Licking Licking, Licking.

[KickReturn]

Our 8 year old boy Honor grooms himself like a cat. He will patiently lick most of his body with a focus on his legs and feet, but also shoulders and haunches. Interestingly, he rarely licks his private parts. The problem is that every few weeks he will decide to lick a particular spot on his foreleg near the crook of his elbow until it is raw. Eventually it will heal and a few weeks later he will do it again. I have investigated the spot and there is nothing there. Further, there are no signs of redness, irritation, or any skin anomalies anywhere on his body. He will also lick his various beds, and once I caught him licking the wall.

 

I am wondering if this is a psychological problem. Perhaps he's bored although he gets abundant exercise, and I am home with him a good portion of the time. He doesn't show the slightest trace of anxiety so I am at a loss.

 

Honor seems in perfect heath. Decent nutrition (Purina Pro Plan Gastroenteric), He never appears to be itchy and only occasionally will do a hind leg chin scratch. He doesn't have the slightest trace of dandruff and he has the shortest, finest, most velvety fur of any grey, including females, that I have even met.

 

Any ideas or tips to stop this behaviour. The elbow area is near impossible to bandage and he'd probably tear anything off and do more damage to himself anyway.

[XTRAWLD]

I have noticed Ryder licking his "forearms" constantly between 1-3pm on my webcam every day. I have no idea why, and surmised that it was just soothing for him. Perhaps he was anxious or stressed and that was his coping mechanism, and often I found the bed that he was on to be soaked with saliva, but thankfully it was never to the point of raw. Perhaps Honor is similar?

[Remolacha]

I think some dogs do lick out of boredom or stress, and then they discover it feels good and it becomes a habit. Not really a problem except when they lick a place raw (hot spot) You can try spraying the area with something like Bitter Apple, when it has healed of course. When the spot is raw, you might try EMT gel, it covers the open wound and doesn’t taste very good I am told.

[tbhounds]

Start a trial of apoquel. If the licking stops then he's itchy and will most likely need to be treated for allergies.

[Victor]

Our Joy is an obsessive licker. She has a routine where she licks her forearm, then her knee, and then her belly. She will repeat this routine over and over on whichever side of her body is facing up. We found that 20mg of Clomipramine (Clomicalm) per day helps control her licking, although we still have to interrupt her now and then by putting a light cotton blankie over her. (The "Touched by Nature Organic Receiving Blanket" on Amazon works well for this.)

 

Joy is also an anxious girl (she's petrified of the sound of lawn mowers), so maybe that's related. We didn't get her until she was 7 (she was a brood mom).

[Guest nicky604]

Would giving a raw bone to chew help? To help transfer the licking (which sounds like a soothing behaviour) away from this favourite licking spot.

[KickReturn]

Thanks for the info everyone. When I left for two hours today I gave a peanut butter filled Kong to "get his licking out". And then tonight he licked his leg until he was bleeding. He is all taped up now. We'll just have to see if he goes at the bandage.

 

FWIW he knows I don't want him to lick the bad spot. He waits till I am out of sight.

 

The Apoquel sounds like a good tip, allergies are always a possibility. A trip to the vet is probably in order.

 

I really don't think this relates in anyway to anxiety. This is a super happy, content dog. He spends most of his day sprawled on one of his 8 beds, half asleep, puffing his cheeks.

[Batmom]

Could try a shirt or jammies with legs, if you have any that fit him. Would still investigate the Apoquel, but it might keep him away from the spot better than a bandage etc. Good luck!

[KickReturn]

Having luck with the taping job so far. Honor didn't touch it all day. I have a trick. I place a non-stick gauze on the damaged area and wrap the leg very carefully with Rock Tape. Rock Tape is a brand of kinesiology/sports tape. It is super flexible and very sticky. Even if he messes with it a bit, it would take a serious effort to remove.

The thing to remember with such highly elastic bandaging is that each layer adds additional pressure. You must be careful to avoid too much pressure that could affect circulation.

[KickReturn]

At wits end. Tried apoquel, no change in behaviour. If I bandage the area he won't touch it which tells me that the area is not itchy or uncomfortable. I can get the area completely healed by keeping a bandage on but within a day or two of taking of the bandage he will lick the spot until it is bleeding. Can I keep a bandage on the leg for the rest of his life? That seems a ridiculous notion and yet it is better than a hole in his leg.

 

The circumstances make me think this problem is likely psychological. Could the boy be anxious or upset in some way but keep his feelings internal with his outlet being the licking? I can detect no signs of anxiety. Honor is a very stable, socially outgoing dog.

 

I have tried to analyze our relationship but I can't find an issue. I use an extremely gentle approach. Honor has never heard raised voices, never heard the word no, received no corrections (mostly because his behaviour is impeccable), he loves to please, and is not aloof. He is a super easy, happy dog. I can see that he is sensitive but we interact in a way so that he never has cause to fear me. He is a velcro dog but not quite as extreme as Hester was. Occasionally he will even choose to be in a room where I am not - a novelty for me.

[lukasmom]

My Luka's nick name was lucky boy. Every time he got a cut it sore he would kick the spot until it was 10 times bigger. I would have to put a muzzle with a poop guard on especially at night. He could drink with it on but not eat.

When I talked with my animal communicator I told him if he stopped licking he wouldn't have to wear his muzzle. He said he didn't care if he wore it.

After he passed he said he was always licking because he felt vibrations in his leg and was licking to stop them. They would move up and down his leg.

My new girl has a small spot on her leg that she has been licking. At least she stops when I say leave it and isn't licking a lot.

This is a very frustrating problem.

I meant Luka's nick name was licky boy.

[Guest bikecommuter]

My first hound used to lick until he was raw/bleeding, sometimes making an injury worse, sometimes with no apparent trigger. He also would lick the carpet and his beds, and frankly, looked so serene while doing it I couldn't help but assume it was very soothing for him. The problem, as you are well aware, is that tissue-thin skin!

I was thinking about two things:

First, the behavior as self-soothing--it feels good to him whether physically or psychologically, or both! Is there a way to help him self-sooth is a better way? Thinking of some sort of hound pacifier? Seems like the peanutbutter kong helped while you were out but then he did it again while you were sleeping.

Second, the behavior as something with a trigger, maybe an itch? There are times with a bug bite or the less-visible trigger like dry skin or a wool sweater, that makes me itch and I have scratched until the itchy spot bleeds, often without noticing it.

Either way, you want to replace the behavior (licking) with one that is less destructive to his skin. I work with teenagers who self-injure and that is a coping mechanism (not a good one, obviously) and help the teen figure out some strategies that can help them cope rather than cut. Of course that can be easier because we can actually talk through the issue, and you don't have that with Honor--but you clearly know him well and her seems to be very attached to you.

If he licks when you are there, can you redirect him? Try to give him a tiny treat for looking to you and stopping the licking. As you get his attention, give him some pets or a toy he likes, with the focus on you giving him the reminder to stop.

As you shape the behavior, you would treat him for licking things other than himself, since you said he already does that sometimes and that would give him the reinforcement to continue licking the floor or whatever rather than himself.

Your use of the bandage is good too, especially for times when you can't focus on redirecting him. But since he can't wear bandages all the time (I picture a hound mummy costume!) you might try something else. There is an Australian company that makes t-shirt material 4-legged jammies that could work as a barrier to him licking his legs while you aren't home; I am sure there are tons that make these, but they are nice and stretchy and light, so seem reasonably comfortable to the hound. https://houndtees.com.au/collections/long-john-hound-tee

Hope you figure this out with him!

[socalgreys]

Food allergies? I know it seems like a generic diagnosis. It's possible. After years of dealing with what was diagnosed as a food allergy, I finally accepted it. It has worked to take my guy off of chicken and grain (not knowing which was the offender). He licked obsessively, and then had ear infections. Right now, he still goes to some favorite spots...sigh...but no ear infections, and not really obsessively licking. It was trial and error, and since they can't tell us what is bothering them and their allergies don't manifest themselves themselves the same as in humans, I just take a deep breath...and watch. It was ruled out that it was some sort of obsessive behavior, because he was given a trial of a long acting steroid (triamcinolone) once, and it really calmed down the licking behavior, which was thought to be caused by itching. No fleas,either. Maybe discuss with vet the possibility of food allergies? Once they rule everything out, it could be the cause. Just a suggestion.

[Brandiandwe]

Bitterant spray?

[KickReturn]

 

If he licks when you are there, can you redirect him? Try to give him a tiny treat for looking to you and stopping the licking. As you get his attention, give him some pets or a toy he likes, with the focus on you giving him the reminder to stop.

 

He is very easy to redirect. He knows I don't want him to lick and if I make a simple "ssst" type sound he will stop. If I look at him he will stop. When he stop I always give him a hug, a belly rub, and an muzzle scratch as a reward.

 

Kongs and the like don't seem to make a difference. I gave him an extra large Yak cheese chew that kept him busy for over an hour. He went at himself within the next hour.

 

He gets no chicken or grain. I suspect this whole thing may have started when the vet switched him to Purina Pro Plan which was chicken and corn. He didn't lick before that I recall. I recently switched him to Acana Singles Lamb and perhaps his licking is slightly less. This seems to argue against a psychological cause. I really have no idea. I did notice that he didn't touch himself when I have another greyhound here last week. Hmmm?

 

He doesn't seem to be the slightest bit itchy, but he will drill a hole in his leg he gets the chance. The bandaging is a 100% solution. He doesn't touch the bandage or the area around it. And he does damage other areas of himself. I am just worried about an area of his leg being constantly covered. It's about a 3 inch section below the elbow. I should also try the bitter sprays but I would have to be religious about repeat applications.

Edited January 1, 2018 by KickReturn

[Brandiandwe]

The bitterant sprays have worked for me every time I've used them, so worth a try.

[socalgreys]

May I suggest switching to some food, that doesn't have chicken or corn? After a lot of research, I found out that with food allergies, chicken and corn products are quite likely the biggest problem. I deleted all chicken products with corn, and corn by-products. The only starch in my guys food now, is potato or sweet potato. Proteins range from fish, duck, and when on sale venison and bison. His kibble is duck and potato, only. A scoop of wet food is one of the above mentioned proteins...with potato or sweet potato added. Honestly, it took about a year to get it resolved, but he has calmed down with the licking after all of these trials.Has it stopped completely? No. However, I haven't had to make trips to the vet due to skin issues.

[KickReturn]

In my post above I meant to say that he does not damage any other areas.

 

I'll continue to look at the diet.