Paw licking is a cardinal sign of allergies. In dogs, the histamine reaction causes an actual physical sensation in their paws - very uncomfortable - this is why they need to lick/chew the paws. Yep, food allergies only account for about 10-15% of dog allergies - most are environmental. However, chicken IS the most common protein allergy in dogs who do have food allergies.
Benadryl is not a great treatment for allergies. Because of its short half-life, it
has to be given every 4-6hrs to remain therapeutic (if it even IS therapeutic in the first place, that is). Other OTC meds for dogs are Zyrtec and Claritin - both are 24 hr meds (once a day). Again though, rarely super effective in alleviating symptoms in dogs.
Many of us here have yorkies w/ terrible allergies bc this is so very common in yorkies now -- and most of find that the relief comes from either Apoquel or Atopica. My Marcel has been on both (currently Apoquel) - and both made a tremendous difference in his quality of life -- he used to wake up at 1am at times just to lick his paws
. Both of those meds affect the immune system cells.
The redness in the paws you're seeing could be from moist skin and irritation (from licking) -or- could be signs of a yeast infection (again, mostly due to excessive moisture, but also allergy related).
More on Atopica and Apoquel here:
https://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/di...allergies.html