Chewing Paws = Boredom?

UtonaganAtka

Active Member
I have a little issue i need a little help with? Atka used to chew her paws a lot as a young pup (roughly 3months old ) , we found out that changing the cleaning products we where using on our floors helped a lot but lately she has been chewing at one of her back paws almost like she's chewing at the nails ? it has gotten a little bit red from all that chewing , i checked her nails and all seem fine but i DID notice they are a little brittle? not sure if it's cause she chewed at them that bits are braking off or if thats normal xD lol it's just very small flaky bits of nail i know that dogs become destructive or chew or itch when they are bored ,do you think this could be the main issue? does anyone have some ideas for a dog who doesn't like to play with toys something to do or how i can get her interested in the toys? , the only problem is i have a staffy and he has a few behavioral problems such as guarding his possessions , he has gotten a lot better with his training but i cant leave any toys around and being a typical Pit breed he'll take them and destroy them within a few minutes lol.If it has to do with her nails is there something i can give to help ? i do give cod liver oil on a rare occasion but tend not to give it a lot


she gets out walks around afternoon 2 hours after she is fed her morning meal ,we normally walk for 1/2 hours then go home ,at around evening we do a small training session roughly 10 mins long working on her tricks , she is currently fed on Arden Grange but she was fed on raw for a while (but sadly due to my depression i had to stop feeding it ).She was at training class but it was canceled to April 23rd so im not sure if she misses it lol.

I was hoping to teach her Frisbee but she's never been that great with fetch , she can but it's rather lazy lol! so perhaps some tips with that xD she just stares at whatever i thrown like im crazy.

also do you think a sand pit and water pit would be fun for her , Utes LOVE digging , she could dig all day if she could.


and just to add she is due a check-up at the vet , i shall be getting a full blood count to make sure everything is in check , i'll probably mention the chewing as well

Thank you everyone 8D
 

jackienmutts

Honored Member
Chewing paws can be boredom, and it can also be allergies. The feet itch, they chew, causing them to itch more, they chew more - vicious cycle. Your vet trip may be well-timed. Did her chewing start when her diet changed? If so, that might be a clue right there - she could be sensitive to something in her diet. Or - it could be a sensitivity to something in your home, outside, just about anything. Or boredom. Or ?? Really hard to say. Just throwing out possibilities.

Not sure where you live, but as a suggestion as something else to involve her in (since energetic activities don't seem to be her cup of tea), I have two dogs who can't do a lot of overly physical activities (agility, etc), so we are involved in the sport of Nosework. If "Nosework" per se isn't available in your area/where you live, there are a lot of videos on Youtube, or you could play scent games with her, hiding things and asking her to find them. It wears them out mentally, gets them moving, and is fun. Just anothing suggestion. I'm sure others will chime in also.

If she loves digging, she probably would love a sand pit - maybe a kids sandbox, just for her, so she could dig all she wants! Sounds like every dogs dream! :love::LOL:

Good luck getting to the bottom of the 'foot-chewing' issue - things like that are so frustrating.
 

running_dog

Honored Member
Quite a few people (including me :)) have dogs that don't like retrieving much or even at all. I used this game to enliven Zac's retrieve. To start with frisbee needs a catch rather than a fetch so it might be worth getting a kong frisbee (Zac hated the plastic ones) and seeing if Atka wants to catch.

If it is just one paw getting chewed... I got caught out by a hairline crack on the inner side of one of Zac's claws. His claws were brittle too because I'd let mud dry on them. Zac was chewing at his claws so I kept checking but could see nothing wrong until the nail packed with mud and bent back.
 
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