Why Do Dogs Lick Their Paws? 8 Common Reasons and How to Stop It

When your dog suddenly becomes obsessed with licking his paws, you should definitely pay attention

Dogs are wonderful in many ways, but they’re not exactly known for their cleanliness. So why do dogs lick their paws? “If your dog licks his paw because it got dirty outside, that’s just normal grooming,” says Vered Bar, VMD, chief of service veterinarian for primary and urgent care at San Francisco Animal Medical Center. “But if a dog is licking his paws frequently, there’s probably something going on.”

As with other mysteries of dog behavior, understanding exactly why your dog is licking his paws can be a challenge, but a good first step is a visit to your vet. “We’ll ask questions to try and figure it out,” says Dr. Bar. “Do they lick their paws at a certain time of day? Is it right after they’ve been outside, or at night when they’re getting ready to go to sleep? Is it when you’re about to leave the house or just after they’ve eaten? There are several reasons why dogs suddenly start licking their paws, and you need to figure out the cause before you can treat it.”

We talked to three veterinarians about some of the reasons dogs lick their paws, when you should be concerned about it and how you can get them to stop. Read on to find out everything you need to know.

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About the experts

  • Vered Bar, VMD, is the chief of service veterinarian for primary and urgent care at San Francisco Animal Medical Center.
  • Amy Tate, DVM, is a practicing veterinarian in Birmingham, Alabama, where she is the co-owner and managing partner of Riverview Animal Clinic.
  • Gary Richter, DVM, is the owner and medical director of Holistic Veterinary Care, a veterinary clinic specializing in alternative therapies, in Oakland, California. He is also the author of The Ultimate Pet Health Guide.

Reviewed for accuracy by: Amy Attas, VMD, an award-winning veterinarian, the founder of City Pets and the author of Pets and the City: True Tales of a Manhattan House Call Veterinarian.

Is it normal for dogs to lick their paws?

Sometimes. While not as fastidious as cats, dogs do make some effort to keep themselves—and particularly their paws—clean. It’s common for dogs to lick their paws briefly after coming in from a walk, especially if they might have gotten sand or dirt on them. “Sometimes it’s just grooming,” says Amy Tate, DVM, a veterinarian with Riverview Animal Clinic in Birmingham, Alabama. “If it’s just occasional, it’s probably not significant. But if they seem really fixated on it and their feet stay wet and damp or smelly, it’s a sign those dogs have an underlying medical problem.”

One clear sign that something is up: You’ll see rusty stains on the fur around their paws, which are caused by iron byproducts in dog saliva. “They get what’s called saliva staining,” says Dr. Gary Richter, medical director of Holistic Veterinary Care in Oakland, California. 

Why do dogs lick their paws excessively?

There are actually a number of reasons dogs might obsessively lick their paws—some are medical, while others are behavioral. Determining your dog’s reason will require keeping a close watch on when and how they lick and whether that licking is accompanied by biting, scratching or other behavior. Here are some of the most common causes and related symptoms.

An injury

Why Do Dogs Lick Their Paws Gettyimages 1295528880Zontica/Getty Images

Stepping on glass or a thorn, breaking a claw, being stung by a bee or getting burned on hot asphalt are just a few things that may be causing this behavior. “For example, on the West Coast, there are little plants called foxtails,” says Dr. Richter. “The seeds can actually burrow into the skin in between a dog’s toes.” One telltale sign that you’re dealing with an injury? The dog is licking only one paw. “If it comes on all of a sudden and the dog is guarding that paw, it’s likely an injury,” says Dr. Tate.

What to do: Depending on what’s wrong, you may be able to take care of it yourself with a good canine first-aid kit. If you have any doubt, though, check in with your vet. 

Dermatitis

It may seem obvious, but the reason dogs might lick and bite their paws is because they’re itchy! Dermatitis, which is the technical term for a contact allergy, is a common cause of excessive paw-licking, says Dr. Tate. Like humans, dogs can be sensitive to any number of allergens, from pollens and molds to fabrics and even the dander of other pets. And their paws come in contact with multiple irritants on any given day, from lawn chemicals in the spring and summer to rock salt and other de-icing products in the winter.

What to do: If you suspect your dog might be allergic to something outdoors, wipe down its coat and paws after walks. Dr. Tate recommends doing this as soon as your pup comes in to reduce the exposure time of the allergen. “You can also treat the skin on their paws with a topical veterinary antihistamine to prevent the reaction from occurring,” she says.

The next step is figuring out what your dog is allergic to. Vets use both blood testing and skin testing to pinpoint which allergens are triggering the reaction. Then you can work with your vet on a treatment plan, which might include antihistamines and steroids to reduce the itch or even allergy shots to gradually reduce your dog’s sensitivity to the allergen.

A food allergy

Dog eating from his bowl.indoorCarol Yepes/Getty Images

It may not be intuitive, but food allergies are also known to cause itchy paws in dogs. While it’s unclear exactly why the paws specifically seem to be affected, this is among the first things vets look to in cases of a dog that is constantly licking its paws. “Most of the allergies dogs have are actually to the proteins, not the carbohydrates, in their food,” says Dr. Bar. “So they’re usually going to be [allergic to] chicken or beef—the most common ingredients in dog food.”

What to do: Your vet may suggest a food-elimination trial, during which you feed your dog a special hypoallergenic diet for six to eight weeks. “If the allergy symptoms resolve, you know you have a food allergy,” Dr. Bar says. “Then you can reintroduce ingredients one at a time to see which they’re allergic to.”

A bacterial or fungal infection

When the skin on their paws itches, dogs will often lick their feet so much that the skin breaks down and they develop bacterial and fungal infections, which of course makes the itching—and the licking—worse. A telltale sign an infection has taken hold? “People will say their dog’s feet kind of smell like corn chips,” says Dr. Tate. “Yeast and bacteria bloom and become more active because the feet are wet all the time from the licking.”

What to do: Your vet will take some samples of the hair or skin on your dog’s feet to determine what kind of organism is infecting the area and then prescribe medication to combat it. “Typically, we’ll treat with topical anti-fungals or antiseptic washes and creams,” says Dr. Tate. “That treats the symptoms. But there’s usually an underlying allergy causing the licking that led to the infection. To get it fully resolved, we need to treat the allergy.”

Pain

The Golden Retriever Dog is lying on the ground licking his pawschendongshan/Getty Images

Chronic pain conditions like arthritis can sometimes cause a dog to repeatedly lick the affected joint as a sort of self-soothing. Acute pain can also prompt excessive licking. “Some dogs develop cysts in the hair follicles between their toes,” says Dr. Tate. “When those cysts rupture, they can be quite painful. You’ll see a dog licking it and guarding it, meaning they won’t let you look at it because it’s painful.”

What to do: Your vet can prescribe medication to treat your dog’s pain, whether it’s chronic or something that came on suddenly.

Parasites

Fleas, ticks and other parasites can irritate and itch like crazy anywhere on your dog’s body, including his feet. If your dog has fleas, he might lick and bite at his paws, but he will likely be licking and biting elsewhere too. “A flea allergy is very easy to recognize because fleas will bite around the tail area,” says Dr. Bar. “So whenever you see a dog chewing that area around their tail, it’s likely a flea allergy.”

Still, there is a different parasite, a mite that lives in the hair follicles of most dogs, that can cause localized infections in the paws. “Dogs that have a weakened immune system sometimes get demodectic mange in their feet,” says Dr. Tate. Unlike the more commonly known sarcoptic mange, demodectic mange isn’t contagious, but it can make your pet very uncomfortable. “It can be very itchy, so that could be a reason they’d lick all the time,” says Dr. Tate.

What to do: Your vet can check for fleas and do skin scrapes around your dog’s paws to see if demodectic mange is the problem. Numerous treatments are available for canine parasites, and your veterinarian can help you decide which is the best one for your dog’s particular situation.

Boredom

Lazy hungarian vizsla puppy dog Anthony Brawley Photography/Getty Images

For some dogs, paw-licking is a behavioral issue: They’re bored and don’t know what else to do with themselves!  “Certain dogs require a lot of exercise,” says Dr. Bar. “For example, border collies are pets, but they’re bred to work. So unless they get a ton of exercise and mental work to stimulate them, they will often start licking their paws and doing destructive things.”

What to do: Give your dog something to do. Puzzle toys can help make your dog’s environment more engaging, and daily workouts can help burn off some of that excess energy, says Dr. Bar.

Anxiety

Dogs with anxiety issues sometimes lick their paws as a way of comforting themselves when they’re  stressed—like when their favorite humans are not around or there are major changes to their daily routine. “Sometimes dogs will lick one paw because of compulsive type behavior,” says Dr. Bar. “There’s something call acral lick granuloma, in which they’ll lick one paw so much that they remove the hair and it actually becomes a wound.”

What to do: Consult a vet or a behaviorist to try to find the cause of the anxiety; this will determine the treatment. “You’ll want to discuss behavior-modification techniques,” says Dr. Bar. “Sometimes medication can help.” Some vets also believe that even in cases where anxiety fuels the licking instinct, there is still some underlying physical itch, perhaps an undiagnosed allergy, that triggers it. “I think most dermatologists will say there’s something at the root of it that’s bothering them,” says Dr. Tate. “Then it becomes a real cyclic behavior that can be challenging to break.”

What should you do if your dog doesn’t stop licking its paws?

Diagnosing and treating the root cause of a dog’s excessive paw licking may involve some trial and error. “It’s not always easy to figure out,” says Dr. Bar. Fortunately there are veterinary antihistamines and monoclonal antibody treatments that can relieve this itch even if you don’t yet know what your dog is allergic to. (Vets caution against using topical human antihistamines like Benadryl on dogs.)

Wiping your pet’s paws regularly can also help relieve itching. And some pet parents use Vaseline or paw balms on their dogs’ paws to add a protective barrier between the skin and outdoor allergens. “It might keep the allergen from coming in contact with the skin,” says Dr. Tate. “While it may or may not help, it’s not going to hurt your pet if he licks it off.”

One thing vets discourage using is an Elizabethan collar (a modified cone) to keep dogs from having access to their paws. “You’re preventing the licking action, but you’re not talking care of the reason behind it,” says Dr. Bar. “It doesn’t do anything to soothe them—it just makes them more anxious.”

Why trust us

At Reader’s Digest, we’re committed to producing high-quality content by writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts. For this piece, Lisa Marie Conklin tapped her experience covering pet behavior and training, and then veterinarian Amy Attas, VMD, founder of City Pets and author of Pets and the City: True Tales of a Manhattan House Call Veterinarian, gave it a rigorous review to ensure that all information is accurate and offers the best possible advice to readers. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.

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Christina Vercelletto
Christina covers pets for Reader’s Digest and Chewy’s Pet Central channel. She has 15 years of experience on staff at national publications, including Parenting, FamilyFun, Scholastic Parent & Child and Woman's Day and has appeared as a guest on Today, Good Morning America and The View. In addition to Reader's Digest, Christina regularly writes for EatingWell, CNN Underscored, Livestrong, The Knot, Trip Advisor and other prominent brands. She holds a summa cum laude degree in journalism from Long Island University. Her areas of expertise are lifestyle, beauty, travel, product reviews and pets.