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Chewing on his toe nails

Behavioral Issues
  • A

    I always notice my boy chewing and licking his foot, so I finally I examined his foot and noticed that he chewed his nails all the way down to were he might bleed. He is my first baby, so I am worried and dont know what to do! Has anyone have had this same problem?

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  • eeeefarmE

    My guy chews his feet daily, usually after a walk, as part of his self grooming routine. I don't worry about it unless he seems to be spending an inordinate amount of time on one foot. If so, I investigate to see if there is an obvious reason, e.g. a cut or similar. Is this attention only being paid to one foot, or all of them? If just one, perhaps there is a reason? Otherwise, if he is just "trimming his nails" and saving you the trouble, I wouldn't worry unless he actually does cause damage.

    "In order to get along with a Basenji, you have to be at least half as smart as the dog!"

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  • A

    Thank you, eeeefarm! I love my boy so much that I worry easily!!

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  • ?

    I find Kaiser chewing on his nails and licking his feet too, usually after being outside so must be grooming, if he is overly interested in one foot I will have a good look and distract him usually with some treat and once it's forgotten he leaves it, though he has never really chewed any bit of nail off. After our walks, we have a lot of broken glass on the footpaths and every so often the council will weed spray I will rinse his feet to check for problems. I also did worry when he did it at first, but now I know when it's normal and when it's something bugging him.

    Jolanda and Kaiser

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  • DebraDownSouthD

    Both Cara and Arwen keep their back toenails chewed appropriately short, but yeah if too short distract. You might even try using baby wipes when he comes in to wipe his feet down before he starts the licking.

    Debra

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    We always have to take Ash to the vet and have two people hold her when she gets her nails clipped. I think the reason why she freaks out though is because her nail bed is lower down on the nail than alot of other dogs and she usually ends up bleeding a little because of that fact. Muzzle would be best or you could try and wear the nails down by taking her along the beach if you live close to the beach, that always helped.