Neurotic Biting/chewing

[Guest 4gryhnds]

I am putting this out to all you greyhound people. This seems like a pretty desperate situation. Because I sell cast/bandage protectors, I receive all kinds of inquiries. This last one tugs at may heart. The dog is an English Bull Mastiff. She has an infection in her foot that she will not let heal. She is very strong. So far her owner, Mike, has tried: chewing deterrents, muzzles, bandages, Prozac. Nothing has worked because she is able to get out of or tear off anything that he uses on her. He is desperate. His vet is suggesting that he may have to put her to sleep because it has become a mental obsession.

 

I know that we greyhound people struggle with similar situations......does anyone have any suggestions????????????

 

I would really like to help Mike save his girl.

 

Thanks a bunch,

 

Sue

CLEAN/BREAK cast and bandage protectors

[SAVED2]

Where there is a will there is a way , something will work

[Guest EmilyAnne]

I had a pointer mix who had several stitches on his neck, making an e-collar out of the question. He did get the stitches out, and we rushed him to ER and he got stapled. We then sat with him 24/7 until he healed. Me and my husband and oldest son took turns, and I slept with him at night, with an arm around his upper body, and my leg over his lower body. It was a PITA, but it was the only option. One scratch with the back paw and he would have pulled all his staples out. He did recover thanks to extreme diligence on our part.

[SPDoggie]

A bandage, a muzzle and 24 hour babysitter... this seems insane to me that putting her down has become an option.

[Guest jettcricket]

A bandage, a muzzle and 24 hour babysitter... this seems insane to me that putting her down has become an option.

Geez...I agree - that seems a bit over the top. Poor pup and poor owner.

[Guest SkinnyLegDogLover]

I know that we greyhound people struggle with similar situations......does anyone have any suggestions????????????

 

 

Another Vet????

 

[Guest Redpack]

How about an opinion from another vet?

[gracegirl]

How about an opinion from another vet?

Ditto that!

 

See if there are people who can rotate 24/7 care for the dog. Rescue Remedy, DAP, etc. and the same drugs used for SA might help to snap the cycle, provided the dog has 24/7 care. It makes me SICK to hear a vet is recommending the dog be PTS for this.

[DaisyDoodle]

Is there an English Bull Mastiff list like GT? I would think they, or a EBM rescue would have ideas on how to handle this in "their" breed.

 

Off hand, I'd suggest something that tastes nasty on the bandage. I'd also consider the possibility that this poor dog is in pain. He appears to need better pain management and perhaps some sedatives until things are healed up.

 

If this guy is ready to put this dog down, he should at least consider re-homing it. It shouldn't be a first choice, but should be considered before euthanasia.

[Guest EmilyAnne]

Is there an English Bull Mastiff list like GT? I would think they, or a EBM rescue would have ideas on how to handle this in "their" breed.

 

Off hand, I'd suggest something that tastes nasty on the bandage. I'd also consider the possibility that this poor dog is in pain. He appears to need better pain management and perhaps some sedatives until things are healed up.

 

If this guy is ready to put this dog down, he should at least consider re-homing it. It shouldn't be a first choice, but should be considered before euthanasia.

Yes, I agree. There are people out there who specifically seek out the special needs dogs. I am one of those. Putting a dog to sleep over this is unreasonable.

 

[Meandmy]

Prozac isn't the only anti-anxiety med out there. Shadow had a problem not leaving a surgery site alone and we put him on Clomicalm (clomiprimine). For 8 months we kept him in sweatpants (it was on his knee, so wouldn't stay bandaged), or him in a muzzle with stool guard or watched him at all times or else he would open the wound back up within 5 minutes. I know the frustration the owner is feeling. There were a few times that we thought we had it healed and Shadow would lick it right back open - it made me cry! Then we started on the Clomicalm. It took about 4 weeks for it to fully kick in but it has worked perfectly!

 

Definitely have the owner contact another vet - sometimes a fresh pair of eyes will come up with fresh ideas. There has to be just tons of options to consider before putting the dog down!

Edited October 15, 2008 by Meandmy

[turbotaina]

I was watching It's Me or the Dog the other night and Victoria was working with a couple who had a dog with an obsessive compulsive disorder. He would go into trances and chew on surfaces where light was being reflected. Quite odd. However, she managed to distract him with a loud noise and bring his focus back. I was really impressed by what she did and it was without the use of meds. In two months, the dog was markedly improved. This does, however, require that the owners be willing to work on the behavior, it's not overnight. And even if meds (such as Reconcile) are used, they must still be used in conjunction with behavior modification techniques.

 

[ahicks51]

There seem to be a couple of forums; this one seems to keep the posts hidden unless you subscribe:

 

http://www.phpbber.com/phpbb/index.php?mfo...bullmastiffforu

 

There's also Bullmastiff Rescue; contacting them with a plea for help- not for rescue, but for breed-specific advice- might help:

 

http://www.bullmastiffrescue.com/

 

Absolute worst comes to worst- I'd find a machinist that could turn down a nice piece of schedule 40 PVC pipe or similar to fit as a rigid boot over whatever appliances were required for bandaging, pad the ends, and keep that sucker in place somehow. Assuming a muzzle didn't work, of course- but keeping a bullmastiff muzzled without someone present- not a good idea.

[grey14me]

something along the lines of what ahicks says...can't you put a cast on him? something hard, so that he can't get to the stitches. also the 24/7 watch...I know it's hard and it stinks, but that's what we had to do with Holly when she had stitches/staples/drains...we slept on the floor with her and made sure that someone was always with her.

[MP_the4pack]

I work with The Dog Shrink. A trainer who specializes in problems with dogs. Here's her comment which back up what a lot of others were saying.

 

So the only other thing to do is work with the dog and her obsession. It's easy enough in theory how to do that. The difficult part is putting in the time and doing it. Forget Prozac and all those drugs. She needs the owner to spend time with her and redirect her behavior. The chewing and licking are a conditioned behavior that needs to be re-conditioned. I can't believe the VET is suggesting putting her to sleep. But then..........I don't know all the details or the dog's actual condition.

[Guest trevdog]

Get another vet for starters! There's other meds out there besides Prozac and other forms of protection for the foot. How about a muzzle or some kind?

[Jiffer]

In our house, the chewers get a long sleep tee for front legs and tie up shorts for back legs. They get a daily dose of benedryl for the itchies that comes with healing. They wear a taped muzzle when I can't supervise. I also up their exercise.. it's hard to chew on themselves when they can't keep their eyes open.

[Guest Greensleeves]

I completely understand the stress and frustration and heartbreak of a wound that just won't ever seem to heal. Flint scratched a hole at the tip of his ear that constantly broke open and bled (everywhere) for TWENTY WEEKS. Somewhere in the depths of the Greytalk archive are recorded our efforts to get his ear to heal. Eventually, we seriously considered having the ear flap amputated--it was the last resort for our vets, after electrocautery failed twice. We were *this close* to scheduling the surgery. A few days before he was due to go under, by some miracle we ended up at the e-vets with Flint for a vaccine reaction (which turned out to be nothing), and the vet there took a look at the ear. He recommended Panalog, apparently the only ointment on Earth we had not yet tried. The ear stopped bleeding within one week. It was absolutely a miracle for him. Other medicines have been miracles for other dogs--there's *something* out there.

 

So what I'm saying is, there is SOME WAY to help her--if not this ointment, then that one; if not this sedative, then another. Even amputation would be less extreme than euthanasia (and possibly something to consider--a friend's husband had a leg wound from a bike accident that would not heal; he was in constant, debilitating pain for the last four years. They finally opted to amputate the leg this summer, and he felt better immediately. It turned out that there was a nearly-microscopic speck of asphalt in the wound that kept the wound from healing completely. Maybe it's possible that there's still a problem with the wound itself.

 

And beyond that, some behavioral work is needed here, as well--and I'm thinking not only distraction/diversion when she's actually worrying the foot... but possibly she needs another hobby: obedience classes, therapy work, agility... something to keep her busy for a few hours a day and get her mind busy working on other problems. She has some stress in her life, and the only way she has right now to burn it off is to chew on that wound. She needs another outlet.

[Batmom]

Taped basket-style muzzle (believe petedge.com has them for all breeds) and some different ointments/meds. If necessary, day care so pup can be supervised 24/7. It'll be a pain in the patoot for a couple weeks, but should be getting better by then.

[Guest meakah]

I would definitely be getting a 2nd opinion from another vet. I am stunned that a vet would recommend euthanasia over amputation. Yes, amputation may not be the answer but I would sure opt to do it before ending the dog's life if that was the only option left. This dog definitely needs to be seen from another set of eyes and get to the problem of this ongoing infection. Seems to me there are many options that have not been tried...yet....