I was wondering if anyone else's B does that we will go outside and after a few mins he lays down in the sun and start chewing the ball of his foot he's not making it red or cutting it it sounds like he is trying to scrap something off there but there isn't nothing there. I thought maybe since i have been in Mass the whole time and just a couple weeks ago Moved to Elpaso Tx maybe it was the hot pavment but he does it when it's dark and shady too so i don't understand it I did give him some benadryl for a couple days thinking maybe it was an alegic reaction but that didn't seem to make a diffance . If he does it and it's not gonna hurt him i could care less but i just don't want him cutting open the bottom of his paw. I didn't go to the vet yet because i am in the process of weeding them out to witch one i really want. . I was wondering if maybe anyone else's B does the same thing I will get a picture of him doing it later on to kinda help with what i am talking about …

any suggestions for what to do besides putting booties on him or the bitter apple stuff tried that also {didn't work } ???????

Does he only do it outside and always the same foot?

I was living in El Paso Tx for a while and that is when Mica wandered into my life and adopted me. There are alot of thorns and prickers everywhere, and it could be invisible prickers from the fauna. Mica learned to lift up her paw and tell me that she had a larger sticker in one of them, so I would promptly pull the sticker out. I think I learned to scope the bottom of her paw pads after a walk sometimes, too, to see if there were any unnecessary pickers sticking out there … some of the stickers are almost hairlike and invisible and theyre nasty little things. I would do it by just rubbing my finger tips on her paw pads to see if there was anything sticking out, almost invisibly. He might be cleaning the paw pads and and may have a little dirt in some of the pads too... His paw pads may still be soft from a different environment as the desert is a bit harsh, too...alot of sand, cactus, hot weather ... unforgiving soil and little precipitation... maybe his paw pads are toughening up, too.

Bamicas mom

Tanza it isn't just one paw he's not picky he does it threw all of them lol Maybe ur right Bamica maybe its just his pads toughing up cuz like i said he doesnt like try to cut it just like u said maybe has some dirt in and that would mean hes messy so he needs to fix that lol I have been keeping an eye on him and when he does it and wouldnt u know it everytime i have tried to take a pic he stops… I will check his pads to make sure he doesnt have anything in them But i really don't think thats it i Have 2 other dogs and they havent done it so maybe it is just the dirt the other 2 could care less if there dirty unlike Phoenix who thinks if he has a little piece of dirt on him he's ruined till he gets all clean again lol

Try wiping them off with a baby wipe, once you bring him into the house.
See if that helps get the "ichy's" off…

Blaze chews the pad of his feet when he's stressed or unsure of something and has tired himself out by pacing and whining. I just give him a dentastick or a stuffed Kong and he's fine

Thanks for the idea's i will try them anymore idea's please feel free to leave them i will be trying them hopefully one of them is bound to work I've always lived in Boston so it's a BIG change for me but also for him apparently the other 2 could care less they love the yard and the hose lol

Just another idea… Basenjis appear to be notoriously clean... at least I find Mica to be...maybe hes trying to clean off the dust from walking outside by licking each paw pad...the baby wipes suggested sound like a good route, too. I know my Mica loves attention and absolutely thrives at being the center of anything at all ...sometimes I just give a pat and tell her its okay or just look at the "owie" and that seems to soothe or make it better. It may be that same kind of dog thinking...making the senjis feel even more a part of the pack in cleaning and grooming and attention to their little doggie wants by the alpha...
BaMicas mom

Jack does it too, when he has been outside, and then comes in to lie down on the couch, but he is very meticulous about licking each paw. I think he is just cleaning.

phoenix3, my Tyler does this also. It looks like chewing, or flea nibbles but sounds like scraping. There was never any redness or pad tissue that looked nicked. We determined he just HATED dirty feet. When his pads are muddy or wet or sandy, thats the worst!! He runs to the dog bed, and with OCD state of mind cleans and cleans and cleans while making this noise that sounds like 'wombwombwombwomb' in the back of his throat.

It used to drive us and the vet crazy. Now after 10 years, we know it's just another weird Tyler thing.

My B chews her paw sometimes too..doesn't last long and its like she is cleaning herself so we just ignore it.