Guest chaoran22 Posted March 11, 2010 Share Posted March 11, 2010 (edited) My boy always has dried gunky spit on the backs of his knees (for the past 3 years, don't remember if he did it the first year we had him). The skin is always rubbed looking from the licking - although he never does it to the point where it's raw, so it's not too severe. I've had it looked at by several different vets and it was even x-rayed a year ago and they all didn't see anything and just told me it was a habit of his, maybe from slight SA when we're not home (we rarely see him do it so it must be done either at night or when we're not home). He doesn't have any other skin issues anywhere else on his body. What's gotten me thinking about this again is that he has been shifting his weight off his back left leg recently. If he's standing, he'll just very very slightly lift it up off the ground, and when he walks, he favors the left back leg just a tiny bit. He's not the most graceful dog to begin with, he lumbers around, and this is just a slight change in his usual lumbering so it might have been going on for a long time before we noticed (as opposed to my other grey who gracefully glides and any change in her gait is very easy to see). My boyfriend first noticed it a few weeks ago and said maybe he was getting a new corn, but I didn't see any limping - it wasn't until this week that I all of the sudden saw the odd shifting of weight off the left leg. It was so subtle I didn't notice it before because I was looking for limping and this is much more subtle. Anyway, he has a vet appointment to look at this but in the meantime, I'm going crazy with being paranoid that it's gone on for much longer than we knew and that it could be something serious. And of course, I'm wondering if it's related to the licking of his knees - I mean, that's been going on for years, and his favoring his left back leg has (probably) only been going on for a few weeks so probably not related but I don't know. And also, my other grey, and other dogs we meet always go up to him and sniff his left leg where he licks it. I just thought they were sniffing his dried up spit, but now I'm wondering why she always sniffs his left back one instead of his left right one (which also usually has some dried spit too). I don't even want to say you know what, but I'm paranoid that the other dogs are able to sniff something growing in his left back leg and that's why they always sniff it. I'm just so paranoid! Sorry, this is just a brain dump of things that are probably not related but I'm so anxious waiting for the vet appointment - I wish we could just take him tonight to get x-rayed just to calm my mind. Does anyone else's dog lick their legs like this? If it's something really serious, wouldn't he be limping more more noticibly? I just want someone to reassure me that it's too mild to be the big scary thing. Maybe it's just really mild arthritis that didn't show up in exams before and only manifested itself in licking and only recently got worse? Anyway - thanks for reading all this, any comments/ideas would be appreciated! Edited March 11, 2010 by chaoran22 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Energy11 Posted March 11, 2010 Share Posted March 11, 2010 Sorry you are upset. I know how it is, when you have to wait and see what is/isn't wrong! Our Staggerlee licks his legs ALL the time! I think he is part cat! He licks his front ones a lot! I always worry, and wonder why, but I guess that is just what he does! He DOES have terrible corns on his back feet. (*I just hulled on today). He seems fine other-wise. I wouldnt' really worry too much about the licking, as your guy has been doing it for a while, as you said. It is not something new. PLEASE try not to worry until you have to. HA! easy for me to say, as I just did this with Goldie a few weeks ago. Turned out, she has bad arthritis. That, I can handle. Please relax if you can. Don't need you sick, too, right? I bet everything will turn out okay! Sending love, prayers and hugs! Dee and The Five Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GryffinSong Posted March 12, 2010 Share Posted March 12, 2010 My guy doesn't lick unless he has an scratch or something, but I'd mention it to the vet when he/she looks at the leg, just in case it's relevant. Hugs and good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greysmom Posted March 12, 2010 Share Posted March 12, 2010 Some greys seem to get a little OCD about licking - lick lick lick until it's about to make you INSANE!! Related to SA in some cases. Our Bridge Girl Libby used to lick her ankles all the time and our vet speculated that her joints were aching a bit from mild arthritis (she was 8-10 years old). Might be the same sort of thing with your guy if nothing shows on xrays. You might think about trying a light dose of Rimadyl or another anti-inflammatory/pain reliever. Quote Chris - Mom to: Felicity (DeLand), and Andi (Braska Pandora) siggy by Chris Harper, on Flickr Angels: Libby (Everlast), Dorie (Dog Gone Holly), Dude (TNJ VooDoo), Copper (Kid's Copper), Cash (GSI Payncash), Toni (LPH Cry Baby), Whiskey (KT's Phys Ed), Atom, Lilly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chaoran22 Posted March 12, 2010 Share Posted March 12, 2010 Thanks! I've calmed down a bit and am not so paranoid anymore. I really do think that if it were something serious and scary like the big C, it would manifest itself much more than a barely noticible weight shifting. I just let myself get carried away by worst case scenario fears, but in my more rational moments, something like mild arthiritis seems much more likely. I will definitely mention maybe trying a light dose of anti-inflammatory to my vet. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4My2Greys Posted March 12, 2010 Share Posted March 12, 2010 Just something I thought I would put out there for you to consider. I have read that when animals lick repeatedly in a certain area, often it is to stimulate the acupressure trigger point associated with healing or easing what is ailing them. If this is the case from the area you described sounds like BL39 or BL40 which is associated with back, hip pain or bladder problems. Here is a link to a dog acupressure point chart. http://www.luckydoghealth.com/dogacupressurechart.htm Just something I thought I would put out there for you to consider. I have read that when animals lick repeatedly in a certain area, often it is to stimulate the acupressure trigger point associated with healing or easing what is ailing them. If this is the case from the area you described sounds like BL39 or BL40 which is associated with back, hip pain or bladder problems. Here is a link to a dog acupressure point chart. http://www.luckydoghealth.com/dogacupressurechart.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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