However, here is a fine line between playful paw licking and an outright cry for help from your dog. Licking is a whole other ball bark when it comes to dogs and their paws.
Unlike chewing, this is more often than not as a result of physical issues and not psychological. For some perspective, here are the most common reasons why your dog is always licking their paws.
Pain
In this case, you may notice the dog focusing on a specific spot on the paw. They do this to try and get some pain relief from different kinds of pain especially as a result of injuries like bruised toes, broken nails, or even internal issues like joint diseases.
Self-Grooming
Dogs are not as crazy about grooming as cats are. However, they do occasionally clean themselves which may be the reason why your dog is licking their paws.
In this case, you may notice that they do not obsess over any specific paw but instead go systematically around their bodies getting every inch as clean as they can.
Pest Infestation
The licking could also be a way of the dog relieving irritation due to issues like flea or mite infestation. In addition to being itchy, the skin may feel very irritated in which case licking helps cool things down and relieve itch in the area.
Allergies
Paws are often affected by allergies like grass or pollen sensitivity and can get very itchy. Dogs have rough tongues which are perfect for getting those annoying itches from spots like their paws. Remember that it may not be their natural instinct to use one paw to scratch another.