My dog keeps licking one paw, it's red and he won't let me touch it.

Question

My French bulldog, bobby, is constantly licking just one of his paws I’m not sure why he’s doing it , it doesn’t seem to be sore sometimes he won’t let us touch it he just moves it away and sometimes it will go red. He can do this for hours at a time. Pet's info: Dog | French Bulldog | Male | unneutered | 1 year and 4 months old

Kevin Sanada, DVM · Accepted Answer

Dogs over-lick for a few different reasons, so it's difficult to say what's causing it. Bobby may be over-licking the area because it's sore from an injury, has something like a thorn is stuck under the skin, or is infected. I think it will be fine to try and treat this at home for now (even though we don't know the cause), but would recommend a visit to the vet if: 1) It doesn't get better in 2 weeks 2) It starts to bleed or there is a break in the skin Here are my recommendations: 1) Wash/spray the area with just cool, clean water (no soap or other antiseptics) for at least 5 minutes at a time. Do this at least twice a day. 2) Ice the foot for 15 minutes once a day. 3) Tape a sock over the foot to prevent licking. You can also get some anti-lick sprays at the pet store to spray on the paw. Once the skin looks normal and/or Bobby stops trying to lick, you can stop the cleaning/bandaging. I hope that helps and Bobby gets better soon.

My dog keeps licking one paw, it's red and he won't let me touch it.

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