Licking Sore

[Guest StormChaser]

Our 4 year old retired has had lick sore 4 or 5 times since she came to us 18 months ago. First time the vet said it probably was caused by stress from the transition from kennel to foster home then life with us. Eventually the sore healed, no idea why she stopped licking. Since then she has had others, some on front leg, some on back legs. She went almost 6 months since the last one until the one she has now. We have tried everything, bitter apple, UCK, a steroid from the vet, lampshade, bandages she always manages to get off, etc. We don't believe it is stress, she is happy and well adjusted. I think she might get nicked when she is in the yard and once the licking starts she can't stop. Any suggestions??

[Dawnnziggy]

That is exactly what Ziggy does. It starts as a small scratch and he just licks it to death until it is HUGE! The only thing we do is put salve on it. Once when it got really bad, I took him to the doctor and he said that we shouldn't put anything on it but not to let him lick it. YEAH, RIGHT! Anyway, he doesn't do it often either. If you get any good ideas, I'll be glad to try them too!

[Hawthorn]

I had a greyhound who used to do that. If there was a tiny mark on him, he would lick it to death. The way I used to prevent it was to put a light bandage or cover of some sort over the tiny mark before he got to it and until it healed. It was the only thing that worked for us.

Edited December 26, 2008 by Hawthorn

[Guest meakah]

It could be allergies....have you tried switching his food?

[Guest FireHorse]

If the licky spots are on feet/lower legs, try socks-toddler knee socks are almost the perfect size for greyhounds. Just wrap a little tape around the top so they stay up. You can also cut the toes out of tube socks and do the same thing if you need a longer sock.

 

When Jet had stitches in his toe, we ended up keeping him in a muzzle with a poop cup in it any time he was out of direct eyesight. He wasn't very happy about it, but his stitches stayed put!

[Guest sheila]

in addition to the above suggestions I have used Bach Rescue Remedy Cream http://www.bachflower.com/

my dog had an old open wound that wouldn't heal and I had been using real aloe from my houseplants to treat it. I had better results with this product.

[greysmom]

Seconing the muzzle full-time. When Copper had stitches in his toes he would KNOT stop licking, so we lightly wrapped his foot and kept his muzzle on except when he was eating. He didn't like it much either but his foot healed quite nicely so I told him to just get over it!

 

You might also pick up some EMT Gel. It sort of crusts over and help the wound heal.

 

If she is a persistent licker you may want to investigate if she has a complusion disorder that could be helped by Rescue Remedy, DAP Spray, or a mild anti-anxiety med.

 

So, now to the important part - what's her name and where's her picture!

 

greysmom

[Guest chaoran22]

i agree it might be allergies - my boy has spots on his legs that he licks when he's itchy from his allergies and then i just give him an antihistamine and that helps. he's not always itchy. but if he's just licking little cuts to death - then you can check him over when he comes in and put emt gel on any cuts he might have, that dries pretty quickly (you'll have to watch him until it dries because it's really sticky) and then it'll protect that skin from further licking he might do. or you can use new skin if it's a little cut - but emt gel works better for anything larger than a thin cut. or like someone else said you can muzzle. or use an ecollar (but if muzzling works, you should do muzzling as muzzling is much more comfortable, ecollars are miserable for the dog!)

 

ETA: "new skin" is a liquid bandage they sell for people. it stings a bit when you put it on (i think it hurts a ton when i use it on myself - like putting alcohol on a wound - but my dog doesn't seem to mind the stinging) "emt gel" is something you can google and order online or go to one of their listed retailers. i don't think that stings at all but of course, have never used it on myself so i wouldn't know.

Edited December 27, 2008 by chaoran22

[dmdsmoxie]

Try putting some Vicks' Vaporub around, but not in, the sore.

 

 

[Beautybabe]

When Martin was licking the area around his broken toe, we kept him muzzled, especially at night. Also, he couldn't remove the sock when he was muzzled. I did have to duct tape the inside and outside of the muzzle because we didn't have a stool guard at the time.

[Guest SusanP]

Our angel hound Simon used to have a lick spot. She came to us at age 7 and had it already then, a shiny spot with no fur on it on her forearm. Normally it wasn't irritated, but at times when she overlicked it and it got raw, we'd bandage it awhile and put a shirt on her with a sleeve to cover it. I saw it as kind of like thumb-sucking for her, though she was very relaxed and happy in our home.