My dog keeps licking its paws, what can I do? See why using anti lick cream for dogs is a good solution.

My Dog Wouldn't Stop Licking, So I Tried That Bitter Cream Stuff

Alright, let me tell you about this whole anti-lick cream situation with my dog, Buddy. He had this spot on his paw, maybe a little irritation, nothing major, but boy, did he go to town licking it. Non-stop. Slurp, slurp, slurp. Drove me absolutely nuts, especially at night.

First, I tried the classic 'cone of shame'. He hated it. Banged into furniture, looked miserable, and honestly, it was a pain getting it on and off for eating and drinking. Then I tried putting a little dog sock on his paw. He pulled that thing off in about five minutes flat. Clever little guy.

So, I was at the pet store grabbing his usual food, and I saw these tubes of 'anti-lick' cream or spray. They all basically promised the same thing: tastes awful, dog won't lick. I figured, what the heck, gotta try something else.

I picked up one of the cream types. Seemed less messy than a spray, maybe? Got home, and it was time for the experiment. Buddy was already zoned in on his paw, giving it the usual treatment.

Applying the Gunk

I unscrewed the cap. The cream itself didn't smell too strong to me, maybe a little chemically, but not overpowering. It was just a plain white cream. Getting it on him was the next challenge.

I waited till he was kinda sleepy, lying on his bed. Gently took his paw, squeezed a little blob of the cream out, and rubbed it around the spot he was licking. Not directly on the raw bit if it was open, but around it, on the fur where he'd lick.

He immediately pulled his paw back and looked at me like, "What was that?" Then, almost like clockwork, he went to lick it.

The Reaction and Results

This part was kinda funny, not gonna lie. He touched his tongue to the creamed area and instantly recoiled. He made this face, like he'd just tasted something super sour or bitter. He shook his head a bit, maybe licked the air once or twice trying to get the taste out of his mouth. And then... he left his paw alone!

It actually worked, at least initially. He avoided licking that spot like the plague. I was pretty impressed.

• He sniffed the area a few times but didn't lick.
• He seemed a bit confused but definitely deterred.
• The constant slurping noise finally stopped. Peace!

Now, it wasn't a permanent fix right away. The effect seemed to wear off after several hours, or maybe he just got used to it slightly. I had to reapply it maybe twice a day for the first couple of days. I made sure the actual irritated spot was starting to heal too, keeping it clean.

After about three or four days of using the cream consistently, the habit was mostly broken. The spot had healed up enough that it probably didn't itch or bother him as much, and the bad taste had discouraged the obsessive licking. He eventually stopped bothering with it altogether, even after I stopped applying the cream.

So yeah, for Buddy and his paw-licking frenzy, that bitter anti-lick cream did the trick. It wasn't magic, needed reapplication, and his initial reaction was a mix of surprise and disgust, but it broke the cycle. Definitely better than the cone of shame, in our experience anyway.