Not a home remedy, but you might want to ask your vet if Apoquel might be more effective. Its not particularly cheap, but it helps our dog with her allergies.

Is it just the pads of her paws? Does she have any redness on her tummy or inside of her ears? If it's just the pads, its possible it's something on the ground; every time she comes in, wash or wipe down or paws to remove any pollens, chemicals, or other residues. If you used any new cleaners on the floors, switch to something else and give those floors a good rinse, and if you have any new rugs, pick them up or keep her off them to see if that helps.

For the raw paws, I know I had a friend who had a salt water soak treatment for her dog's paws when he made a mess of them. I'll see if I can find out how that worked and update.

Update: not sure about the details on the saltwater solution, but I know she was just dissolving sea salt in water for it. He had chewed up his paws and made a hot spot on his foreleg, and the salt water was supposed to help with healing. I'd ask your vet for further recommendations/instructions before doing that, though. I don't know well enough what salinity, etc..

my girl has green gooey eyes every morning! I assume that is allergies?

Might be a fungus and you might need a better vet. I'm not sure making a dog sleep is the answer to a paw licking problem.

My dog scratches and was advised it might be a food allergy. I can't tell you how much money I spent on different foods until I went to a new vet. The new vet recommended a cytopoint shot

https://www.cytopoint4dogs.com/about-cytopoint.aspx

Tallulah stoped scratching within the hour. Gets a shot about everything three months now.

typeandrun, it might be worth asking your vet to make sure it couldn't be a symptom of something else. The green sounds a bit concerning to me ...

I would be looking at where she walks it might be something irritating her feet . My dog is allergic to chicken in his dog food so we get to buy free range duck food at 100.00 a bag every 2 weeks.This is good advice but maybe a new vet .

Whilst it is typical for dogs to groom themselves by licking, it can also signal an underlying issue. Paw licking can be a sign of pain, allergy, boredom, anxiety, dry skin, hormone imbalances or the presence of fleas or ticks. If you are concerned there is an underlying health issue, seek veterinarian advice.Nov 5, 2018

Oh yes, my dog is allergic to most of the foods on the market ... no wheat, no barley, no corn, no glycerin, no red meat or liver (gastro issues on that one), pretty sure egg is a no-no, and from there it was trial and error, but definitely limited ingredient. She eats Canidae Pure Sky, their duck recipe; she can eat the salmon/fish recipe, too, but it's stinkier for us.

Her food allergies also apply to all her cookies ... we're constantly reading ingredients.

I spent about 25 years in the humane industry providing pet health care in underprivileged areas. I worked with a lot of vets that were down to earth, volunteering their time, just doing what was best for the animals.

Where a dog is biting is very indicative to the type of allergy. Above the tail is flea bite allergy, feet is food/protein allergy, belly is grass or carpet powder, face rubbing is seasonal allergy.

You have to look at what you have been feeding your dog - I am going to take a wild guess that it is a chicken based food. If I am right switch the food to a lamb based food for 6 weeks. No chicken based treats, no chicken wet food. Really read the label and make sure that there isn't chicken included in anything you feed her for 6 weeks. If I am right you will know that your dog is allergic to chicken.

Keep feeding the lamb, but add in new proteins - try to get something that is rabbit or venison or beef or fish - keep the lamb as your core food, but after every 3 bags of lamb pick a different protein source and buy a bag of rabbit or venison or or or and switch the food over a 10 day period.

If you ate strawberries every day for a year you would probably become allergic to strawberries. Switching things up gives the immune system a break and we see less allergies.

My golden retriever was allergic to nearly everything. You need to stop the paw licking right away or it will become a comfort habit. We used benedryl gel on her paws for nighttime and the spray for during the day. We kept her paws well trimmed of fur and cleaned them as often as possible. We also kept them dry as possible. She liked the cool feeling of the spray and the gel. Also make sure the ears are very clean, there’s often transfer of infected ears to paws when they scratch their ears so those obviously need to be clean and dry as well. It’s a slippery slope and you must remain diligent early on since behaviors develop and remain even when the problem subsides. Any non-perfumed inert cream will help the healing process.

Also - ask your vet if he can write you a prescription for NeoPredef.

It is a powdered form of neosporin with other anti inflammatory and anit-itch ingredients.

Because it is a powder the dogs don't mess with it like an ointment and it seems to provide great relief while we are getting skin allergies under control.

https://www.zoetisus.com/products/cats/neo-predef.aspx#

We went to a Vet who specialized in allergies. Our rescue Weimie had lesions on her skin and missing spots of her coat. Anti bacterial baths and Atopica pills. After she healed she was moved to Apoquel which was not effective for her. Now on Cytopoint injections every 4-5 weeks which controls symptoms and no side effects. Still on lamb and rice for food. Very active and happy girl now.

We had taken her to vet, and he suspected allergies, her eyes were mildly inflamed. She was prescribed eye drops and it all went away. A few weeks later it is back.

Any ideas? She is on an organic puppy food:

Chicken Meal, Brown Rice, Ground Grain Sorghum, Dried Plain Beet Pulp, Chicken Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Oat Groats, Menhaden Fish Meal, Natural Flavor, Egg Product, Brewers Dried Yeast, Menhaden Fish Oil (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Whole Ground Flaxseed, Canola Oil (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Lecithin, Chicken Cartilage (Source of Chondroitin Sulfate), Potassium Chloride, Salt, DL-Methionine, Choline Chloride, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Cranberries, Dried Blueberries, L-Lysine, Fructooligosaccharide, Turmeric Powder, Dried Carrots, Dried Spinach, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Calcium Carbonate, Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Niacin Supplement, Dried Seaweed Meal, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Acetate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Citric Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Copper Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganous Oxide, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate.

typeandrun, ingredients on there that could be allergens would be chicken, sorghum, and "egg product" ... something that is limited ingredient can be helpful if you decide to switch. Not all of those ingredients could be the issues, or it could be some other ingredient, as all dogs are different, but those would be common allergens. I would also check any of the cookies you feed her.

It could also be seasonal allergies ... different things blooming at different times.

After spending $$$ over many months at regular Vet with zero relief, I took him to https://www.memphisveterinaryspecialists.com/site/home Suggest you phone them for a referral in your area.

$1,100 spent on ONE visit for allergy testing...absolutely worth it. I inject "serum" once per week. Serum is effective only for environmental allergens (grass, pollen, etc.). There is NO ACCURATE testing available for food allergies. Specialist Vet told me to feed only "duck based" food (I buy Avoderm from Chewy).

Serum and new diet made an amazing difference. We realized that our poor dog had never been really "well" until now. Hope this helps.

We had a similar problem. Took our dog to a doggie dermatologist who ran an allergy test. Our dog was allergic to wool and grass. We removed all our area rugs. We gave him a prescribed allergy injection weekly and that did the trick. I strongly urge you to seek a specialist. We tried a lot of different things with our regular vet but wished we'd gone to the specialist earlier.

My dog gets seasonal allergies starting in the spring. Apoquel works very well for her. So far this spring she isn’t showing any signs of allergies, and I haven’t started her on the Apoquel this year. Last fall I switched her food from Blue Buffalo to Earthborn Holistic Venture Smoked Turkey & Butternut Squash Limited Ingredient Diet Grain-Free Dry Dog Food. That’s the only thing that’s changed for her. We’ll see if her allergies come back.

Advice given by teacher in Vet school.

"After you graduate, go to the bank and take out a loan for one million dollars. Use the money to buy pedigreed dogs for everyone in town. You'll make your money back ten-fold treating these purebreds".

But, we love a certain breed, so pay we must.

Chiflipper, my dog is the furthest thing from a purebred.

Some purebred breeds are really prone to allergies, some are not. Some have hip issues, some do not. A mixed breed can inherit the good and bad genes from the purebred side, so you may end up with a dog without allergies and no hip problems or one with allergies or one with hip problems or one with allergies and hip problems. Issues associated with recessive genes are limited in mixed breed dogs, but getting a mixed breed is no guarantee of health and getting a purebred is no guarantee of bad health.

I have owned plenty of both purebreds and mixed breeds. The bigger health issues were in the pups that had a rough start in life, taken from mom too early, undernourished or sick when I got them. They were the mixed breeds, but the issues didn't stem from the breeding.

In 25 years and serving over 30,000 clients and working in a humane society where we brought in over 400 animals a week I can only think of two reasons that dogs had 4 swollen itchy paws.

Food allergy is number 1, burned paws is number 2 (hot blacktop or dogs who ran through a fire pit or victims of the California Wild Fires).

My first approach with these symptoms would be to limit the diet for 6 weeks. If that doesn't work I would take the animal to a specialist.

If they are showing signs of secondary infections I would take them to my regular vet and get antibiotics.

Food allergies are at the top of your list for swollen itchy paws?

Similar to Alison, one of our dogs (not a purebred) has seasonal allergies, and gets red, RED paws. He rarely licks....but sometimes he does...

Our vet said it is very common, and that food allergies are NOT common, but environmental allergies are most common, in this circumstance. And this makes sense, since we feed the same food (or alternate between the same few dry foods) and the allergies come back in the spring/summer and are gone in the fall. Of course every case is different. He is 40 pounds, and takes 1/2 of an Apoquel twice/day. (So, 8mg in the morning, and 8mg at night). We have noticed no side effects.

It helps control the redness, though it seems to take a few days to see any change, and his paws mostly stay slightly pink throughout the season, even on the Apoquel.

This is just our experience.

p.s. Our allergic dog ALSO had severe hip dysplasia. Adopted from a rescue at 1 year of age, after living for most of that year in a high-kill shelter (shelter staff couldn't bear to put him down because of his sweet personality), the lack of arthritic changes in his hips qualified him for a double hip TPO surgery, usually reserved for puppies. And his hips are great now! But yes, hips/allergies/non-purebred rescue dog.

typeandrun - itchy, swollen eyes is not typically food allergy. It is more likely an allergy to something in the air much like humans who are allergic to cats and get itchy eyes as soon as they walk into a home with cats. Goopy eye can be allergy related or could be related to upper respiratory issues or tear duct issues. Severe goopy eyes are often a sign of and eye infection.

Some breeds are more likely to have issues with tear ducts - Cocker Spaniels and Poodles come to mind. Some dogs have more eye issues when they have short muzzles and shallow eye sockets ( Shih-tzu, Pug type faces). Some dogs also have issues with hair that grows wrong or curls into the eye and causes irritation)

This is not near as cut and dry as itchy paws.

It is on the top of her paws she licks till they are raw. I am doing as my vet told me but will try Lamb dog food and make sure no chicken is in anything. Right now I have her own Purina 1, Beef and Rice. Her skin is dry and flaky also. Thanks for all the info.

Apoquel and/or Cytopoint, made by Zoetis, are highly effective allergy meds for dogs. Call your vet for an appointment and ask about these pharmaceuticals; much better than Benadryl or steroids.

Sorry I didn't read through all of the responses, but it is very common for food allergies to show up in paw licking. My poor pup has gone through this. I now try to alternate her food and switched from the protein sources that seemed to be most problematic. My vet prescribed a steroid spray for the spots where she was licking her paws raw and that seemed to help quite a bit (in conjunction with changing her food). I know you can give Benadryl or Apoquel, but I would not want to give these medications long-term to my dog.

@pricklypearcactus Why not give them long-term? I want to know what are the risks?

I suggest trying a raw food diet. I had two dogs with severe allergies 16 years ago, I did some research and switched to a raw diet. Their allergies cleared up, no more “hot spots”, paw licking, and very few ear infections (which also was a chronic problem). Do some reading, it was amazing the difference in my pups! And their teeth stay in great shape from the raw bones I feed also. Good luck

I was a veterinary technician for many years and every veterinarian I ever worked for advised against feeding raw diets. Both the CDC and the AVMA advise against it as well. But if you do want to start a raw diet for your dog, I would recommend speaking with your veterinarian to find out the risks involved. Also, your veterinarian can help you put together a diet plan to avoid nutritional imbalances.

We have done every diet imaginable upwards of 300 a month plus Apoquel which because of the dogs weight is 175 a month. We are now doing a grain free, chicken free diet and Apoquel. For his age it is going ok. I wish you well. We spend about 300 total now with food and medication.

Try Natures Logic Lamb Meal - it's not cheap, but a great food. To stop the licking, we have put baby socks on our dogs paws and used painters tape to keep them on.

Anne, check pricing on Apoquel. 100 of the 16 mg tablets can be purchased through 1 800 pet meds for $219. For maintenance dosing of 180 lb dog that would be 2 pills per day ($4.38) or $131 per month. If you are paying $175 you paying more than you need to pay.

As much as I would like to believe that veterinarians are prescribing minimum necessary medications the truth is that I often see over vaccination, over medication and unnecessary testing.

If your child had allergies would you keep them on medication year round or treat when needed? It really depends on the severity of the allergies. There are people who take allergy medicine every day of their lives, but most of us do not. We avoid known allergens and take medication to relieve symptoms when needed.

Thank you very much.. Now I have a lot of thinking to do.

Thank you Holly, didn't know you are a vet! Glad to hear that my vet said exactly what you said. :)

I recommend another food/brand than your current.

I had a dog with food allergies, I ended up cooking her food.

There are many books and magazine on canine food allergies.

Sorry for you dog, you can not afford veterinary care.

My dog is allergic to a lot of things. We had him allergy tested and now he is on sublingual treatment for about the past month. I'm hoping it helps him.

Yes, we sure do! Our poor pup seems to be allergic to everything (food and environmental). She gets sores from licking on her paws and multiple other spots all over her body, she’s prone to ear infections, hair loss from scratching, rashes on her stomach/legs that quickly get infected, etc. We tried Benadryl and Apoquel with no reduction in symptoms. After many, many vet visits and lots of trial and error, she now gets a cytopoint allergy injection every 4 weeks year round along with medicated baths/wipes for sores as needed, and she eats only Hills Z/D prescription dog food and treats. She is a rescue dog, and I’m very thankful she found her way to us so we can take care of her❤️. Despite all of her ailments, she’s a really happy, loving, and active dog. Good luck finding something that helps!

Allergies sure are common in dogs! And we hate to see them suffer, being so uncomfortable.

Westies, such as mine, are prone to itchy skin problems. For mine, the itchiness seems to come in the fall, and it's non-stop. I tried Benedryl, didn't even make him sleepy or stop the scratching. My vet said it only helps in about 15% of cases.

Then we tried Cytopoint, and he stopped scratching almost immediately. He usually needs 1-2 monthly shots in the fall, and the rest of the year he's ok. I don't like to have him get the injections at all, but there is a quality of life issue. It's terrible to see a dog in misery. I wash him with Douxo shampoo, gently massaging his skin with a soft boar bristle brush which he loves. That helps too.

We have a pug with allergies. We spent three years trying everything to get them under control. Some are food allergies and others environment. There are a lot of options some more expensive than others. We used prescription food, cooked for her for a while then found a food a commercial food that works for her. After allergy testing and medications from Benadryl to everything the vet could think some worked, but caused stomach issues some did not work at all finally as a last resort our vet suggested Doxepin. It is a prescription we get at the local pharmacy. Another thing that worked for us was to eliminate all baths with any soap type cleaners. We tried everything the vet could prescribe or suggest and after each bath the itching and hives would we terrible. We stumbled on a mixture of distilled water and old fashioned brown listernie we mix in a spray bottle and soak her fur then comb. We follow that with a mixture of distilled water and a few drops of witch hazel. Her allergist was amazed that he could find no yeast on her skin even between her toes. With no yeast she has no odor and no more itching. We still deal with eye issues, but no,longer have ear infections. There is no doubt it is frustrating trying to provide them relief, it is costly trying all the different medications and foods, but finding out fur friends relief means we all sleep better. Our little gal is 16 1/2 now and we have had an additional eleven years with her. Her suffering and allergies were so bad we had considered the unthinkable.

I am not a vet and would never give that type of advice, but would offer that the distilled water and witch hazel might offer some relief to swollen raw paws. Our vet did have us add a couple of drops of tea tree oil to the mixture when her paws were real raw.

The food we use is Stella and Chewy dehydrated turkey or venison we add water to reconstitute a spoon of pumpkin and a spoon of salmon. We found our sweet gal was allergic to beef and chicken and barley. A bit of fun she is also allergic to grass thank goodness she like to potty on the mulch.

Good luck

I have a 12yr husky allergy issues currently on apoquel 8mg dont want it long term but really helps for now cytopoint did nothing benedryl doesn't help unless I give 2 itching has stopped so has itching at mouth but having paw pad problem rough scratchy dry no hot pavement just started apoquel agn seems to help on prescription diet dd venison and potato has coconut oil in it allergy to chicken not sure about other proteins but would like to try also on omega 3 6 9 supplement with cosequin for joints what is a good dog food for allergies any tips would really be helpful

My dog has allergies to most of the grains and some seasonal allergies, and she gets digestive upset from beef liver and similar (too rich). The vet said it was best to still pick a food with grain if at all possible. She's on apoquel daily, has been since she was young, with no side effects, and it does help; you can always tell if a dose gets missed because sge gets itchy.

A red flag that she's getting an allergen is that her ears and tummy skin get more red than pink (she's a bichon). Apoquel helps some with food allergens, but not enough to hide those signs of irritation and itch.

We've gone through a number of foods and have to watch out for reformulations that might add an allergen. She can't have wheat, barley, corn, or soy (corn and barley are the worst). She's sensative to quinoa, beef, and organ meat (okay if it's far down the list). Rice and oat are okay for her.

She currently eats 3/4 Acana Wholesome Grains Duck & Pumpkin (also looked at Acana Singles - their limited ingredient) and 1/4 Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diet Duck & Brown Rice. Both are fine on their own for allergies, but the Natural Balance wasn't rich enough for her (she was always hungry and eating grass); our other dog does great on the Natural Balance by itself.

My advice: stick to limited ingredient, always keep a copy of the ingredients list (cut it off the bag if you're tossing the rest of the bag), and check the ingredientsof every bag ... We've had multiple foods reformulate on us causing issues (Barley was added in one case, and another increased the chickpeas or lentils or something - I think that brand may have subsequently switched back to its old formula.) I'd be surprised if coconut oil was the issue, but it's hard to rule anything out.

We always transition slowly 75%-25%, 50%-50%, 25%-75% between a current food and a new food; we can usually tell by 50-50 if there's a major issue with a new food for her, though sometimes it takes getting to a majority of new to see it (if it's really bad, you can see it within days of adding new). When adding the Acana, we just didn't bother fully transitioning to it for fear it might be too rich ... and it's working, so if you find something working, just go with it!

May I ask what the prescription diet is for? Our non-allergy dog was on prescription food for bladder stone prevention, and it was about what wasn't in the food more than what was in it, but she was going down hill on it (because it was mostly corn!) ... we ended up switching her to the Natural Balance, and she improved! She might be slightly more at risk for bladder stones, I guess, but at 14, we're willing to risk it, since the switch caused her fur to thicken, her energy to improve, and her to be generally happier, with less stinky breath.

I can't speak to supplements, as none our dogs have had them, though the Pet Vet, Lucky Dog or one of those shows seems to like to give Cosequin to most of their dogs, so there's probably something to it.

She's on prescription food for allergies would like to put her on something else that would work my dog has alot of what your dog has with allergies alot of what you said I appreciate and hope it

I find it interesting that that food specifies that it holds a benefit of not containing soy protein and then contains soybean oil. I'm in no way an expert, but it seems a bit counter intuitive to me. It does appear to be another case of what's not in the food being more important than what is.

You might want to look into other options for limited ingredient diet foods. Natural Balance has quite a few, including one with venison for its protein if you want to keep her on it: https://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dog-formulas/dry-food/limited-ingredient-diets/sweet-potato-venison

Check your treats, too ... make sure you're not accidentally introducing allergens there. If she can have oat, you might check out Bocce's Bakery biscuits; they have very few ingredients in them, likewise Sojo's good dog biscuits. You could also go with Natural Balance's limited ingredient line. Our little miss allergic has enjoyed some of the Wet Noses treats, too, but it requires more ingredient reading. Someone at one of the stores also mentioned treats by Jiminy's, though I don't know much about them beyond they're actually cricket based (hence Jiminy).

Ok thanks was wondering same thing re soy and soy oil I have tried natural balance I have tried that she loves it but softer bowel movements mbe from sweet potato could try it again see what happens have also tried zignature and wellness core can't have chicken lamb grain haven't tried anything other than venison yet she also has paw pad problem right paw no infection not raw no bleeding no itching cracky dry and scratchy when I touch it vet told me to use bag balm vitamin e I have paw soother and pawtection by natural dog company but haven't tried paw soother yet she doesn't go on hot pavement so was wondering if it could be from an allergy

@dawnmarie56 - Suggestion for paws only, avoid walking her on grassy areas that are "well maintained". If the grass is weed-free and lushly green it likely has had chemicals applied to it (weed killer/fertilizer). Thoroughly wash paws after walks. I had great success using Musher's Secret, the go-to paw fix used for sled dogs.

Thank you haven't tried that mushers but can you use it for healing or is it for protection hers are dry cracked one of them is really scratchy she was holding a thin rawhide so I'm wondering if that could have did something to her paw pad she's not getting them anymore as of today other than that she's a healthy 12yr husky but does go on grass alot esp when it's cut

@dawnmarie56 - Mushers Secret every day, year round, to maintain healthy paw pads. Back in the Stone Age of wringer-washers and dishwashing by hand all women used a lanolin-based lotion to prevent cracked skin.