# Licking problem again



## gapeach (Dec 23, 2011)

Sammi is an obsessive licker. She has licked about a five inch place on the inside of her leg into a sticky red sore. I tried Bitter End, Hot Spot spray with tea tree oil. She immediately licks it off again. Yesterday I tried to wrap it but she would not walk and immediately started trying to get the tape off.
I still have some of the synotic that I used before on a granuloma but same thing, she licks it right off. I am giving her grain free, soy free 4Health lamb and rice, 2 fish oil tablets a day, raw bones. Her treats are lamb bites. What else can we do? She takes Sentinel so we know she does not have fleas.
Also she takes benadryl 25mg twice a day.


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## SDjulieinSC (Aug 8, 2005)

Have you tried a ROLL-ON (like Ban) deoderant to help control the licking? I put it around wounds (not touching) and on bandages. Has helped with a number of my own pets as well as with patients at the clinic. Wish I had a magic no itch wand for you.


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## gapeach (Dec 23, 2011)

SDjulieinSC said:


> Have you tried a ROLL-ON (like Ban) deoderant to help control the licking? I put it around wounds (not touching) and on bandages. Has helped with a number of my own pets as well as with patients at the clinic. Wish I had a magic no itch wand for you.


No, I have not and will try it. I have tried hot sauce and Capsaicin and nothing fazes her. 
How do you bandage it? I have gauze, paper tape and also stretch bandages. We have to bandage my husband's legs so we have all the supplies except for vet wrap.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

gapeach said:


> Sammi is an obsessive licker. She has licked about a five inch place on the inside of her leg into a sticky red sore. I tried Bitter End, Hot Spot spray with tea tree oil. She immediately licks it off again. Yesterday I tried to wrap it but she would not walk and immediately started trying to get the tape off.


Steroids help if this is a hotspot/allergy issue. And if it is a neurosis, then vets give prozac to help too.


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## Cali (Mar 16, 2012)

What breed is she? Also if your 4Health is lamb & rice, are you sure it's grain free?


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## gapeach (Dec 23, 2011)

I think it is a little of both. She is a licker. She licks on anyone that she cares about too. She spent a long time at the shelter and she was just a pup so she probably developed this habit of licking for comfort or boredom. Last time when she had the granuloma on her foot we gave her antibiotics, steroids and a topical liquid. It is Synotic and some kind of horse med mixed with it. It got well when she finally stopped licking it. I would love to get it well without using steroids again. We bought her a ring collar and it lasted about 5 minutes so she will not wear a cone.


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## gapeach (Dec 23, 2011)

She is Shar Pei and Black Lab. That is our vet's best opinion
The sore is on the inside of her right leg.

4health&#8482; Lamb & Rice Formula for Adult Dogs Dog Food, 35 lb., 4health Food features a grain-free formula designed for all life stages.


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## Tracy (May 2, 2002)

This is your ingredients for the lamb and rice:
Ingredients:
Lamb, lamb meal, whole grain brown rice, oatmeal, cracked pearled barley, ground rice, millet, egg product, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), dried beet pulp, natural flavor, flaxseed, fish meal, potassium chloride, salt, choline chloride, dried chicory root, taurine, glucosamine hydrochloride, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, yucca schidigera extract, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, chondroitin sulfate, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.

Flax seed and or beet pulp may be the issue both can be allergens. Rice and oatmeal is not species appropriate for a carnivore.
The only way to know what this dog is allergic to is an elimination diet. You feed only one ,eat/bones/organs for 6-8 weeks, one ingredient. After that time you slowly introduce new meats and this way if it is a meat the dog is allergic to it is easy to pin point.


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## Tracy (May 2, 2002)

Forgot to ask who is the manufacturer of the lamb bite dog treats? What are the ingredients?


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## gapeach (Dec 23, 2011)

Tracy said:


> Forgot to ask who is the manufacturer of the lamb bite dog treats? What are the ingredients?


Durango 95's - all natural 6 ingredients. 95% real lamb. chicory,lecithin,sea salt,natural antioxidants and garlic

Durango Pet Products, Inc
Irwindale, Ca Welcome to Durango Pet! made in USA


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## Ruby (May 10, 2002)

Be careful putting anything with teatree oil in it, where she can lick it off. One of our posters on here lost a pet because it got into a tiny bit of teatree oil. It can be fatal.

It sounds to me like it's a habit. I would think it's not because of itching.


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## Ruby (May 10, 2002)

Have you tried putting a collar on her so she can't get to it, until it has a chance to heal.


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## gapeach (Dec 23, 2011)

We did. We ordered the Kong collar but she got it off in less than 2 minutes. I did put the ban roll on deodorant around the wound and put the synotic on it. It seems like she has done a little better. She tried to lick the deodorant off and she sneezed and snorted. Usually she licks anything off as soon as applied.
I only put a few 3or 4 drops of tea tree oil in a 12 oz container. I am afraid of using it too unless it is a very small amount.


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## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

gapeach said:


> We bought her a ring collar and it lasted about 5 minutes so she will not wear a cone.


She has to stop licking it. She may not have a choice in wearing a cone or not. The only other thing you can do is devise a long sock to go over the entire leg with a "harness" to hold it on. 
Since it's sticky that means it's oozing and that means it's infected. She needs antibiotics to help dry it up.
Allergies get worse this time of year and something must have put her over the top. Could be many things because if they have allergies it's never just one thing that they are allergic too. People usually try changing food because that is the only thing that can be controlled...you can't control grass and pollen. Lamb and rice is not grain free...rice is a grain. I would suggest you try Taste of the Wild if you don't want to go with a raw diet. It will take at least a month to see results of any food changes. 
I would suspect allergies first because Shar Pei's are notorious for skin issues. Does she have any other symptoms? Check her ears, eyes and belly for redness. Is she scratching a lot?
Also...that area she is licking is common for hot spots because when a dog licks and licks there it sets off endorphins that make them feel comforted. Usually they seek this due to stress or not enough activity. Is there anything "going on" around the homestead that might be stressing her out? Construction, different noises, bad weather, visitors, people fighting etc..
Just some things to think about. 

Also...a product that I have heard people rave about for hot spots is MTG. BUT, any topical is just going to be licked off so it will have to be used with a cone. Original M-T-G Shapley's (Equine - Grooming - Horse Shampoo Conditioner - Conditioners)

Good luck...I know how frustrated you must feel and she is sure is a cute doggie


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

Have you tried wearing her out with walks and playing?


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## belladulcinea (Jun 21, 2006)

Bob does that, I will bandage it and you'd think I'd cut his leg off! His is pure anxiety, we feed a minimal ingredient food and he takes an anti anxiety drug, which gives him siezures. My poor puppy! Once we get him straighened out he's fine for months and then something happens and boom, he's licked another spot.


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## belladulcinea (Jun 21, 2006)

Oh yeah, Bob's is on his right front leg, that's the only place he licks like that.


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## gapeach (Dec 23, 2011)

Thank all of you. Should I put the elastic bandage on it? She is otherwise healthy. When she goes for her shots June 1, I do want them to do a Thyroid test too because of her thinning hair and she is either hyper or asleep. Not much in between. I have another skin ointment from the vet that is Dermalone and has Nystatin/Neomycin in it. 
We stay outside most of the day and our backyard is very large. Sammie does chase squirrels a lot and I walk her some too. Earlier this week she got into an altercation with a 4 ft long snake in the yard. It looked like a black racer. She picked it up by the tail and bit through it. I cannot find any bite marks on her but she could have licked the place and started the sore. We don't usually have poisonous snakes around here. We have had 4 snakes in the yard in the last 2 weeks. Sammi also cornered a King Snake and he was striking at her. She slung him around by the tail too but he got away from her when she dropped him. I'll keep trying to treat her and if I need to I will take her to the vet to get the place wrapped.


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## gapeach (Dec 23, 2011)

About the stress, not really. We have had her 5 months now. She had so much separation anxiety at first. She is much better now. We don't both leave her a lot but we can put her in her crate with a big marrow bone, she has a water bottle. She will go to asleep after chewing her bone for a while and she is fine when we get home. 
At first she was very anxious when I would go out, now she does not mind at all being at home with my husband.
The only stress we have around here is that Sammie jumps up on members of the family when they come. It does make me anxious because of the little ones possibly getting scratched or knocked down. She loves them but wants to lick them and they don't like it. I usually end up putting her on a leash or crating her with a bone.
I did just have the shingles for 3 wks so was not able to take her out walking as much. I throw the ball for her every night.


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## beccachow (Nov 8, 2008)

Tell the vet to give you liquid Atropine. Use very minute amounts as he prescribes. It is the bitterest substance around, hands down; they use it on post op dogs to keep them from worrying at incisions.


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## gapeach (Dec 23, 2011)

OK. Thanks. I found some infant socks, cut the toes out. I put the Dermalone ointment on her and I swear she was already licking before I got the sock on her. I used paper tape to hold it in place. She has licked the sock but is now leaving it alone. I look at her clean spay incision and wonder how in the word the shelter workers kept her from licking it raw. The woman who handled her adoption from the shelter told me that she knew she would not wear a cone but according to her, they did know about any previous licking. I don't think they always tell you everything about the dog. Sammi tries to stay away from me now, you would think I had done something terrible to her.


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## beccachow (Nov 8, 2008)

Call the vet and see about the Atropine drops. You can even put some on the sock to get her to leave it alone. I want to say they are actually eye drops, but Atropine is one of the bitterest things known to man and someone figured that out to use it for chronic lickers. Being a cardiac drug, you don't want to douse the wound or sock, just put a few drops on it and your problem *should* be solved. My beloved CJ (God rest his soul) was a chronic licker as well, paws. Never figured out if it was stress, allergies, just never got to the bottom of it. I do know that in desperation I used this...within a day or two he stopped licking it entirely, being conditioned to the awful taste, and I never had to use it again.


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## gapeach (Dec 23, 2011)

I think that is what they put into the eye to deaden it for eye surgeries. I know you have to have a prescription to get it. I will see if I can get it from the vet. Sammi just killed a snake. She bit it into 3 parts so off went the sock. It looked like a garter snake. This is the 5th snake in the yard in 2 wks.


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## SDjulieinSC (Aug 8, 2005)

Glad the roll on helped a bit. If it was my dog I would leave the wound uncovered and continue with the roll on. If you feel better covering it, put the roll on on the bandage.
Good Luck!

Cute dog by the way!


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## gapeach (Dec 23, 2011)

She is apparently immune to the roll on now. She just licks it right off. I am not getting anywhere with her. I have tried to bandage the leg with the baby socks and she gets the tape right off. She licks on it and has it raw now. I keep putting the prescription synotic on it. The vet told me if it stays on for a few minutes it penetrates the lick spot. We go outside and then she comes back in and starts the licking again.

Thank you... She is very cute and has a lot of personality.


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

Sometimes licking is caused by pain, often a joint pain they can't directly locate. If there is any chance of this, you might be able to treat her for pain and cause her to relax. However, my guess is (from her history), its habitual/stress related. Maybe something homeopathic for calming her?


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## gapeach (Dec 23, 2011)

I do give her melatonin at night and Benadry twice a day. I am going to ask the vet about something calming for her. She is outwardly calm but I know that she was abused. The shelter we got her from only takes animals from abusive situations and they try their best to rehab them. In her case she was thrown away, then adopted at 4mos and brought back to the shelter at 8 mos because the people were moving to place that did not allow dogs. She really is getting more secure though. My daughter and sil came over the other night. Sammi was all excited and just would not calm down. They make me remove myself and let them handle her. They petted her and calmed her down within minutes and she was just fine, lying down and we were able to have a good 2 hr visit. We take her with us when we go out in the car and she just loves it. My husband sits in the car with her. She is in the back with the window down. She never barks at anyone. If people walk right by the car. He rolls the window up but she does not react toward them. I take her out on a leash and the only problem that I have is that most people around here do not leash their dogs and Sammi goes nuts wanting to play with them. The place on her leg is no worse. Right now it is dry but if she starts to lick it again she will lick it raw.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

gapeach said:


> Sammi is an obsessive licker. She has licked about a five inch place on the inside of her leg into a sticky red sore. I tried Bitter End, Hot Spot spray with tea tree oil. She immediately licks it off again. Yesterday I tried to wrap it but she would not walk and immediately started trying to get the tape off.
> I still have some of the synotic that I used before on a granuloma but same thing, she licks it right off. I am giving her grain free, soy free 4Health lamb and rice, 2 fish oil tablets a day, raw bones. Her treats are lamb bites. What else can we do? She takes Sentinel so we know she does not have fleas.
> Also she takes benadryl 25mg twice a day.


She needs a steroid round from your vet. Some Dex will do wonders for that issue.


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## gapeach (Dec 23, 2011)

mekasmom said:


> She needs a steroid round from your vet. Some Dex will do wonders for that issue.



I am trying to avoid steroids. She had a 3 wk round a couple of months ago. The secret is trying to keep her from licking the area. It stays dry, looks better, and then she goes back to licking again. I'm sure she does itch but she is OCD, I think. My daughter wants to give her a hot oil treatment.


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## RedDirt Cowgirl (Sep 21, 2010)

gapeach said:


> ...She is a licker. She licks on anyone that she cares about too. She spent a long time at the shelter and she was just a pup so she probably developed this habit of licking for comfort or boredom...


I think you've defined the problem here - applying the solution is the trick. I babysat a 9 year old dog for 5 weeks that came with raw spots from licking. He has high separation anxiety, and was allowed to lick at home, including people. A total licking ban to the tune of bad dog, good dog, worked like a charm. He had fur growing back on his raw spots when I turned him back over to his owners. I'm not saying all dogs would be this easy, but habit is at work. Treating the symptoms is sweeping the beach clean of sand.


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## gapeach (Dec 23, 2011)

We have not used the bad dog/good dog but we tell her no licking and she knows what we mean because she will stop. I think she does it at night when she won't be fussed at. Anything I put on it, she immediately licks it off.


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## RedDirt Cowgirl (Sep 21, 2010)

Sounds like you have a good dog that wants to please. I think that comes with a degree of sensitivity too, and you can imagine yourself what any re-homed dog goes through. I had the advantage of being a very light sleeper with the dog needing to be next to me 24/7, so I could correct him even at night. You do have your work cut out for you, but it sounds like you can work through this. I gave a lot of "good dog" love whenever he was lying about and not licking too. My other though is that it is like thumb-sucking in kids. Some drop it, some develop problems with it, and most revert back to it in times of stress or even plain boredom. It will probably take quite a while before your dog believes in his heart that he's home to stay. Good cess on ye for being so kind to this poor little beastie.


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## gapeach (Dec 23, 2011)

Thank you, RedDirt CG, we do love this girl so much. The extended family does too. I am staying with my little grandson at night this week while his parents are away and my husband so wanted Sammi to sleep with him last night. She did. He said he did not see or hear her licking. It looks to me like it is healing except for the worst spot at the top. It might be a little better though.


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