Why is my dog chewing its feet?
Some dogs chew their feet because they have arthritis pain, and some dogs chew their feet due to behavioral reasons, the most common reason for foot-chewing is allergic disease. It makes good sense when you consider it: considering that a lot of allergens are plant-based, and dogs walk on grasses, if they’re allergic to grass their feet will be irritated. And chewing and licking feels good to dogs, so they lick their feet when they are irritated.
Foot chewing and licking can likewise support food allergies. For this reason, we’ll frequently advise a change to a hypoallergenic diet when a pet dog is licking its feet. In some cases this takes care of the problem, but sadly most allergic dogs have an environmental allergic reaction, and the food does not always resolve the problem.