Expert: Dr. Louis N. Gotthelf - 6/11/2010

Question
I have a year old maltipoo since she was 8 weeks old (our first dog). Daisy licks her paws and scratchesherself often. I had been feeding Wellness for Puppies for the first year, and for the past few weeks have been mixing it with Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diet (Lamb and Rice variety and also bought but have not tried yet the Bison and Potato variety). I have looked at the website dogfoodanalysis.com and they are not that enthusiastic about the limited ingredient diets because they say they are light on the meat component.

Can you give me any guidance on other foods that may be worth trying or any other guidance to help her?

Answer
True food hypersensitivity is rare.  If your dog is licking the paws, it may be allergic to something in the environment.  Many of these gods that chew their feet are also infected between the toes with Malassezia yeasts.  I would recommend asking your vet if your dog can have some steroids and something topical for yeasts between the toes.