Did you ever think why your dachshund is licking their paws? Is this normal or not? Dachshunds lick their paws for various reasons. Generally, they lick their paws to satisfy their itching. Itching happens in dachshunds caused by various reasons, like seasonal allergies, wounds in their paws, and many others.
In today’s blog, I will share my insight on why dachshunds used to lick their paws and share tips to overcome their root cause.
What are the reasons for a dachshund licking their paws
Allergies
Dachshunds are prone to various types of paw allergies, which are the most common cause of paw licking. Dachshunds are sensitive to pollen, mould spores, dust mites, or grasses present in the environment. When they go outside, walking allergens can stick in their paws and interact with their sensitive skin, leading to itching and irritation, which can cause them to lick their paws.
Dachshund seasonal allergies are one of the common allergies example, they lick their paws excessively. Like any dachshund, allergies are also caused by grass pollen or mould spores. If your dachshund also licks their paws frequently, this may be a sign of seasonal allergies.
What are the steps for dachshund licking paws treatment
Know the allergens
To effectively cure a dachshund from it, your first step must be to be sure which allergens cause your dog to have allergies before treating them. Common allergens that cause allergies in the outer environment include pollen, mould spores, dust mites, and grasses. Being sure is important to effectively treat your dachshunds’ allergies.
Keep your dog away from allergens.
After being sure of which allergens cause your allergies to your dachshund, your first step must be to keep your dog away from allergens that can make allergies more serious in further, for example, if your dachshund has seasonal allergies which can be caused by pollen, mold spores, dust mites, or grasses you need to limit exposure of your dog from these allergens by limiting outdoor walking on grass. This doesn’t cure your dachshund allergies, but helps to not growing further.
Consult your vet
Using medication after consulting your veterinarian is the most effective and fastest way to cure dachshund allergies. A certified veterinary doctor can give the most accurate medicine to your dog after recognizing their symptoms and allergies.
Use essential supplements
Using supplement can be a good approach to effectively treat dachshund allergies by boosting their immunity. Supplements like omega-3 fatty acids and probiotic can be helpful. But remember always consult your veterinarian before using any supplements to your dog.
Injury or Pain
Paw licking is a natural response to pain or injury. Minor injuries like cuts, scrapes, burns, or insect stings may not always be visible, especially in hairy paws, but they can cause licking. If your dog is licking its paws because of pain from a wound on its paws, then here are the steps to relieve the
Clean wound with Warm water with mild soap or saline solution (1 tsp salt + 1 cup warm water), which helps to clean your wound by removing bacteria and less vulnerable to further spread.
Apply a thin layer of antiseptic given by your veterinarian to reduce the risk of infection and support healing.
After applying a layer of antiseptic bandage, the paw to soaked in the antiseptic.
Bandage the paw can itch them, and they can bite and lick it; that’s why you need to prevent them from biting and licking.
Infections
They can lick their paws because of various types of infection, infection makes their paws painful and itchy. Itchiness leads them to lick their paws to satisfy their itching. In this case, you need to take action to cure their infection.
Anxiety or Boredom
Dachshunds are sensitive to boredom and anxiety. When they feel anxious or bored, theyare likely to lick their paws to satisfy themselves. This is a way of enjoying themselves. Boredom can happen by many reasons, including not getting enough physical exercise and mental stimulation.
How to prevent your dog from being bored and anxious:
Provide enough exercise and mental stimulation to feel refreshed.
Early socialisation is key for separation anxiety, you need to socialise your dog from their childhood.
Dry Skin
Dachshunds have sensitive skin to dryness. When their skin gets dry, they tend to lick their paws to satisfy their itchiness. Dry skin can happen for various reasons, such as nutritional deficiency or certain fungal infections. Recognizing the main cause behind dry skin is most important to effectively treat dry skin.
How can we avoid our dachshund’s skin from getting dry?
Feed high-quality dachshund food.
High-quality and well-nutritious food is most important for your dog’s healthy skin. When they don’t get enough vitamins, minerals, protein, and healthy fats, their skin gets dry. That’s why you need to feed them food that is made from high-quality raw material and has enough nutrition to meet a dachshund’s requirements.
Regular grooming
During outdoor walks, many types of bacteria and fungi can stick to your dog’s skin and paws, which can cause infection and dry skin. That’s why regularly bathing and brushing your dog can be helpful.
Moisturize regularly
There are various types of moisturisers available for dog dry skin. You can use these moisturisers to get rid of dogs’ dry skin and paw issues.
Make your dog’s place humid.
During the wintertime time when the air gets dry in this time your dogs’ skin can become dehydrated and making your dogs dry. To solve this issue, you can use a humidifier in your dog’s room.
Parasites
Parasites can also cause paw licking in dachshunds, which triggers intense itching, discomfort, and inflammation in particularly paw area. Common parasite like flea mites and tick can irritate their skin and trigger an allergic reaction. While mites can burrow into the skin, especially between the toes, which can trigger them to lick their paws.
Habitual Behavior
If your dachshund has had any paws-related issues in the past, from this time, they can develop a habit of licking their paws, and when it becomes a habit, it is an automatic action.
Is a dachshund’s paws licking behaviour normal or not?
Yes, this behaviour of dachshunds is considered normal to some extent; they do it to satisfy themselves, but when it starts to become excessive, this needs to be addressed and action taken to reduce it.
Conclusion
Dachshunds can lick their paws for various reasons. Sometimes we think this is normal behaviour of a dachshund, yes, it is, but sometimes their licking behaviour signals various problems like parasites, bacterial and fungal issues, and nutritional deficiency. As an owner of dog owners, we need to recognise their root cause and treat them accordingly. From the solution I provided above, you can recognise and effectively overcome dachshund paw licking behaviour.
