It starts as the odd lick, and then it is every evening, and you are hearing it from the other room.
Vet reviewed · Made in Australia · Lifetime money-back guarantee
Paw licking is a sign, not a diagnosis. These are the four reasons owners run into most.
A grass seed, a splinter, a cut, a sting, a cracked pad or a sore joint. This one usually starts suddenly, and usually on one paw only.
Food, fleas or mites, grass, pollen, dust, a new washing powder. Any of them can make skin itchy, and the paws are often where it shows. Lots of owners have already tried changing the food.
Paws stay wet after a walk, a bath or a swim. Warm damp skin gets itchy, yeast can grow there, and licking keeps it damp.
Licking is how a lot of dogs settle themselves. What started as an itch can carry on long after the itch has gone.
One paw, out of nowhere, usually points to something in the paw itself. Several paws, on and off, for weeks or months, usually points somewhere else. That second pattern is the one worth looking into.
Sudden, and only one paw
Have a proper look between the toes and at the pad. A grass seed, a splinter, a cut, a sting or a cracked pad is the most common reason of all, and it is the one you can often find yourself.
Swelling, pain, broken skin, pus, or crying when you touch it
See your vet now. Signs like these need someone to look at the paw properly, and nothing you buy online is the right answer to them. The same goes for a musty smell, greasy skin or brown discharge. Rust or pink staining on pale fur, on its own, is common and not a warning sign.
Keeps coming back, across several paws, for weeks
This one is different. It is a pattern rather than an injury, and it is the point where looking a bit deeper starts to make sense.
What you can do today
Sprays, balms and washes only reach the surface of the paw. If the licking keeps coming back, that is worth knowing.
What owners notice first
You hear it from the other room, long after everyone has settled. You call out, it stops, then it starts again.
Not a quick scratch. Proper nibbling and chewing between the toes, sometimes for minutes at a time.
The fur around the paws has stained pink or rust brown, and washing it makes no difference at all.
The skin between the toes looks raw and sore, where the licking never quite gets a chance to stop.
Then it settles down for a week or two, and you start to relax.
And then it starts again.
That coming and going is the part worth paying attention to.
“Our dog was constantly licking their paws and has improved considerably!”
Marie Ryan
Verified purchase
“I never thought I would be buying dog probiotics or that they would ever have such an impact on my dog but here we are! Better poos, better breath, better mood, stopped paw licking almost completely”
Brianna Kovalus
Verified purchase
“These treats have been amazing for my 4 your old! Stopped licking his paws, and I’ve noticed his coat has been strangely softer? I spoke with my vet and apparently this is linked to gut health and can be helped with probiotics which is something I didn’t even know.”
Erin Davies
Verified purchase
Different dogs, same starting point. Each of these owners came looking for help with paw licking, and each of them ended up looking somewhere else entirely: their dog’s gut.
GUT AND SKIN
Not every itchy paw starts in the gut. A grass seed, a contact irritant or a seasonal allergy can each set the licking off, and none of those begin with digestion. That is worth saying plainly before we go any further.
When the licking keeps coming back, week after week, gut support may be one useful part of the picture. The gut does more than break down dinner. A large share of the immune system sits alongside it, and research into how gut balance and skin relate is still developing.4 So we treat daily gut support as one sensible thing to try, never as the answer to every itchy paw.
Owners often mention one or two of these in the same breath as the licking.
Your dog doesn’t need to have all of these.
One is enough to be worth noticing, and none of them rules anything in or out on its own.
OUR #1 BEST SELLER
From $47.96/month
with Subscribe & Save, first delivery
Daily gut support for dogs who keep going back to their paws.
Instead of chasing each outward sign one at a time, Hero supports the gut with a daily blend of probiotics, prebiotic fibre, digestive enzymes and other research-backed actives.
A tasty daily chew, dosed to your dog’s weight.
This isn’t an overnight fix. Gut support is a daily habit, and how long it takes to help is different for every dog.
The 8-week plan
A dog's skin renews itself roughly every three weeks, so no visible change from any cause, including a change you make yourself, shows up before then. Published canine probiotic skin trials ran eight to sixteen weeks, with the first significant change reported at week eight.6 That is where the eight weeks comes from: it is not a guess.
The science on this is still early. A 2025 review of canine skin-allergy probiotic trials found the average effect across studies was not statistically significant at any point measured. We think eight weeks of daily gut support is worth trying for the reasons above, and we would rather tell you that than oversell it.
What it costs, what protects you
Most owners reach this page after trying something first: a medicated shampoo, a new food, a supplement from the pet shop. Each one costs money and a few more weeks of waiting.
Hero comes with a money-back guarantee that has no time limit. If it makes no difference for your dog, you get your money back.
See your vet for any of the warning signs above. For licking that keeps coming back, this is a low-cost way to try the gut side of the picture.
From as little as $1 a day for the smallest dogs, more for bigger dogs, always dosed to your dog's weight. 20% to 40% off your first delivery with a Subscribe & Save plan, depending on your dog's size.
What if it doesn't work for your dog?
Most guarantees have a deadline. Ours has none at all. If it doesn't work for your dog, you tell us and we refund you. It does not matter how long the pack has been open.
More reasons to trust Hero
Vet reviewed. Every Hero recipe is checked by a vet before it goes into a pack, on top of the research behind each active ingredient.
From research to home
Real dogs on Hero, shared by their owners.
The active ingredients
Feeds beneficial gut bacteria and supports regular bowel movements.
Part of the chew’s digestive formula.
A soluble fibre that helps regulate bowel movements and firm up loose poos.
A natural clay that is part of the chew’s digestive formula.
A prebiotic fibre that feeds beneficial bacteria in the lower intestine.
Before you decide
Backed by our lifetime money-back guarantee. If it does not work for your dog, tell us and we refund you. No questions asked, no time limit, no returning half a pack.
From as little as $1 a day. 20% to 40% off your first delivery on a plan, depending on your dog's size.
Free shipping over $69. Lifetime money-back guarantee.
*Based on publicly available probiotic CFU claims for dog probiotic chews sold in Australia, reviewed August 2026.