My pointer, 11 months, is always licking on her feet top and some on the bottom.  She does this a lot through out the day.  I always heard this is a very clean breed so I initially thought it was grooming?  We have checked the paws for what might be a forgein piece or sore.  Nothing other than now there is a brownish color on the hair.  We were told that was from an enzyme from the saliva.  Has anyone with this breed or another had this issue? 

This is often thought to be a habit brought about by boredom. Now I am not saying this is the problem in your case and if the dog has plenty to do perhaps you should let a vet take a look.

My gut instinct is that this is a combination of grooming and boredom.  She has numerous items for chewing and no longer wants them.  I am hoping she will "chill out" a bit with age and enjoy relaxing...Ha, she's a pointer.   I am smiling when I say she would be perfectly content for me to devote every minute of my waking hours to finding tasks for her.

Recently, my husband read in a gundog magazine this issue of chewing tops of the paws and nails can be a sign of allergy problems.  We had to take the dog to the vet for a shoulder injury and discussed this issue of the paw chewing and licking.  He was skeptical because the dog has had this behavior through low allergy season, but the medicine give for the shoulder would also work for the allergies, if that was the root cause of the behavior.  Since the first dose of medicine, the dog has not once chewed her paws....

My springer has brown staining around her chin.  Have been told you can eliminate it by only letting them drink bottled water.......

Mine cleans himself daily. I think he was a cat in a previous life lol! :D

My springer chews his feet as he has an allergy to house dust mites - his paws are always browny pink instead of white

Is there a treatment for these allergies?

If you suspect your dog has an allergy (and paw chewing is a prime indicator) then before you can treat it you need to identify what the root cause is, it could be diet related or environmental.  The best thing is to have her allergy tested. In the UK you can ask the vet to take a blood sample which is sent off to a special laboratory which will identify any proteins which your dog may be intolerant/allergic to; this way you can make sure her diet does not contain those allergens.

Environmental allergies are more problematical but you can have de sensitising injections or you manage the environment to minimise the effect.