# Dark red fur between Boz's paw pads?



## hotel4dogs

Yes, that's normally saliva stains from licking, and often associated with allergies. It's considered one of the most common signs of allergies.


----------



## tippykayak

Is this an otherwise light dog? Could it be a little blood? It's easy to figure out - wet a paper towel and dab it on the red fur. If the red comes off, it's blood. Otherwise, it oculd just be interesting pigment.


----------



## buckeyegoldenmom

hotel4dogs said:


> Yes, that's normally saliva stains from licking, and often associated with allergies. It's considered one of the most common signs of allergies.


right away I thought of my first golden, who had allergies and constantly licked his feet. They were stained a reddish brown too.


----------



## Pointgold

Saliva contains an enzyme that will stain light colored hair over time, allergies or not.


----------



## Ardeagold

My Landseer Newf gets this and she never licks her feet. It's easy to see because her feet are covered in white hair.

It's from moisture in between the pads of the paws...of any type. Hers is from swimming, wading etc about 25x a day. Just clip it out and keep them dry.

Also, if he's licking/biting...I'd also agree that he has an allergy.


----------



## sarebear

Thanks for all your replies. First thing I did was to rule out the blood. Thank goodness it wasn't that, but the allergy/saliva connection sounds spot on, would washing his paws with a washcloth help? Or cutting away the fur between his toes? Getting him to stop licking is an impossibility.


----------



## Pointgold

sarebear said:


> Thanks for all your replies. First thing I did was to rule out the blood. Thank goodness it wasn't that, but the allergy/saliva connection sounds spot on, would washing his paws with a washcloth help? Or cutting away the fur between his toes? Getting him to stop licking is an impossibility.


The hair is stained and unless bleached, it will not come out. You can try keeping the feet dry (I have very hard water here, and if I don't squeegee my floors and runs dry, the dogs feet will stain, too) and dusting with Gold Bond powder to keep them dry and help prevent licking. 

I do have a dog who licks at her feet occassionally, but has no allergies. She cleans them like a cat. They stain periodically, depending on the pH of her saliva. (It changes baded on what she has eaten, hormones, etc.) Her coat is otherwise beautiful, and she has no skin or ear issues. Her thyroid is well within normal limits for a Golden.


----------



## hotel4dogs

Chances are if it's an allergy, it's inhaled or eaten, not contact. Dogs tend to itch between their toes regardless of where the actual allergy is happening.
I know you can use witch hazel between the toes, it helps with the itching. I think PG also suggests using listerine, diluted, but hopefully she'll post on that because I could be way off base.





sarebear said:


> Thanks for all your replies. First thing I did was to rule out the blood. Thank goodness it wasn't that, but the allergy/saliva connection sounds spot on, would washing his paws with a washcloth help? Or cutting away the fur between his toes? Getting him to stop licking is an impossibility.


----------



## Ardeagold

It's very possible that he has an allergy. Does he also have ear problems? Skin issues? Anything like that?

If so, you may want to consider a food switch to see if it helps.

Do clip the hair out as best you can...or get a groomer to do it.


----------



## paula bedard

I was going to say it was normal, because Ike has this, but he also has allergies. Learn something new every day...Sam had red fur between his pads, but he was red.


----------



## sarebear

Oh yes, the poor boy has had ear issues all his life, has been on and off Tri-otic, steriods, anitbiotics, had knee surgery for a slipped patella when he was 12 mos. old and most recently ear surgery for a hematoma. My Boz has been through a lot so anything that is bothering him I try to remedy ASAP. But, he is my big, goofy, loving, Boz, and like all my goldens will do his best to never show any pain- Boz is nudging my elbow right now, must be time for NUMMIES!!!! Thanks again and I will check back. I think I'll try the Gold Bond, but I'm I little weary, he has a sensitive stomach and licking at that might do more harm than good?


----------



## Pointgold

sarebear said:


> Oh yes, the poor boy has had ear issues all his life, has been on and off Tri-otic, steriods, anitbiotics, had knee surgery for a slipped patella when he was 12 mos. old and most recently ear surgery for a hematoma. My Boz has been through a lot so anything that is bothering him I try to remedy ASAP. But, he is my big, goofy, loving, Boz, and like all my goldens will do his best to never show any pain- Boz is nudging my elbow right now, must be time for NUMMIES!!!! Thanks again and I will check back. I think I'll try the Gold Bond, but I'm I little weary, he has a sensitive stomach and licking at that might do more harm than good?


Have you had a thyroid panel run on him?


----------



## sarebear

No, I don't think so, but I can always check with Doc Baker. What would this show or rule out?


----------



## goldenSkye1

I'm curious if anyone has any new information about this issue? Skye's constantly munching on her paws, and the fur in between each toe is blood red, but there is no blood present. Any answers as to what this may be? She has dermatitis, but we've gotten that under control. She also takes Nature Vet seasonal allergy pills twice a day for her environmental allergies.

Any thoughts? I'm hoping not to have to take a trip to the vet...


----------



## Monkey_Girl

goldenSkye1 said:


> I'm curious if anyone has any new information about this issue? Skye's constantly munching on her paws, and the fur in between each toe is blood red, but there is no blood present. Any answers as to what this may be? She has dermatitis, but we've gotten that under control. She also takes Nature Vet seasonal allergy pills twice a day for her environmental allergies.
> 
> Any thoughts? I'm hoping not to have to take a trip to the vet...


Chances are its related to her diet (food allergies). If your girl is anything like my boy (very sensitive skin, allergies, etc), it may very well be a sensitivity to her food. 

Captain was chewing his front paws/pads almost raw. I took him to the vet, they suggested to put him on veterinary Royal Canin dry for sensitive skin/allergies. I was a little leery because Captain has not been on dry for quite some time but went with the vets suggestion. After 6 weeks, I still didn't see an improvement. Turns out it was his diet, he was on raw chicken full meal, which he did well on until he developed an allergy to it. I did not know this, but when you have your dog on raw you must change up the protein every few months or so. I had Captain on the same protein for almost one year (bad mom, I know). I have since stopped the dry food and switched him to raw beef full meal and after about a month, he has stopped ALL chewing and rarely scratches. :


----------



## goldenSkye1

Monkey_Girl said:


> Chances are its related to her diet (food allergies). If your girl is anything like my boy (very sensitive skin, allergies, etc), it may very well be a sensitivity to her food.
> 
> Captain was chewing his front paws/pads almost raw. I took him to the vet, they suggested to put him on veterinary Royal Canin dry for sensitive skin/allergies. I was a little leery because Captain has not been on dry for quite some time but went with the vets suggestion. After 6 weeks, I still didn't see an improvement. Turns out it was his diet, he was on raw chicken full meal, which he did well on until he developed an allergy to it. I did not know this, but when you have your dog on raw you must change up the protein every few months or so. I had Captain on the same protein for almost one year (bad mom, I know). I have since stopped the dry food and switched him to raw beef full meal and after about a month, he has stopped ALL chewing and rarely scratches. :


Thanks so much!!! What kind of raw beef food is it? I have her on Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach. Do you know what his allergy is to? I read that corn can cause it, but Pro Plan has SS & S has no corn, so I guess that's not the culprit.


----------



## Practically_Human

I'm interested in this thread. I have a similar issue with my boy. He has dark brown / maroon staining of the fur between his toe pads, just on one foot. I have not seen him licking it at all, and it doesn't seem to be irritating to him, even if I push my fingers in between his toes. He doesn't have a history of allergies. Maybe his one foot stepped in something once?
It is kind of alarming because the staining is almost the color of blood. But from this thread it doesn't seem like a big deal.
Interested in others' thoughts and experience...
Thanks!


----------



## Our3dogs

Our experience with one of our Golden's was - if the fur was turning red, it was because he was licking at his foot for some reason. Usually it turned out to be a yeast infection. The only time ours ever had red fur was because of something caused it to want to be licked. Then they lick, the saliva dries, makes it itch more, then they lick more. It could be he is doing it when you are not around to see. Is the skin red or irritated looking (if even just a little) between the toes? You could always try rinsing his feet in a 50/50 solution of water and vinegar. If it is yeast, it could help kill it. Good luck.


----------



## pot of gold

Depending on how old your dog is it could be arthritis bothering him and causing the licking.


----------



## Practically_Human

He is 4. And isn't showing any signs of pain or lameness. I'm starting to suspect that he might have had a burr in his paw at one point. We have lots of sharp little burrs around here. I can't find one still in his paw, but it might have started the irritation at some point.


----------



## Gladdygirl12

Any updates on this topic would be much appreciated. My girl has also been struggling with allergies-constantly licking her paws, reoccurring ear infections, bad breath and overall itchy skin. We have tried changing her diet numerous times but to no avail. She is currently on Farmina’s Herring & Orange dog food but it does not seem to be helping. We’ve also tried Natural Balance L.I.D. and Acana. Any advice on diet would be much appreciated.


----------



## Mixedchik

Practically_Human said:


> I'm interested in this thread. I have a similar issue with my boy. He has dark brown / maroon staining of the fur between his toe pads, just on one foot. I have not seen him licking it at all, and it doesn't seem to be irritating to him, even if I push my fingers in between his toes. He doesn't have a history of allergies. Maybe his one foot stepped in something once?
> It is kind of alarming because the staining is almost the color of blood. But from this thread it doesn't seem like a big deal.
> Interested in others' thoughts and experience...
> Thanks!


----------



## Mixedchik

My girl has the red fur on her front paws which i thought was from a nail that she broke and was healing (residual blood from constant licking/grooming). Kept noticing the red/brown coloring and on both paws then a little on the side of her mouth a bit. I also feed raw but she gets a variety. No chicken except feet (high bone content) because i read dogs can have allergies to chicken and i switched her to raw for allergie issues. If changing back to raw after being on dry was ok, did you then have to continue switching the protein monthly thereafter as suggested? An update would be awesome. 
Thanks so much!


----------

