Paw Care Between Grooms: Nails, Pad Hair and Licking

Make a useful paw check part of your routine and avoid assuming that slipping or licking is just a grooming issue.

3 min read Updated 10 September 2026

The practical answer

Check nails, dewclaws, pads and the spaces between toes gently. Persistent licking, pain or a change in walking needs assessment; trimming more hair is not a diagnosis or a guaranteed fix.

Look at the whole foot

Choose a calm moment with good light and secure footing.
Check each nail, including the claws higher on the leg.
Look at the pads and accessible spaces between toes without forcing them apart.
Notice trapped debris, dampness, redness or a broken nail.
Compare with the dog’s usual behaviour and stop if the foot is painful.

Treat slipping as a question to investigate

Hair covering the pads may be one part of a traction problem, but floor surface, nail condition and mobility can also matter. Ask a groomer to assess whether a tidy is appropriate. Do not dig scissors or a trimmer into the spaces between pads or assume that removing all hair will solve the problem.

Licking has several possible explanations

A dog may lick a foot because something is irritating or painful. The timing matters: sudden attention to one paw after a walk is different from a recurring pattern affecting several feet. Grass seeds can lodge in tissue and cause problems, as PDSA explains. Do not probe for an embedded object at home. PDSA: plants and grass-seed hazards.

Finding	Next step
Loose surface dirt with comfortable skin	Clean gently as appropriate and dry the paw.
A nail becoming long or catching	Arrange a suitable trim and review the maintenance interval.
Hair covering pads and repeated slipping	Discuss a professional tidy and consider other mobility or floor factors.
Sudden pain, limping or a suspected embedded object	Contact the vet promptly.
Persistent licking, redness, swelling or discharge	Arrange veterinary assessment rather than repeated cosmetic trimming.

Keep between-visit care achievable

Place a clean towel near the door for wet outings. Check feet after walks through rough ground or long grass. Teach comfortable paw handling separately from nail cutting so every touch does not predict a difficult task. Ask the groomer to show one small check you can repeat reliably.

Give the next professional useful information

Record which paw is affected, when the behaviour started and whether walking changed. Note recent grooming, surface exposure or products used. Avoid repeatedly touching a painful spot to see whether it still hurts. A clear account and appropriate veterinary advice are more useful than a series of home remedies.

Four checks to remember

Every nail, including dewclaws.
Pad surface and visible debris.
Accessible skin between the toes.
Comfort when standing, walking and being handled.

Sources and further reading

Guidance checked September 2026. The practical checklists and examples are VUNRO editorial guidance; the sources below support the underlying care or equipment principles.

In practice