My dog chews on her feet till all the hair is gone

Question
Lady is a 3 yr old sheltie, good health except August of 2005 and now this August she has chewed on her feet till all the hair is gone and they are red and very ugly looking.  Please help us with why she may be doing this?  I hope you can help.  Thanks.

Linda

Answer
Hi Linda,  Shelties are well known to have thyroid problems and one of the symptoms is knawing like that.  Another thing that causes knawing on the feet is allergy to grass and/or nerves.  But if it was due to nerves she would have been doing it all her life.  So I would lean toward the thyroid or grass allergy.  You can get bloodwork done at the vet to check that out.  Hope this helps,

Dawn