Dogs’ paws generally do not contain rabies virus, but there are instances where they may carry it. Because a dog’s saliva can splash on its own front paws, and sometimes a dog can lick its front paws directly, the paws can contain dry saliva, and the rabies virus can exist briefly on the dog’s paws, so after being scratched by a dog, treat it as if it were a dog bite. When a dog bites a person and wet saliva stains the wound, the likelihood of rabies infection is higher at that point. It is possible that there is no dry saliva on the dog’s paws, and even if there is dry saliva, the likelihood of a person contracting rabies is lower than with a bite. It is only because after scratching, it is not certain that there is no rabies virus staining the wound, so it is a little safer to treat it as the same as a bite wound.