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ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
by Elissa

My 1 1/2 yr old maltese chews at his paws and makes them bleed. What can I do to stop it?

DISCUSSION:

Have you tried spraying her paws with bittler apple? It seems anything that Sophie is nawing on and I spray with it, she has no interest in. It is all natural products and won't hurt her. You can find it in any of the catalogs and pet stores. Good luck.
-Kathy

I would have him checked for allergies. Maybe its his diet. If a food allergy trial diet is not beneficial consider testing for inhalant allergies.
-Linda

What about putting some awful tasting stuff on his paws eg bitter apple? I have not had the problem at all but I had Snowy nipping at my fingers. So I smeared fresh aloe vera juice (yes, I checked, aloe vera is safe) because it really tastes awful. Snowy tasted the aloe then started licking my hands. Obviously, he didn't find it in a least bit awful. However, I haven't had to resort to putting other things as the nipping has decreased quite a bit.
-Sim

I have been doing some thinking about this when I saw it posted earlier. Maybe there is something irritating being picked up from the carpet, such as a freshener powder? Or something on the grass outside? Try to think of what your baby may be walking in, just a suggestion. When I walk Taffy on the beach I have to wash her because the salt and sand will dry out paws on dogs. Good Luck!
-Robin K.

My pup did the same I took him to the vet and turns out he is either elerjik to grass or has an alergy so he is on this chocolate (bribery) to make him better.
-Bear

Paw chewing is a sign of allergies - watch for color changing of the skin from pink to black. There are a lot of cells in the dog's paws and that's why they are affected. I had a Lhasa for almost 12 years. He had allergies from the time he was 2 years old. I had him tested, he was allergic to everything you could think of. We tried to desensityze him and it got worse. He was taking prednisone until we had him put to sleep. At the end, it got so bad, he was chewing his paws open to the flesh. Try changing his food first. The lady I bought my little "Alex" from told me she had one (1) allergic dog once in 9 years of breeding, and the dog was allergic to the food (Science Diet).
-Janine

Dear Elissa,My dog Zachary has a "paw chewing problem" too. I have a theory about it, as I have observed it for several years now. His paw chewing is sort of a compulsive behavior, and I have noticed that it sometimes begins under certain circumstances. I actually think it might be -yes a psychological thing. Zach tends to exibit more of this behavior in the winter when cabin fever is at its worst. In the summertime I have him out more often and I take him to more places, and the behavior strangely lessens. I would suggest that you think about things that might be stressing you pup out. Try to observe what's going on right before or at the time of the behavior. Maybe you can determine what's so stressful to him. Try to resolve whatever the issue may be, with distraction. See if it works. Begin to play with him or take him outside, etc... Good Luck!! Kathleen
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