was thought to be a yeast problem. Must say that seemed to work well.

The other thing that can work if it's connected to ear mites is using Thornit in the pads.

By strange coincidence I was just this morning chatting with a lady at our local park who's goldie had the exact same problem. After various blood tests and skin scrapings the vet concluded it was hay fever. She is now on half a piriton a day and has not chewed her feet since. Her owner was also confused by the fact it was only her back feet but apparently its quite common. Good luck.

thanks for the info will ring my vet and see what he says

My boy has a mild allergy in the summer, had it last year and now has it again this year. His paw pads get sore, i give him piriton and it works a treat in clearing it up.
We aren't sure if its pollen or a type of grass, but in the fact that piriton works then i don't feel the need for a skin scraping.
Not sure what the fur is like in between her toes, but with mine it should be cut short and i cut it back further so that there is less fur to irritate him and his feet can breath better and it clears up a whole lot quicker.

> By strange coincidence I was just this morning chatting with a lady at our local park who's goldie had the exact same problem. After various blood tests and skin scrapings the vet concluded it was hay fever. She is now on half a piriton a day and has not chewed her feet since. Her owner was also confused by the fact it was only her back feet but apparently its quite common. Good luck.

yep my girlie has hay fever and chews her back feet!so i give piriton too.and i also belive it is commen more than you'd think.she would shake her head and chew her feet and then cry too,we came to the end of tests and it was hay fever im glad i know what it is tho cos vet kept sayin no to every result!
its awful not knowing what to do but you'll get there in the end.good luck.xxx