Why do Westies lick their paws?

Why do Westies lick their paws?

It is always suggested that people who grow westie as their pet, have to take care of the animal’s feet. The westies have their pads filled with hair. This hair grows so high that it becomes uncomfortable for the animal to walk, as other objects get trapped in the hair. The sharp barbs that are formed on the westie’s paw penetrate deep into the skin and create sores. These sores can result in very serious condition. So, it is always better to observe the feet of the dogs and remove any foreign objects found in them.

It is seen that most of the westies lick their paws. The saliva of these animals makes the hair on their paws to get bleached. Westies lick their paws to clean the skin on them as well as when they get irritated. If you cannot see anything that is just irritating in the hair on the paws of this animal, then the hair has to be trimmed to some extent. This will keep the westie paws clean.

Westies lick the paws and often stain the nails into brown color. This change in nail color is probably due to the saliva of the animal. One of the reasons for the westie to lick their paws is to get away from the problem with nails. If the nails are growing very much and if they are not trimmed, it causes lot of discomfort to the animals. If the nails are longer, westie will start licking the paws and chewing their nails. Trimming the nails often can prevent licking to some extent.

Some of the owners of this pet animal were observed to have reported that licking of paws by the westies might be due to food allergy. This food allergy was also suspected to be from grains. When the grains were not given to them, there was drastic change in its health and it reduced the licking process. The westies mostly lick their paws due to some itchiness that they could feel on the paws.