Dog Paws Red Between the Toes: Causes and Treatment

Red skin between a dog's toes is inflammation of the paw, which vets call pododermatitis. It is a sign, not a diagnosis. The usual suspects are allergies, yeast or bacteria that move in on irritated skin, a grass seed or splinter stuck in the webbing, a painful bump called an interdigital furuncle, or something your dog walked through.

The quickest clue is how many paws are involved. Itchy redness on several paws that comes and goes points toward allergies. One sore, swollen spot on one foot points toward something local, like a foreign body or a furuncle. The fix depends on the cause, so a vet visit beats any remedy. For today: rinse, dry, stop the licking and leave everything else alone.

Read the Clues: What the Redness Is Telling You

Spread your dog's toes gently in good light and look at the webbing, the tops of the feet, the pads and the nail beds. Then match what you see:

Clues narrow the list, but causes overlap: an allergic paw that gets licked raw picks up yeast and bacteria too. The patterns follow the VCA guide to pododermatitis.

Common Causes of Red Skin Between the Toes

Allergies

Allergies are one of the most common causes of red, itchy feet. In atopic dermatitis (an allergy to things like pollen, dust mites and molds), the Merck Veterinary Manual lists the paws among the most frequently affected areas, along with the face, ears, front legs, armpits and belly. Signs usually start between 6 months and 3 years of age.

Food allergies look similar but are less common than environmental ones. Allergic paws tend to itch on the tops of the feet, and constant licking stains light fur a rusty brown. More in our guide to atopic dermatitis in dogs.

Yeast

Malassezia is a yeast that normally lives on dog skin. When the skin changes, with allergies or extra oil production for example, it can overgrow. Expect itching, redness, a musty smell, greasy skin and, over time, darker, thicker skin. Yeast infections aren't contagious, and they usually mean something else, most often an allergy, needs attention too.

Bacterial infection

Bacteria, mostly staph that normally live on the skin, take advantage of skin that is inflamed, wet from licking or broken. Look for pimples, pus, crusts and soreness. Infection deep in the hair follicles is more painful and slower to heal; see folliculitis in dogs.

Interdigital furuncles ("cysts")

These are the shiny red-to-purple bumps that pop up in the webbing. People call them interdigital cysts, but most are furuncles: deep, infected hair follicles. They usually hurt, the dog may limp, and they can burst and leak bloody fluid.

The Merck Veterinary Manual names deep bacterial infection as the most common cause. Short, bristly hairs on the webbing can be pushed backward into the follicles as the dog walks, which is why Chinese Shar-Peis, Labrador Retrievers and English Bulldogs are prone. Allergies and Demodex mites are common reasons they keep coming back, and extra weight or wire and concrete floors make them more likely. A single furuncle on its own is more often from a foreign body.

Grass awns and other foreign bodies

Grass awns, the barbed seed heads of foxtails and similar grasses, are a classic cause of one sore paw. Pet Poison Helpline calls the skin between the toes "a very common puncture site" and notes that persistent licking or biting there may be the first sign. The barbs let the seed move only one way, deeper, so an awn can travel through tissue and cause swelling, a draining tract or an abscess.

Pet Poison Helpline treats a suspected awn as urgent. Don't dig for it with tweezers; your vet removes it. Splinters and thorns cause the same kind of trouble on a smaller scale. More in the danger of foxtails in dogs.

Contact irritants

Some redness comes from what the paws touch: harsh cleaners, lawn chemicals, rough surfaces, even clipper burn. Contact problems usually show on the undersides of the feet, the parts that touch the ground.

Licking

Licking is both a cause and an amplifier: the moisture and friction make the skin redder and invite yeast and bacteria. Some dogs lick from boredom or anxiety; see why dogs lick and chew their paws.

Less common causes

• Demodex mites, found on skin scrapings or hair plucks.
• Hormonal disease such as hypothyroidism or Cushing's disease, which can bring repeated skin infections.
• Immune-mediated disease such as pemphigus foliaceus, which crusts the pads and nail beds of all four feet. See autoimmune diseases in dogs.
• Tumors, which usually affect only one foot.

If the pads themselves are thick and crusty, rather than the skin between the toes, read about hyperkeratosis in dog paws. Red, blistered pads after a summer walk can mean burns; see how hot is too hot for a dog's paws.

What You Can Safely Do Today

None of these treats the cause. They keep things from getting worse until your vet sees the paw.

1. Look closely. Which paws, which part of the paw, and is there a bump, a seed, a cut or swelling? Take a photo in good light.
2. Rinse with plain water if your dog walked through road salt, a treated lawn or a freshly mopped floor. For chemicals on the skin, the Merck Veterinary Manual advises flushing with plenty of water rather than trying to neutralize them.
3. Dry gently between the toes with a soft towel. Wet, licked skin is where yeast and bacteria do best.
4. Stop the licking. A cone (Elizabethan collar) protects the skin while you wait; VCA notes that licking can delay healing and lead to infection.
5. Leave seeds, splinters and bumps alone. Don't dig, and don't squeeze a bump.
6. Put nothing on the skin unless your vet says so: no human creams, leftover medicines or home remedies.
7. Note the clues: when it started, whether it's seasonal, and any new food, cleaner or walking route.

Why We Don't Recommend Home Remedies

Apple cider vinegar, coconut oil and Epsom salt soaks turn up everywhere. We don't recommend them. None of them tells you what is causing the redness, each cause needs different treatment, and soothing the skin does nothing about an awn that is still working its way in. A few have their own problems:

• Epsom salt soaks. Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate, which vets give by mouth as a laxative (Merck Veterinary Manual). A dog that licks its soaked feet swallows it.
• Aloe vera. The aloe plant is on the ASPCA's list of plants toxic to dogs, with vomiting, diarrhea and lethargy as signs. Anything on a paw gets licked.
• Apple cider vinegar and coconut oil. We found no veterinary evidence that either one helps red paws.
• Herbal pastes, teas and creams. Anything put on the skin can itself cause irritant or allergic contact dermatitis.

Your vet may prescribe medicated wipes, shampoos or soaks. Those are different, because the product is matched to the cause. A careful look, a rinse, a cone and a vet visit will get you to the cause faster than anything from the kitchen cupboard.

What Your Vet Will Do

Expect questions first (where your dog walks, whether it's seasonal, what your dog eats, what you've tried), then the exam and usually some quick tests:

• Cytology: tape or a swab pressed on the skin and checked under the microscope for yeast, bacteria and inflammatory cells. This is how a vet tells yeast from bacteria.
• Skin scrapings and hair plucks to look for Demodex mites.
• Culture to choose an antibiotic, especially for deep or repeat infections.
• Allergy workup: a strict elimination diet trial for suspected food allergy, which can take weeks to a few months to read. Allergy blood and skin tests can't diagnose an allergy; they help choose allergy shots once the diagnosis is made (Merck Veterinary Manual).
• Biopsy, x-rays or bloodwork for unusual or recurring lesions, a suspected foreign body, or suspected hormonal or immune disease.

Treatment follows the cause, and your veterinarian chooses the products:

• Yeast and bacteria usually get medicated shampoos, wipes or foot soaks, with oral medicine for deep or severe infections. Finish the whole course your vet prescribes; stopping early lets deep infections come back.
• Interdigital furuncles get treatment on the paw plus oral medicine, ideally guided by a culture. Chronic cases may need laser treatment.
• Grass awns and splinters come out at the clinic, sometimes under sedation.
• Allergies need an ongoing plan that may combine itch-control medicine, a diet change, allergy shots and regular bathing. Allergies and immune-mediated disease can be managed but not cured, so the goal is fewer and milder flare-ups.

When to Call the Vet

Call today:

• Limping or not wanting to put weight on the foot
• Swelling that is growing, hot or very painful
• Pus, bleeding, or a bump that has burst
• Sudden licking of one paw after a walk in dry grass (possible grass awn)
• Your dog seems unwell: tired, feverish or off food

See your vet soon (within a few days):

• Red, itchy skin on one or more paws with lots of licking
• A musty smell, greasy skin or rusty staining
• Red bumps in the webbing
• Redness that keeps coming back or isn't better after rinsing and a cone

Mention at your next visit:

• Brief pinkness after walks that clears quickly, with no licking, swelling or limping

Keeping It From Coming Back

• Stick with the allergy plan. Every flare invites yeast and bacteria back.
• Keep up the parasite prevention your vet recommends.
• Check paws after walks in foxtail season, and brush loose seed heads out of the coat before they work in.
• Rinse and dry after walks on salted roads or treated lawns.
• Keep your dog lean; extra weight puts more pressure on the webbing.
• Dogs prone to furuncles do better off wire and rough concrete. Ask your vet whether boots make sense.

FAQ

Why is the fur between my dog's toes rusty?

Saliva stains light fur reddish brown, so rusty toes usually mean a lot of licking. Yeast can cause the same color. Either way, something is making the paw itchy.

Can I put human antibiotic or steroid cream on my dog's paw?

Not without your vet's go-ahead. Your dog will lick it off, the product can irritate the skin, and an infection may need a different medicine entirely.

Is red skin between the toes contagious to my other pets?

Yeast dermatitis is not contagious, and neither are allergies, furuncles or grass seeds. If another pet starts itching too, tell your vet.

Sources

• VCA Animal Hospitals: Pododermatitis in Dogs
• Merck Veterinary Manual: Interdigital Furunculosis in Dogs (professional version)
• Merck Veterinary Manual: Abscesses Between the Toes (Interdigital Furunculosis) in Dogs (pet owner version)
• VCA Animal Hospitals: Interdigital Cysts in Dogs
• Merck Veterinary Manual: Atopic Dermatitis in Dogs
• Merck Veterinary Manual: Allergies in Dogs
• VCA Animal Hospitals: Yeast Dermatitis in Dogs
• Pet Poison Helpline: Foxtail Grass Foreign Body in Domestic Animals
• Merck Veterinary Manual: Toxicoses From Corrosive Agents in Animals
• Merck Veterinary Manual: Cathartic and Laxative Drugs Used in Monogastric Animals
• ASPCA Animal Poison Control: Aloe
• Merck Veterinary Manual: Principles of Topical Treatment in Animals
• VCA Animal Hospitals: Elizabethan Collars in Dogs

This article is for general information and is not a substitute for advice from your veterinarian.