Why is my dog licking a red, hairless paw spot? Is it stress?

Question

This spot popped up again. When I took her in for a wellness check about two months ago, she had hairless spots on her feet similar to these pictured, but they were grey, not red. And the vet wasn't worried as they didn't seem to be painful to my dog. The two pictures are taken a week apart. Should she go in to the vet? Or could it possibly be just her doing this due to stress? She does seem to itch it, or at least bite it until the hair is gone then turns to licking. Thank you! Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Small (up to 22lb) | Female | spayed | 3 years and 3 months old | 18 lbs

Dr. Heidi DVM, CVA, CCRT, CVTP, CVSMT, CVCH · Accepted Answer

Since it sounds like this spot looks different that the spot that your vet saw 2 months ago, I do think it is worth having your vet evaluate this spot. Some dogs are prone to developing lick granulomas where they will continually lick and chew at a spot from stress. The longer the behavior continues, the harder it is to resolve the wound, so I would recommend having your vet evaluate it soon. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Why is my dog licking a red, hairless paw spot? Is it stress?

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