The rainy season problem is not the rain. It is the places that stay damp after it, because warm skin with no airflow lets the organisms already living there overgrow. Between the toes, inside an ear and under a facial fold are the three sites, and drying them is most of the answer.
Why November through March is the skin season here
Palo Alto spends most of the year dry, which is why this catches people out. Then the rain arrives and a dog’s feet are wet twice a day for months on end. Walks happen on soaked grass, feet come in and stay damp inside the house, and nobody thinks of it as an exposure because it is just weather.
The important part is that these are not usually new organisms arriving from outside. Yeast and bacteria live on normal skin all the time, held in check by a dry, intact surface. Change the surface to warm and damp with no air movement and they multiply, and the result is red, itchy, smelly skin. That is why the fix is environmental rather than something applied.
Paws: between the toes is the whole story
The skin between the toes is thin, it sits in a fold, and it has no airflow. On a dog who walks on wet grass daily it may not dry out at all.
What to look for, with the toes gently separated:
- Redness in the webbing, especially at the base where the toes meet
- A damp or greasy feel, and a smell that is often described as yeasty or like corn chips
- Hair stained rust-orange on the feet, which is saliva from licking rather than dirt
- A single swollen, painful toe web, sometimes with a raised bump that may discharge
- Licking or chewing at the feet, especially at night or on waking
- Pads that are cracked rather than smooth
Redness, a smell, a discharging bump or cracked pads are worth an appointment rather than a wait-and-see, because the routine below prevents this but will not clear a web that is already inflamed.
The routine that prevents most of this takes thirty seconds at the door. Towel the feet, then separate and dry between every toe rather than wiping the top. Trim the fur between the pads flush with the pad surface, which both reduces what the foot holds onto and improves grip on hard floors. Do not bathe the feet daily, because repeated washing strips the oils that keep the skin barrier working.
One thing worth knowing: persistent paw licking is as often an allergy as it is moisture, and timing alone will not separate them, because allergies can be seasonal too. What points at an allergy is the company the licking keeps: itchy ears, a red belly, a rash in the armpits or face rubbing alongside the feet. The distinction matters because the approaches diverge.
Ears: the part where getting it wrong does damage
An ear canal in a dog turns a corner, which means water that goes in does not readily come out. A floppy ear lies over the opening and holds it closed. Add a dog who swims, or simply walks in the rain with the ears down, and you have a warm sealed tube.
Come in the same day if you see any of these:
- Head shaking, or scratching at an ear repeatedly
- A smell from the ear
- Discharge of any color, or visible redness inside
- Pain when the ear is touched, or a dog who pulls away from having it looked at
- Holding the head tilted to one side
- A swollen, thickened ear flap
The last two matter most. A head tilt, a wobble, circling or flicking eye movements mean the problem may have reached the middle or inner ear, and that is a different and more urgent situation than an irritated canal.
Three things not to do, and the reason for each:
Do not put anything into a painful ear. If the eardrum has ruptured, which does happen with an ear that has been sore for a while, some products reaching the middle ear can cause balance and hearing damage. We need to see whether the drum is intact first, and that requires looking.
Do not use rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide or vinegar in an ear. They sting badly on inflamed skin, they leave moisture behind, and they make the lining more irritated rather than less.
Do not push a cotton swab down the canal. It packs material deeper and risks the drum. Wiping the visible part of the ear flap with a soft cloth is fine; the canal is ours.
What does help, for a healthy ear: dry the outside of the ear and the flap after rain or swimming, lift and air a floppy ear for a minute at the door, and keep the hair around the opening tidy on breeds that grow a lot of it.
Skin folds, which only some pets have
If your dog has facial wrinkles, a deep tail fold, heavy lip folds or a short curled tail, those folds are small sealed pockets. The same warm-and-damp principle applies and the consequence is a sore, inflamed, smelly crease.
Tail folds are the one that gets missed, because nobody looks there and the pet cannot show you. A dog who has started sitting oddly, scooting, or resenting having their rear end touched is worth checking. Facial folds need wiping and then drying, in that order, because wiping alone leaves them wetter than before.
Cats have a version of this too: a long-haired cat with a damp, matted patch on the belly or behind the legs has exactly the same problem under the mat, and the skin underneath is often already sore. Do not cut a mat off with scissors, because the skin lifts into the mat and is very easily cut. Let us take it off safely, and our medical grooming team does this for cats who find it painful.
When to come in
Come in through our urgent care for a painful ear, a head tilt, a swollen ear flap, or a hot swollen toe. Our pet diagnostics team looks at samples from the ear or the skin under the microscope, which is the step that determines what is actually overgrowing, and that answer changes the approach entirely. Our medical services team manages the course and the recheck, and the recheck genuinely matters here, because an ear that looks better on the outside is not always resolved inside. Where skin problems keep returning, our nutrition counseling team is worth involving as part of working out why.
We are open 8 AM to 7 PM Monday through Friday and 9 AM to 5:30 PM on Saturday and Sunday. Most of this fits inside those hours comfortably. The windows to plan around are overnight and weekend evenings after 5:30. An ear that has become suddenly, severely painful, a dog who is crying and cannot hold their head straight, or a swollen ear flap after violent head shaking should not wait for morning: go to an open emergency veterinary hospital and call ahead before you leave.
Our guide to yellowjacket season and when to worry about swelling covers the other reason a face or a paw swells up here, and that one moves much faster than anything in this article.
Questions we are asked
My dog licks his paws constantly. Is that the rain?
It might be, and the timing tells you a lot. Licking that starts with the wet season and eases when things dry out points at moisture and the overgrowth that follows. Licking that runs all year, or that comes with itchy ears, a red belly or a rash in the armpits, points at an allergy instead, and moisture is just making it worse. Either way the rust-orange staining on the fur is saliva, so it is a reliable sign the licking has been going on a while. Bring him in and let us look at a sample.
Should I clean my dog’s ears every week during the rainy season?
Not routinely, and this is a common misunderstanding. Flushing a healthy ear on a schedule introduces moisture into a canal that is designed to stay dry, and over-cleaning irritates the lining. What helps is drying the outside and the flap, airing a floppy ear, and keeping the hair tidy. If your dog has a history of recurring ear problems, there may be a specific routine that suits them, and that should come from us rather than from a shelf.
What is the smell from his feet?
Usually bacteria and yeast that already live on the skin multiplying in the damp webbing between the toes. The corn-chip smell is generally bacterial; a musty, yeasty smell points more at yeast. A faint smell up close can be normal, and it is the smell together with redness, damp skin or licking that is worth checking. It is also a signal rather than a diagnosis: the reason the surface changed is what matters, whether that is constant damp, an allergy, or a dog who licks for another reason entirely.
Can I use a human ear drop or an alcohol wipe?
Please do not. Alcohol and peroxide sting severely on inflamed skin and leave moisture behind. Products made for people are formulated for a different canal shape and a different pH. Most importantly, if your dog’s eardrum has ruptured, which is not unusual in an ear that has been sore for a while, some ingredients reaching the middle ear can cause lasting balance and hearing problems. We need to see whether the drum is intact before anything goes in.
My dog’s ear flap has swollen up like a cushion.
That is blood collecting between the layers of the ear flap, almost always from violent head shaking, which means there is a reason he was shaking that hard. It needs seeing, both to deal with the swelling and because the underlying ear problem is still there. Left alone the flap can scar down into a permanently thickened, crumpled shape. Come in rather than waiting to see whether it settles.
How do I dry between the toes on a dog who hates his feet touched?
Build it up away from the rain, when nothing needs doing. Short sessions, one foot, something he likes afterward, and stop before he objects rather than after. A thin microfiber cloth is less intrusive than a thick towel. If he is painful rather than just unwilling, that changes things, and a dog who has sore webbing will resist for an excellent reason. Let us check the feet before you work on the handling.
Does a raincoat help?
For the body, yes, especially for short-coated dogs who get chilled, and keeping the trunk dry reduces the damp-coat problems along the back and belly. It does nothing for the three sites that actually matter here, which are the feet, the ears and the folds. A coat plus a thirty-second towel routine at the door is a good combination; a coat on its own is not.
Speak to the team at Universal Pet Hospital
If your pet has a painful or smelly ear, a head tilt, a swollen toe, a damp matted patch on a cat, or a sore fold that is not improving, call us and come in. Outside our hours, go to an open emergency veterinary hospital and call ahead before you leave.
Published by the team at Universal Pet Hospital.
This article is educational in nature and is not a replacement for hands-on assessment of your own pet by a veterinarian.
Universal Pet Hospital
3337 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, CA 94306
Phone: (650) 362-7969
Hours: Monday through Friday 8 AM to 7 PM; Saturday and Sunday 9 AM to 5:30 PM