Chewing fur off leg
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| You can definitely try bitter apple on the fur.
Pepsi chews his coat on his front legs when his coat gets longer than 3 inches. Nothing stops him from doing this. He just hates having long hair. lol |
| Hi,
Have you checked his anal glands, they normally start chewing around their back end when they need clearing. Val |
| I have one who eats her fur too, nothing I tried prevented it so I just keep her shaved. |
| If they chew the hair off right to the skin & seem to be preoccupied with doing so, they could have an inhalant allergy. When this occurs, they are itching from the inside out & no amout of topical solutions will curb the itching. |
| Thank you for the replies, Val it's the bottom of his ankle, just in one patch. He only chews this part. I will get some bitter apple and see if it works. |
| Sometimes it is not allergy related it can be just a bad habit. Like a comfort thing for them. If he is only doing it to one leg/foot then try the bitter apple.
I had this with Brie when she was a puppy, except it was the back foot, she sucked it like a dummy/pacifier and it took awhile to break her of the habit as she was also turning the back foot browny orange from the constant sucking. Bitter apple did not work but I found putting a sock on her worked. You could try that and spray the outside of the sock with bitter apple to stop him attempting to take it off, put the sock on him when you are not there with the spray and see what happens, I also when I was out wrapped the top of the sock around the back foot with tape to keep it on while I was not there. While you are with him then just keep an eye on him and if he goes to that foot tell him no and re-direct it to a toy for him to chew or suck on. Also have his ear swabbed by the vet to make sure there is no Yeast infection happening as well. Keep us posted to how Ru is doing and wether it is allergens or just a bad habit he has formed.  |
lisaoes wrote: Also have his ear swabbed by the vet to make sure there is no Yeast infection happening as well.
Great idea, Lisa! Our German Shepherd used to scratch his ears then bite his feet after he scratched. He had ear problems (constant yeast infections), due to allergies... for years... until we finally managed to get a handle on it. |
I bought the bitter apple today- actually it's a bitrex thing instead, the only chew deterrent thing they had in the store and he's just licking it off. Crazy dog. I'm going to put a sock on his foot now, only problem is, he has a thing about chewing socks. I'll try the tape and keep an eye on him constantly like this  |
Hint of Mischief wrote: I bought the bitter apple today- actually it's a bitrex thing instead, the only chew deterrent thing they had in the store and he's just licking it off. Crazy dog. I'm going to put a sock on his foot now, only problem is, he has a thing about chewing socks. I'll try the tape and keep an eye on him constantly like this
Try securing it with the vet wrap he'll find it harder to remove. Val |
I bought something for Tucker called Buddy Boo-Boo - it has tea tree oil in it and he really didn't like it. It was meant to soothe the skin and deter him from licking (although he eventually did lick it, but he had a bug bite or something there). Keep your eye on it - Tucker licked so much that the skin became raw, we had to shave the toes and I had to get an antibiotic for him. Of course he just licked THAT off, so we had to put the pathetic looking cone on him and everything 
Keep us up to date! |
| Clyde would lick himself raw . I used the bitter apple and a sock taped on. He'd finally heal. Some times his allergies would kick in as well. He was just starting to stop all those bad habits. Let's hope you have good luck!
Mary in NY |
Hi Mary, Glad you joined the forum  Lorie |
| Maybe rufus has had a grass seed work its way into his skin, have you asked your vet about this yet? |
| I see that http://forum.oes.org/viewtopic.php?t=21069 from the post it was a seed!
Poor Rufus! |
Hint of Mischief wrote: Ru keeps chewing at his back leg, he tries to put his foot in his ear, then gets all worked up and attacks his foot, then gets into a frenzy and chews the fur off his ankle. There is nothing on the skin, I've checked and checked a hundred times. I have no idea why he does it but he has chewed the fur so it looks shaved. Can I use Bitter Apple spray on it to stop him?
dogs can develop a "taste" for bitter apple - I suspect he's reacting to something below the surface, like in his hock joint, (if that is where he is doing the most chewing.) I would also check for a "fungus among us" - or perhaps a mange mite. (is this the only places he seems itchy?) You might have your vet put him on a dose of prednisone to narrow it down. The pred will alleviate the reaction if it is caused by a muscle, tendon, or joint issue - and will make him itch alot more if it is a mite. (This "test" is much more accurate for identifying mites than skin scrapings!) |
| i now that dogs that are bored will lick when they are crated too much. It always amazed me when the dogs would come here they would not lick anymore....... as dogs here are not crated unless there is a need (one at a time due to girl in season etc.). Then when the dog would go home, people would complain he/she was licking or chewing hair again..... kind of common sense they were making said dog neurotic! |
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