[Honey_0489]

My dog is a 3years old cross between a staffy and a lakeland. Recently he keeps chewing on the padded side of his paws or constantly licking them. We are worried that this could be a symptom of something or that he could hurt himself. Any answers or recommendations will be greatly appriciated

[Alty]

Is his paw swollen, red, flaky? Are there any bumps or other abnormalities?

There are many things that could be going on here. He could have stepped on something, and he's trying to remove it. Or something is irritating him. He could also have cysts on his feet.

This could be allergies, arthritis, something that's hurting him that you can't see.

The vet is a good option. If this is something he's just recently started doing, then it's likely something medical, and only your vet can give you a diagnosis.

If he's always chewed on his paws then this is likely a behavioral thing. If that's the case then training or putting something on his paws to make it unpleasant to chew, is the only option.

First rule out the medical. If there's nothing medical going on, we can discuss behavior modification. :)

[Cowgirl96]

Have you checked the dog for fleas? It could be a sign of so many things but allergies, fleas, and atritus are all comon reasons. If it's only 3 it prob don't have atritus. So check it for fleas and if it don't have them no other cause is found and it continues go to the vet. Oh and if you recently swetched shampoos or food try switching back on at a time it could be an allergy to one of them. Good luck!

[Aurora_Bell]

The number one sign of allergies is paw chewing. I would take a look at the food you are feeding firstly, also the floor cleaning products. Has he only recently started doing this? Is it worse after a floor washing? My female staffy mix has lots of allergy problems, when spring arrives her face and paws get very itchy from environmental changes. The best solution for us is Bennadryl. I would contact your vet to make sure it's safe and proper dosing for your size and age of dog.

If you use a commercial brand food, that maybe the culprit. Those types of foods generally are filled with wheat, corn and by products, not easily digestible for most dogs. While dogs do require SOME grains in their diet, the amount is minimal.