• Foot chewing is often linked to food allergies. They can occur even if the dog has been eating that food or treat for awhile, actually it usually takes a litte bit of time before you see a reaction. Besides his food, does he get any treats? What about chewies?

    Even though Merrick's is a good quality food, the Wilderness Blend still has grains which can be an allergen. You may want to try one of their Before Grain foods and see if there is an improvement.


  • @Tommy360:

    He's on Merrick's Wilderness Blend and has been for about 5 months so I don't think it's that. I'm thinking it's the anal glands, I'm gonna have him checked out. What I noticed over the weekend was that he's actually licking ALL of his paws…..not CONSTANTLY but enough to notice.....

    Foot licking is certainly an alert to allergies, food or otherwise… and honestly, I have never heard that food licking = anal glands... I am sure that the it can happen, but not the norm..... again, not in my experience


  • Yup, we switched our girl to Merricks BG and she's fine now. The licking all paws is a common early food allergy sign. It got worse from there. I'd really give a non-grain food a try if I were you.


  • @BasenjiByTheBay:

    Yup, we switched our girl to Merricks BG and she's fine now. The licking all paws is a common early food allergy sign. It got worse from there. I'd really give a non-grain food a try if I were you.

    Well, that's easy enough to do so I'll go with that first…...thanks to all!!!!
    BTW, can anyone advise which dry BG is better for B's??


  • Our pups eat the dry Merricks BG Buffalo. They like it and are healthy - I've noticed their coats are a little dry (maybe because buffalo is lean?) so I just started adding a little fish oil.


  • Just thought I'd give you guys an update to Ali's paw licking. Took him to the vet and he feels it's an allergy (like a lot of you guys suggested) but he thinks it may be seasonal or environmental, not food. He gave him a shot and some topical ointment for his paw….told me to monitor the situation and see if it goes away in a week or two....
    Oh, and he also drained his anal glands too!!!


  • My boy does this with outside allergens 2 times a year.
    I give him benydril and it works wonders for him.
    BUT he also has grain issues, so he eats grain free food.
    Good luck and keep us posted.


  • @sharronhurlbut:

    My boy does this with outside allergens 2 times a year.
    I give him benydril and it works wonders for him.
    BUT he also has grain issues, so he eats grain free food.
    Good luck and keep us posted.

    Yeah, I think I'm gonna go with the grain free food anyway…......Merrick's BG, I guess. He's on Wilderness Blend now (which he loves)...unless someone has some other grain free suggestions?


  • Ours have been on Merrick's BG for a while, but we just started switching over to Wellness Core (Chicken) and they seem to love it - they'll pick those bits out first. Maybe they just like a change sometimes. If you go that way, be sure to get the Core - other Wellness varieties are not grain free.


  • @BasenjiByTheBay:

    Ours have been on Merrick's BG for a while, but we just started switching over to Wellness Core (Chicken) and they seem to love it - they'll pick those bits out first. Maybe they just like a change sometimes. If you go that way, be sure to get the Core - other Wellness varieties are not grain free.

    I am familiar with Wellness Core but didn't know it was grain free….thanks!!!


  • Paul Newmans chicken and rice.
    Totally Organic for those of us who have dogs who react to things in food
    Its a wonderful product.


  • Any update on how Ali is doing?


  • @BasenjiByTheBay:

    Any update on how Ali is doing?

    Yeah! I took him to the vet a couple of weeks ago, they gave him a shot, prescribed some topical lotion for his one paw, and emptied his anal glands. He seemed to be doing much better with the licking…..but, just to be REALLY sure, I changed his food to Merrick's BG.....and with ALL that, he seems to be doing good. We left NO stone unturned! His vet didn't suspect a food allergy, more of a seasonal or environmental but I thought it'd be a good idea to get him on a grain free food to to cover all the bases......so far, so good!!


  • Oh, that's great to hear - thanks for the update! Funny how we come to "know" and worry about the b's we meet on the forum 😉


  • @BasenjiByTheBay:

    Oh, that's great to hear - thanks for the update! Funny how we come to "know" and worry about the b's we meet on the forum 😉

    Absolutely!;)

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