Dog constantly licking her leg raw

[shelbysdad2]

My Dog Shelby is a 11year old Lab/Shep mix. She has now for quite awhile been licking her leg in the same spot until it bleeds. I have taken her to the vet numerous times to correct this with no avail. Allergy meds, Anti-Inflammatory's, Steroids, Topical Creams.... nothing seems to work...

Please, can anyone help?!
Thanks

Shelbysdad

[Equla]

My cat used to do this. He seems to be allergic to a bunch of things and we don't have the dough at the moment to do an allergy test (if they even do that for cats). Anyway, we changed his food to an allergy formula and kind of had to wait out the healing of the hot spot on his neck.

I don't know if you have PETCO in your area, but I'm sure that any large pet supply store would stock just about the same things. Try an organic grain free food (I use Natural Balance, but there are a lot of different ones) and pick up some cast gauze (the stuff they wrap around an IV in the vet's office). Put some hot spot ointment (can get this at the supply store too) on the affected area and wrap the gauze around it. Hopefully this will deter from licking the area and let it heal. From there, try different foods and see which one keeps the symptoms from coming back. It'll take a little while to find the right food because changing them has to be gradual. We got lucky on the first try.

Casey (allergic cat) still has flare ups every once in a while, but not badly enough to cause him to lick obsessively. The hardest part was getting that big spot on his neck to heal. Because it was basically an open wound to him, and probably itched from being raw, he kept licking it. Just gotta keep him off of it. Oooh! If the dog keeps chewing on the bandage, spray Bitter Apple on it. Only do this if the dog is chewing on it. They really hate the smell and probably won't want it on them... only a last resort.

Hope this helps. Good luck and keep us posted on the progress.

[bendyfoot]

if medical issues have been ruled out, it's very possible that it's purely psychological (canine acral lick dermatitis, which I affectionately call "crazy licking")...possible causes can be stress, boredom, or pure habit/obsession. We have a dog who will lick her legs raw if not monitored closely. We say 'Gracie, stop licking" probably a dozen times a day if not more. It escalates when she's stressed. In our experience the only thing you can do is monitor, distract the behaviour as soon as it starts, and try to keep the skin from getting to the point where it's raw, because once it's there it's even harder to stop: the skin at that point is now legitimately sore/itchy, so they want to lick...it can be a very vicious cycle and hard to break....it can take days or weeks for the lesions to heal, depending on how bad they get.

From the web: (http://www.mypetspages.com/petinfo/b...vebehavior.php)

What is canine acral lick dermatitis?
Acral lick dermatitis is when dogs repeatedly lick at specific sites on one or more of their limbs, often causing significant damage. Large breeds such as Doberman Pinschers, Great Danes, German Shepherds, Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers and Irish Setters are most commonly affected. Underlying medical abnormalities (e.g. arthritis, chip fractures, skin disorders) may initiate or contribute to the behavioral problem. The psychological condition arises when the pet is repeatedly stressed or anxious, and this leads to excessive licking. The area becomes raw and itchy which further stimulates the dog to lick and chew.

With acral lick dermatitis, treatment must be directed at both the behavior disorder and the skin trauma. Even with behavior therapy, treatment of the skin condition is essential. Medical therapy might consist of treatment with long term antibiotics, anti-inflammatory agents, and preventing access to the area until the lesion heals. Behavioral management and drug therapy is much the same as for other compulsive disorders (see above).

[shelbysdad2]

Thanks!! I will try what both of you have suggested and update you..I am willing to try anything at this point, I hope it helps!

Thanks again!

shelbysdad

[rainbow]

What are you feeding Shelby?

[shelbysdad2]

I am feeding her Nutro Natural Choice Senior dry food, she has been on that for about 2 years, and before that it was Nutro Lamb Meal and Rice.

[shelbysdad2]

Update:

I have started to give her new food. Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula, its a Holistic All-Natural food. Also, have added a Allergy Supplement, Allerg-Eze. As for the "wound", I am applying tea tree oil and aloe to the affected area 3 times a day. So far so good, more updates later!

Cheers

shelbysdad

[bendyfoot]

just be mindful that Tea Tree oil is not good for kitties, so if there's any felines in the house make sure there's no interspecies cuddling

Otherwise, glad to hear you're on the right track! The crazy licking is such a pain!!!