How can I stop my dog licking his paws?

[giddyup]

My 9 month old Schitzu cross (only a guess) has developed the habit of incessantly licking his front paws. He started doing it spasmodically when he was young but now he seems obsessed with it. We've taken him to the vet a couple of times and they can't see any skin infections, mites etc, so we've resorted to putting a plastic cone on him, but he starts on his paws immediately if we take it off. We've tried vinegar on his paws, doesn't work, and I don't want him to live with the cone for the rest of his life. It's driving us to distraction, any suggestions?

[2fishin2]

Hot sauce or chilies

[giddyup]

Hot sauce or chilies

You have tried this? Because all the info says this is a no-no.

[longstebe]

We have a shih tzu and another one crossed with something else.

They both lick their paws before sleeping for about 15 mins.

[2fishin2]

First its non-lethal/harmful. Its just hot sauce....

The hot sauce method has been used by people for many years to stop biting nails.

Give it a shot. Wont kill your dog

[giddyup]

We have a shih tzu and another one crossed with something else.

They both lick their paws before sleeping for about 15 mins.

I'm not talking about 15 minutes, but several hours.

[giddyup]

Hot sauce or chilies

Things That Don’t Work :

Remedies sold without a prescription on Internet Websites – Particularly with testimonials

Bitters sprays

Alcohol containing products

Hot sauce

Nutritional supplements

Elizabethan collars

Punishment or a scolding voice

Shock collars

Never use Tabasco or pepper sauce to discourage paw licking. Imagine someone sprinkling pepper sauce on a cut or sore on your own skin. We think this is a ridiculous, yet often recommended, licking deterrent. The fact is, you are torturing your dog. We also think bitter apple or bitter lime spray is almost as bad. Almost all of them contain alcohol which obviously stings if applied to already inflamed or irritated skin.

Edited February 11, 2015 by giddyup

[ignis]

Have 15 shih tzus [6 are puppies 4 born Christmas day + 2 on 12 Jan] just one does this she is just under 3 years old, the vet gave a spray to use [very expensive at a Vet 20mg and 400 baht] 'Dr FA wound spray' appears to work....... there is no wound or infection on her paws

[2fishin2]

Hahah a PETA lover in our midst. Hot Sauce works. So does a shocking collar. Which would be better for the dog?

[thailand49]

Licking to me from my experience is just natural for dogs to clean themselves off. Unless there is a infection or the licking is causing some type of skin rash etc.. the licking might be a way for it to relax itself? it is still a puppy in time I think it will stop but for yourself it bothers you why? is it licking you? is it causing a problem like if the dog was chewing on shoes or other items. I say get over it?

[slipperylobster]

Spray paws with "Dog Repellent"

Edited February 12, 2015 by slipperylobster

[fredge45]

It's possible the dog has a fungal infection. Seems that most vets go looking for mites etc and never think of checking something simple like this - maybe not so much money to be made from the treatment? I shampooed my dog's feet with dandruff shampoo or selenium sulfide shampoo (from the drug store) and rinsed well. After a couple of treatments got rid of the fungus and she's only doing a short cleaning now.

[giddyup]

Have 15 shih tzus [6 are puppies 4 born Christmas day + 2 on 12 Jan] just one does this she is just under 3 years old, the vet gave a spray to use [very expensive at a Vet 20mg and 400 baht] 'Dr FA wound spray' appears to work....... there is no wound or infection on her paws

My dog isn't licking because of wounds.

[giddyup]

Licking to me from my experience is just natural for dogs to clean themselves off. Unless there is a infection or the licking is causing some type of skin rash etc.. the licking might be a way for it to relax itself? it is still a puppy in time I think it will stop but for yourself it bothers you why? is it licking you? is it causing a problem like if the dog was chewing on shoes or other items. I say get over it?

You really don't have a clue do you? Cleaning the paws by licking doesn't last for hours on end, it's an obsession. So, your answer is just ignore it? What do you think starts to happen to the skin on their paws with the constant licking?

Edited February 12, 2015 by giddyup

[giddyup]

Hahah a PETA lover in our midst. Hot Sauce works. So does a shocking collar. Which would be better for the dog?

Advice from someone who probably should never have a pet.

[giddyup]

It's possible the dog has a fungal infection. Seems that most vets go looking for mites etc and never think of checking something simple like this - maybe not so much money to be made from the treatment? I shampooed my dog's feet with dandruff shampoo or selenium sulfide shampoo (from the drug store) and rinsed well. After a couple of treatments got rid of the fungus and she's only doing a short cleaning now.

Thanks, worth a try.

[giddyup]

Spray paws with "Dog Repellent"

Dog repellents usually contain something like citrus or vinegar, which I've already tried. Doesn't work.

[kovaltech]

Walk the dog in the sea-salt water, if any skin problems the salty water will easy the eventual discomfort the dog has.

If no sea near, then use sea salts cristals in your bath tub.

[Moonlover]

I suggest that you read the following website and then maybe you should consider your pet's diet. Best wishes for success.

http://www.dinovite.com/blog/2011/12/paw-licking-in-dogs/

[shaurene]

It's an inbred thing they are mostly cleaning themselves, leave him alone same as they lick their ass and tail same with a cat, why do cats dig a little hole to have a pee or crap and dogs do not. When you were young if you washed your hands a lot what would you think if your Mum kept putting gloves on your hands, leave the dog alone. My wife sprays her Pussy every time she does a pee she likes to be clean do you wash yours after a pee.

[banlampang]

'Bitter Apple' spray comes to mind. It can be applied directly to animal. Results can vary. Dog's feet can be the site for allergic responses. If your pouch has contact allergies (grasses/chemicals/etc.) incessant licking of the feet can result. Careful observation for trends in licking may support or eliminate allergies. Giving the dog a Benadryl (diphenhydramine) and watching to see if licking has stopped may confirm allergies. Feet licking may be associated with nervous behavior. Behavior modification can reduce licking in this case. Good luck!

[giddyup]

It's an inbred thing they are mostly cleaning themselves, leave him alone same as they lick their ass and tail same with a cat, why do cats dig a little hole to have a pee or crap and dogs do not. When you were young if you washed your hands a lot what would you think if your Mum kept putting gloves on your hands, leave the dog alone. My wife sprays her Pussy every time she does a pee she likes to be clean do you wash yours after a pee.

If you washed your hands continually for 12 hours a day, would that be considered normal? Maybe another forum might be suitable to discuss your wife's pussy, I'm certainly not interested.

[Neilcnx]

I am wondering, for example, why no one mentioned a cloth covering like a bootie.

We have two shih tzus (see profile pic); the brown and white is 4, athlethic and easily excitable (barks at everything passing) but clever enough to know there's no danger unless i stand up and start walking towards him. The black and white is 12 and has never responded to the 'come' command since we got him at 7 weeks. He will come with food in your hand but his nose is excellent so if you try to game him, he has... well it's a '*@##* you, i'm busy' kind of stare.

Licking incessantly is a behavior disorder which is the specialty of Cesar Millan - the Dog Whisperer. He has a series on TV that I watched for years (until i threw my True Visions box in the septic tank) and learned a lot about teaching the dogs to do what I want. (They would be much better behaved if my wife and i were on the same page. So far, i haven't found a tutorial on how to train a wife.) Anyway, Ceasar Millan has twitter and face book and can probably give you an answer that will work... or you can keep trying for a solution to pop out from a goup of people who probably don't know how to teach their dogs to heel.

Edited February 12, 2015 by Neilcnx

[laislica]

Google is your friend:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=how+to+stop+a+dog+from+licking+his+paws&gws_rd=ssl

or

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=how+to+stop+a+dog+from+licking+his+paws+cesar+milan&oq=how+to+stop+a+dog+from+licking+his+paws+cesar+milan&gs_l=serp.3..33i21.46903.51496.0.57004.12.12.0.0.0.0.211.1805.0j11j1.12.0.msedr...0...1c.1.61.serp..6.6.938.WU7tLqI-MaQ

[2fishin2]

It's an inbred thing they are mostly cleaning themselves, leave him alone same as they lick their ass and tail same with a cat, why do cats dig a little hole to have a pee or crap and dogs do not. When you were young if you washed your hands a lot what would you think if your Mum kept putting gloves on your hands, leave the dog alone. My wife sprays her Pussy every time she does a pee she likes to be clean do you wash yours after a pee.

Im thinking a shock collar would do the trick. OP if you didnt want suggestions (that do work) you should have never asked. I gave you viable solutions but, you dont want to try them. Put some hot sauce on your finger and lick it.....do you die, no. Would you lick it again, no. Try it you might be surprised, it just might work.

And if it doesnt work, ok. Its just a dog and trust me they have worse habits than that. Eating poop, licking their ass to name a couple. Lighten up.

[johnbarpic]

Dogs will be dogs Humans suck their thumbs dogs lick there paws.

your dog maybe fed up of things you do too but still loves you unconditionally..

if he or she is happy dog then don't worry

about the suggestion of fungal is a good one to pursue & check .

But lets have joke not to dismiss the issue just to lighten the moment...

Winalot Diet - joke

A real story by a Man who was standing in a queue in Tesco's.........

I have 2 dogs & I was buying a large bag of Winalot in Tesco and was standing in the queue at the till.

A woman behind me asked if I had a dog.

On impulse, I told her that no, I was starting The Winalot Diet again, although I probably shouldn't because
I'd ended up in the hospital last time, but that I'd lost 50 pounds before I awakened in an intensive care ward
with tubes coming out of most of my orifices and IVs in both arms.

I told her that it was essentially a perfect diet and the way that it works is to load your trouser pockets with
Winalot nuggets and simply eat one or two every time you feel hungry & that the food is nutritionally complete
so I was going to try it again.

I have to mention here that practically everyone in the queue was by now enthralled with my story, particularly
a guy who was behind her.

Horrified, she asked if I'd ended up in the hospital in that condition because I had been poisoned. I told her no,
it was because I'd been sitting in the road licking my balls and a car hit me.

I thought one guy was going to have a heart attack he was laughing so hard as he staggered out the door.

Stupid cow..........why else would I buy dog food?

[ignis]

Have 15 shih tzus [6 are puppies 4 born Christmas day + 2 on 12 Jan] just one does this she is just under 3 years old, the vet gave a spray to use [very expensive at a Vet 20mg and 400 baht] 'Dr FA wound spray' appears to work....... there is no wound or infection on her paws

My dog isn't licking because of wounds.

As I said 'there is no wound or infection on her paws'

Nibbling + skin rash + flaky skin [like dandruff] + bad body smell are things that are common in Shih Tzu dogs. I have 9 + 6 puppies, oldest is 14 years next month... 3 of the 9 have one of the common problems, the 11 year old has 3 of the problems, Myself shower in Oatmeal shampoo and then again in medicated from Vet [Pink colour shampoo] every 4th day, blow dry as there all long haired....... all the rest with No problems every other month with normal dog shampoo.

Edit: Maybe help to look up Shih Tzu dog problems, 'constant licking of paws Shih Tzu dogs' ......... as you say yours is a mix do you know with what ? look up that bred as well.

Edited February 12, 2015 by ignis

[laislica]

It's an inbred thing they are mostly cleaning themselves, leave him alone same as they lick their ass and tail same with a cat, why do cats dig a little hole to have a pee or crap and dogs do not. When you were young if you washed your hands a lot what would you think if your Mum kept putting gloves on your hands, leave the dog alone. My wife sprays her Pussy every time she does a pee she likes to be clean do you wash yours after a pee.

Im thinking a shock collar would do the trick. OP if you didnt want suggestions (that do work) you should have never asked. I gave you viable solutions but, you dont want to try them. Put some hot sauce on your finger and lick it.....do you die, no. Would you lick it again, no. Try it you might be surprised, it just might work.

And if it doesnt work, ok. Its just a dog and trust me they have worse habits than that. Eating poop, licking their ass to name a couple. Lighten up.

OK, you eat a pound of chocolate - do you die?

A dog will die!

Dogs are different o humans.

as an example. They cannot make Vitamin D in their skin......

OP Also search YouTube for things like:

how to stop a dog from licking his paws cesar millan

[2fishin2]

I guess this is a "dog friendly" site but, they recommend putting mits on a mutt. That puts them in the kook list to me.

http://pawlicking.com/steponeskin.html

Heres the more common sense approach list of sites:

https://www.google.co.th/?gws_rd=cr&ei=9xzcVInuDcSLuATi_IGwAw#q=stop+dogs+licking+hot+sauce

Then there are the Cesear lovers that believe he is the only one who knows dogs....

[2fishin2]

It's an inbred thing they are mostly cleaning themselves, leave him alone same as they lick their ass and tail same with a cat, why do cats dig a little hole to have a pee or crap and dogs do not. When you were young if you washed your hands a lot what would you think if your Mum kept putting gloves on your hands, leave the dog alone. My wife sprays her Pussy every time she does a pee she likes to be clean do you wash yours after a pee.

Im thinking a shock collar would do the trick. OP if you didnt want suggestions (that do work) you should have never asked. I gave you viable solutions but, you dont want to try them. Put some hot sauce on your finger and lick it.....do you die, no. Would you lick it again, no. Try it you might be surprised, it just might work.

And if it doesnt work, ok. Its just a dog and trust me they have worse habits than that. Eating poop, licking their ass to name a couple. Lighten up.

OK, you eat a pound of chocolate - do you die?

A dog will die!

Dogs are different o humans.

as an example. They cannot make Vitamin D in their skin......

OP Also search YouTube for things like:

how to stop a dog from licking his paws cesar millan

Why would a person or dog eat a pound of chocolate?