Every night before they go to sleep, my dogs Henry Rollins and Jaxon Pawlick do what we have come to affectionately call the "chicken paw gnaw" – that is, they take a couple of minutes to lick and clean and gently gnaw on their paws, which seems to both clean their paws and help them to relax as they drift off to sleep.
It appears baby kangaroos also love to do the chicken paw gnaw before they go to sleep! Look at these adorable 'roos performing their "pouchtime" routine, which includes the most ridiculously cute rendition of the chicken paw gnaw I've ever seen. First they have a bottle of milk for dinner, then they wash their paws, and then they're off to dreamland. I can't stop watching them lick their little paws, it's just too darn cute!
These kanga cuties live at the Kangaroo Sanctuary in Alice Springs, Central Australia, a rescue center that specializes in caring for orphaned baby kangaroos until they are ready to be released into the wild.
I searched for some information about paw-licking activity while writing this post and was happy to find out that, according to the almost hilariously appropriately-titled website "Paw Safe" (which is focused on dogs but hopefully also applies to other animals), this licking activity—if it only lasts a minute or two—is routine grooming and relaxation behavior:
the action of licking releases the same hormones that made them feel safe and loved as puppies when their mother licked them. It is also a standard part of doggy self-care to clean and soothe themselves by licking.
Paw Safe also explains that if the licking is prolonged, obsessive, or excessive, it can signal something wrong in your dog—nail or paw pad issues, injuries, itchiness caused by allergies, pain or discomfort, anxiety and stress, or boredom and frustration.
I'm happy to say that the chicken paw gnawing of my own doggos—and probably the baby roos, too—seems perfectly normal. Happy gnawing, y'all!
To see more of the adorable animals at the Kangaroo Sanctuary, check out their website or follow them on Instagram!
