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.

Not every lump or bump on your canine will be a tumor. Some superficial bumps are simply sebaceous cysts on dogs that are just plugged oil glands in the skin and generally absolutely nothing to worry about. Skin cysts can be made up of dead cells or even sweat or clear fluid; these frequently rupture on their own, recover, and are never seen again.

The lipoma is among the most typical lumps seen by veterinarians throughout a physical pet examination. These soft, rounded, non-painful masses, typically present just under the skin but periodically developing from connective tissues deep in between muscles, are normally benign.

Fewer than half of lumps and bumps you find on a dog are malignant, or cancerous. So how are you to understand which lumps and bumps threaten and which can be left alone? Truthfully, you are really just making a guess without getting the pathologist involved. Most veterinarians take a conservative approach to the typical lipomas and eliminate them if they are proliferating or are located in a delicate location.

There are several causes of red eyes in dogs and can be as easy as allergies or more major such as glaucoma or an increase in pressure around the eye. Other possible causes could be an ulcer on the outer part of the eye that could be due to a trauma event, low tear production, or an infection either inside the eye or outside the eye. There are some cases of disease elsewhere in the body that can cause inflammation of the eye.

While not every case of “red eyes” is the indication of a major disease in dogs, it brings with it enough of a concern to require a trip to the vet to ensure that it’s not.