dogs

[books caz]

my rotty licks his foot untill it is sore, we hav taken him to the vets and had cream but as doon has this has run out a few weeks later he is licking again. he has good food (arden Grange). which he has had since birth. only been doing this for a few months. at my wits end!!!!

[doglady]

Sounds like an allergy to me. I would take him back to the vets. Our GSD gets an allergic reaction to something in his ears, which is easily treated with steriods. If we leave it too long before we go and get him sorted, he scratches at them so much he cuts himself and it gets all infected. Then he has to have antibiotics, and they cost loads.

You could always try soaking his foot in salt water to soothe it and then put on a bit of vaseline, which won't do any harm if he licks it, but tastes foul. It might give his foot time to heal up. It's probably sore from licking, which makes him lick it more, if you see what I mean.

But back to the vets is best!!

[antiguru]

My old Collie used to lick her foot when her arthritis played up. Nothing to see, but it hurt her. A spoonful of sunflower oil on her supper helped her arthritis.

[shaneystar2]

If you type "dog licking foot" into Google it comes up with all sorts of wierd and wonderful that it could be.
I have a GSD cross and he does this sometimes.Had him to the vets and they did a biopsy and found nothing wrong. The vet said it is a habit he has taken up ..like people chew their fingernails !
I check him if I see him start doing it and I found tea tree oil to be the best stuff for it. He doesn't like the smell of it and this stops the licking and heals it.

[drgnrdr]

My GSD had this also, allergy to food and seasonal ones outside...it takes time to build an allergy to food sometimes..it builds up, then all sudden it is getting worse which sounds like it for you..also when she has had an injury to her food, going thru some sticks one stuck her in the foot pad, she bit and licked and caused an infection, took her to doc as soon as I could, and antibiotics and creams and an "bite-not"collar http://www.bitenot.com/ on her cleared it up. Check and see if you have any wheat, soy or corn in your food, also in any treats you give your dog. Allergy meds could help alleviate the worst of it, but if it is a allergy to food that has to be dealt with. Also check make sure it's not an injury/or old age of some kind like mentioned before.

[drgnrdr]

that's "foot" not "food"...LOL

[icemaiden]

My retriever had a spell of licking his paw, just on the top part, made it very very sore. After two trips to the vet we found out it was a grass seed that had entered the top of his paw and had worked its way up about three inches in.

Even the vet was stunned. Once out the licking ended and the foot recovered.
Im not suggesting that this is the problem but be aware that grass seeds are very bad news.
Good luck. And I hope you get to the bottom of it.

[lankeela]

This could be what is called a 'lick granuloma' where a previous injury or irritation is licked until it is sore, just out of habit, so causing the dog to lick even more. You need to break the cycle. A course of steroids should do the trick if you can't do it with either a bandage or some cream.

[Sabbath]

I have a dog (Rottweiler) that will also lick herself raw. It is allergies. Occasionally we do have to take her in for steroids, maybe once a year. Our vet has recommended 50 milligrams of Benedryl, same stuff I take for my allergies. Our dog weighs 74 pounds, so maybe that will help you figure an appropriate dosage.