My dog keeps biting her paws and has a scab by her tail. What's wrong?

Question

My dog bites her paws a lot, and if we try to make her stop she won't. I don't know what to do or what that means. Another thing is that my dog has a big scab like thing by her tail. It won't go away and its getting bigger very slightly. Please, it would be great to get some help. Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed | Female | unspayed | 7 years and 6 months old | 57 lbs

Vanessa Yeager DVM MPH · Accepted Answer

Hi and thanks for your posting! Biting paws can be a sign of an allergy in dogs. If the licking and biting paws occur all year round, it may be a food allergy. If it is seasonal or happens only during certain times of year, it may be an environmental allergy such as to grass , pollen, etc. The scabbing by her tail may mean she's been itching and biting near there. This can also be due to an allergy as well. Tail biting may mean she has a flea allergy as fleas do like to hang out by the tail base region. I would make sure Madison is on a good quality flea preventative once monthly to rule out a flea allergy. You may consider having an allergy test run on Madison and talking to her veterinarian about getting her on an antihistamine safe for dogs or other allergy medication such as Apoquel or Cytopoint. I hope this helps and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

My dog keeps biting her paws and has a scab by her tail. What's wrong?

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