Licking

[Guest prettypenny]

My husband and I adopted our first hound 4 months ago and LOVE her! She is adjusting well, but has 'lick spots' it started on her right arm and then she stopped, but a few weeks later started on the left arm. She has now moved on to her back leg. She is licking herself raw. We have tried to wrap it, but she usually gets it off. I am using ointment, but I really do not know what to do! If I see her licking I will try to give her a toy or a bone, but I wonder if there is a reason why she is licking. Anyone had this problem before?

[MaryJane]

Two of my angel greyhounds would "groom themselves" but they would never do it until it was raw. But, one greyhound would suddenly get attached to licking the woodwork where one of his beds were and to stop that I would cover it up with a pillow so it was not as accessible. In my dog's case it was apparently because of boredom because once I started getting him more tired (getting him out more) it stopped.

 

When I first got one of my current greyhounds, he had a small growth/spot on his leg that he would constantly lick at .. so much that I decided to have a biopsy/removal done to make sure that it was not malignant. After the biopsy/removal he never touched it again. It could also have been that he was "new" to my household and was still nervous (he was a two-time bounce) and he just needed time to settle in.

 

In your case, I suspect that you dog is still nervous and it's coming out as an "obsessive behavior" which will likely stop given enough time to settle in. In the interim, may I suggest that you tire her out more so that she doesn't have time to lick.

 

If she is doing it when you are not home you might want to consider using a "kong" (treat filled rubber device) to keep her occupied.

[KF_in_Georgia]

Try giving her "sleeves." Cut the toe out of two socks. Pull the socks up her forearms like sleeves. Fasten the socks together to hold them up--a piece of ribbon poked through holes in the upper edges of the socks and tied together behind her neck works well.

 

I had a girl that obsessively licked a healing injury in the crease of her elbow. Socks worked. (In that case, I only needed one sock, and I tied the ribbon to her collar to keep it up.)

 

Don't use any sort of fastening so strong that she can't break it if she gets hung up on a piece of furniture and panics.

[CaliforniaGreys]

I have a licker, and getting to the route of it is the best bet to help solve it. If it's allergies, food, seasonal or contact, there's an fairly easy fix. If it's behavioral, it's a little more difficult.

 

But I would start with trying to find out why

[Guest Timo]

The vet suggested smearing Vaseline on the spots where they lick to help prevent them from getting raw. No matter how much she licks, it hard to lick all the Vaseline off.

 

I also agree with trying to see it it's an allergy.

[Guest prettypenny]

Thanks everyone, these are great ideas!