Pododermatitis in Dogs: What to Know

Occasional paw licking is normal grooming behavior in dogs. However, when licking becomes excessive or persistent, it often signals an underlying problem. If your dog’s paws appear red, swollen, or inflamed, they may have pododermatitis, a condition involving inflammation of the paw skin.

Prompt diagnosis and treatment are important because ongoing inflammation can lead to chronic flare-ups, infections and long-term discomfort.

In This Article

• • Understanding Pododermatitis
  • Warning Signs to Watch For
  • Root Causes
  • Diagnosing Pododermatitis
  • Treatment and Management
  • Long-Term Outlook
  • FAQs About Pododermatitis in Dogs

What Is Pododermatitis in Dogs?

Dr. Millie Rosales is a board-certified veterinary dermatologist. She explains that pododermatitis is a broad medical term for inflammation of the paw skin. The inflammation can affect one or more paws and involve part of a paw or the entire foot.

“It can be the paw, the digits, around the nail, or the pads,” she says.

Because pododermatitis describes a symptom rather than a specific disease, your veterinarian must find out what’s causing it before deciding on a treatment plan.

Signs of Pododermatitis in Dogs

The most common sign of pododermatitis is persistent licking and chewing of the paws. According to Dr. Rosales, this behavior often indicates itchiness, irritation, or discomfort. The paws may appear red and inflamed, and early signs can sometimes be missed.

“A dog owner may not think to separate and look between the toes for signs of inflammation,” she says. “Then it can get worse from there, where the dog has bleeding, ulcerated, crusty, cracking, swollen paws, and it hurts to walk.”

Other possible signs include:

• Hair loss
• Hyperpigmentation (dark patches on the skin)
• Brown saliva stains on the hair around the paw
• Thickened skin or pads
• Draining tracts
• Scaling
• Lameness
• Poor appetite
• Lethargy

If your dog begins licking or chewing their paws excessively, contact your veterinarian promptly. Delayed treatment can allow infections and other complications to develop.

What Causes Pododermatitis in Dogs?

One of the biggest challenges in treating pododermatitis is that it often has multiple causes. There’s always a primary underlying cause, but secondary and contributing factors often influence the severity and persistence of the condition.

Primary Causes of Pododermatitis in Dogs

“It’s important to understand that there are many causes of pododermatitis,” Dr. Rosales says.

Sometimes the cause is obvious, while other cases require extensive diagnostic testing. Some dogs may even have multiple underlying conditions contributing to the inflammation.

Dr. Rosales explains that allergies are among the most common causes. These may include food allergies or atopy, which involves environmental allergens such as pollen from trees, grasses, and weeds.

“Those allergies will cause the dog to have very itchy feet, and the chewing and licking leads to trauma and often infection,” she says.

Other primary causes of pododermatitis in dogs include:

• Mange
• Autoimmune disorders such as pemphigus foliaceous or pemphigus vulgaris (immune-system diseases that attack the skin)
• Hormonal disorders such as hypothyroidism or Cushing’s disease
• Metabolic disorders such as hepatic cutaneous syndrome (a rare liver-related skin disease)
• Nutritional deficiencies, including zinc deficiency
• Fungal infections such as ringworm
• Parasites such as hookworms
• Foreign bodies such as foxtail grass seed heads, splinters, or glass
• Behavioral issues including compulsive disorders or anxiety
• Leishmania (a parasitic disease spread by sand flies)
• Cancer

When only one paw is affected, veterinarians may be especially suspicious of a foreign body injury.

Secondary Causes

Secondary infections commonly develop because inflamed paws create an environment that allows bacteria or yeast to thrive — frequent licking and chewing further damage the skin barrier, increasing the risk of infection.

Dr. Rosales explains that many dogs first visit a veterinarian for pododermatitis after a secondary bacterial or yeast infection develops. These infections can affect one or multiple paws and may be either be superficial or deep.

Predisposing Factors

Certain factors increase a dog’s likelihood of developing pododermatitis.

Dr. Rosales explains that breeds such as Bulldogs, Mastiffs, and other bully breeds, may be more prone to conditions that contribute to paw inflammation, including allergies, obesity, webbed feet, and thickened paw pads.

Interdigital cysts and interdigital furunculosis (painful, infected lumps between the toes) are also common concerns in these breeds and can lead to chronic deep infections.

“These cases are really challenging to manage because we can’t change how these dogs are genetically built,” Dr. Rosales says.

Any condition that alters how a dog bears weight can also increase the risk of paw inflammation. This includes obesity, arthritis, orthopedic disease, and the physical demands placed on large-breed dogs.

Perpetuating Factors

Even after the original trigger develops, additional changes can keep pododermatitis active and difficult to resolve. These perpetuating factors may include scarring, lesions, ingrown hairs, chronic infections, pad changes, and altered weight-bearing.

In some cases, these ongoing complications become more problematic than the original cause. Early intervention can help limit lasting damage.

How Is Pododermatitis in Dogs Diagnosed?

Determining the cause of pododermatitis usually requires a thorough, step-by-step evaluation.

Your veterinarian will begin by collecting a detailed medical history and performing a physical physical exam. Dr. Rosales says it’s important to know when the problem began, whether it started in one or several paws, and whether the signs appear symmetrically. Your veterinarian may also ask about your dog’s environment, exercise habits, diet, medications, and other pets in the household.

What your veterinarian learns during the exam helps guide what tests come next. “If the dog is 10 years old and has never had a foot problem and now has these crusty, awful feet, I wouldn’t be too worried about allergies,” Dr. Rosales says. In those cases, an autoimmune or hormonal disorder may be more likely.

Diagnostic testing often involves collecting skin samples through methods such as:

• Hair plucking
• Scrapings
• Fine needle aspirations

These samples can help identify infections, parasites, cancer, and other underlying conditions. In some cases, Dr. Rosales may recommend biopsies from multiple areas of the foot.

“Sometimes, I have to take a biopsy of different areas on the foot so that it can give me an idea of what’s going on,” Dr. Rosales says.

Additional testing may include:

• Blood work
• Endocrine screening
• X-rays to look for foreign bodies
• Allergy testing
• Food elimination trials

How Is Pododermatitis in Dogs Treated?

Treatment is typically focused on two goals: resolving any secondary infections and addressing the primary cause of the inflammation.

Managing Secondary Infections

“There’s a high likelihood your dog will get a secondary bacterial or yeast infection,” Dr. Rosales says. “It’s important to treat that because this causes a lot of the itchiness, inflammation, and pain the pet is feeling.”

Addressing infections early can improve your dog’s comfort. It can also help keep the condition from worsening while your veterinarian investigates the underlying cause. Treatment commonly includes antibiotics and, in some cases, antifungal medications.

Treating the Underlying Cause

Because pododermatitis has many potential causes, treatment plans vary significantly between dogs. Depending on the diagnosis, treatment may include:

• Medications
• Topical therapies
• Pain management
• Anti-itch drugs
• Dietary changes
• Environmental management
• Surgery

Some treatments are temporary, while others may require lifelong management.

For dogs with food allergies or contact sensitivities, avoiding the trigger may help control symptoms. Environmental allergies, however, often require ongoing medical management.

“If it’s a pollen allergy, then I need to put the pet on some allergy medicine to stop it from chewing and licking its paw,” Dr. Rosales says.

Antihistamines, oral antibiotics, and regular foot baths using medicated shampoos may help reduce discomfort and inflammation. In some cases, your veterinarian may also consider immunotherapy or hypersensitization vaccines as a treatment option.

Surgery is sometimes recommended when a foreign body, tumor, or severe structural changes within the paw are causing ongoing issues. However, Dr. Rosales notes that surgery for chronic conformational problems can be complicated and may not prevent inflammation from returning.

Prognosis for Dogs With Pododermatitis

“The prognosis really depends on the underlying cause,” Dr. Rosales says.

Many dogs with allergy-related pododermatitis can be managed successfully with long-term treatment. Dogs whose paw inflammation is caused by foreign bodies, parasitic diseases, or nutritional disorders also often have favorable outcomes once the underlying issue is resolved.

Some causes carry a more guarded prognosis. Cancer and certain metabolic diseases may be more difficult to treat.

“There’s also a metabolic disorder called hepatic cutaneous syndrome, and that’s a really bad disease that has a poor prognosis,” Dr. Rosales says.

When pododermatitis causes significant scarring or structural changes to the paws, dogs may need ongoing management. In these cases, lifelong care can help prevent symptoms from returning.

Frequently Asked Questions