[kathyc]

Hi, My otherwise perfectly healthy dog, has started to bite his paws, like almost all the time. I think he only stops when he sleeps. We just went thru an issue with him biting his belly, and he ended up getting a cortisone shot. That stopped the belly biting, but he replaced it with this. I dont want to look like a nut running to the vet over every little thing, but honestly, this is driving me, and probably him crazy. Why is he doing this? He takes benedryl everyday. I just shampood him with a shampoo from the vet, that is for bacterial and fungal infections. He was biting before the bath. Help!! :?

[Yogi]

Sounds like there is still a bacterial issue or allergy. There also an outside chance when dogs do this that they may have impacted anal glands.

[CorkyMax]

I pretty much said it all in the post I did to your other thread on an itchy dog--But just got done reading an email I get from The Whole Dog Journal and this 'tidbit' may be of interest to you:
People whose dogs suffered from seizures, IBD and other digestive disorders, allergies (both food and environmental), skin problems, chronic ear infections, arthritis, and more have seen their dogs' symptoms reduced or eliminated after they began feeding a homemade diet.

At first, it seems counterintuitive that a diet change would affect disorders like environmental allergies, seizures, or arthritis, but there are several factors involved. Poor-quality and overprocessed ingredients, artificial colors and preservatives, hormones, antibiotics, and other chemicals can contribute to overall ill-health and create or increase allergic sensitivity.

Carbohydrates that are often 50 percent or more of dry dog foods are harder to digest than animal proteins and can lead to inflammation in the body.

In contrast, homemade canine diets, particularly those that have few or no grains or starchy carbs, are higher in protein (which supports both the skin and the immune system) and are easier to digest (which can improve the health of the digestive tract and keep the body's immune system from becoming overreactive).