Chewing
sometimes she attacks the front of the back legs . She is 2 in aug I would like to show her again but is impossible till i get this under control. She avoids man holes in the road when we take her for a walk. She stalks us like a cat then plays very rough. Also is very picky in what she eats unless its what we eat. Chloes mum |
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| Hi there.... I have one who did that too and I tried EVERY solution, had her tested for everything we could think of.... she's fine, she just likes to eat fur unfortunately. It totally sucks and was a huge disappointment to not be able to show her anymore, but she has to be kept shaved down otherwise she gets hairballs and I'm afraid she would end up with an intestinal obstruction. You can try socks, or one peice toddler pj's anytime you're not supervising her and just try to finish her fast before she chews it all off again. I've noticed with my girl she chews in cycles that seem to correlate to her heat cycles. Usually about 3 or 4 weeks before she is in season she will chew, and all through it and for about a month or 2 after it. |
| Eww good luck. I'm so sorry. I like the sock idea as long as she doesn't chew socks. If so, that would be an even bigger problem! Have you tried any bad-tasting spray on the hair? It may be a long shot, but bitter apple spray might have an effect . . . |
| Thanks for the info Chloe wears socks to bed and horse float pads during the day and with her socks at night but still not enough coat to show her |
| We have gone through quite a few pairs of socks she chewed holes in the toes LOL |
| Jack has been a coat eater too. He hates long hair. If I keep him shorter, he stays away from his coat.......poor guy......wanted to be a labrador. Assuming there isn't a problem with allergies, arthritis or something bothersome to the dog.......sounds like you'll be buying a lot of socks for your sheepdog. |
| You mentioned she's picky about eating unless it's what you eat. What is she eating? If her diet isn't balanced properly for a dog, that could very well be the root of your problem. |
| Hi Chloe has vegetables, raw and cooked chicken ,garlic infused lamb balls with herbs (dogfood), omega plus oil dry dog food (Sentinal yoghurt plus) We have been through the food thing which is good and which is bad for her . WE dont no where to go from here except to have her checked again by our doggy chiro and health vet . Thanks to everyone for there suggestions I dont want to cut her coat because i would like to show her again if she stops chewing the coat off. |
Raewyn wrote: Hi Chloe has vegetables, raw and cooked chicken ,garlic infused lamb balls with herbs (dogfood), omega plus oil dry dog food (Sentinal yoghurt plus) We have been through the food thing which is good and which is bad for her . WE dont no where to go from here except to have her checked again by our doggy chiro and health vet . Thanks to everyone for there suggestions I dont want to cut her coat because i would like to show her again if she stops chewing the coat off. Well, if you have been thru all that & she is still chewing then it is time to take her to a Dermatology/Allergy Specialit vet. She most likely has an allergy & they can get to the root of the problem & help you desensitize her to what ever she is allergic to. It could very likely be an inhalant allergy such as housedust & housedust mites. In any case, it is impossible to clean good enough for her to be OK. We are talking microscopic type things here. The specialist would do what is called a skin punch test which would let you know exactly what she is allergic to. Then they would make up a serum for you to give her, starting very small doses once a week & working up to larger amounts weekly until she is desensitized. Gradually you would notice her stopping the chewing. She would be on a lifetime regimen of the serum to keep her so she does not start chewing & itching again. Technically she is itching from the inside out which is why she is chewing her hair off. She can't get to what is causing the itching. You will need to be patient. It takes about 1 year to grow enough coat back to be competitive although you will notice an improvement in her not chewing much sooner than a year. And she will be more comfortable. If it is an inhalant allergy, you will not want to breed her as it is genetically transmitted meaning she could very well pass something like this on to her offspring. I went thru this with Melody. Once I had the allergy under control at the age of 2 years, she went on to finish her AKC Championship, get her CGC & her CD in obedience. We were working on her CDX title in obedience when I decided to retire her due to her age & not wanting to jump her anymore. She was 9 years old at that time. She lived to be 11 years & 2 month old. She was a very happy dog who enjoyed being in charge of the pack here & she absolutely loved showing in conformation & training & competing in obedience. None of that would have been possible with out the help of the specialist who gave us a solution to her problem. She was so fixated on chewing that she couldn't concentrate on anything else at the time. She passed on from something totally unrelated to her allergy. |
| I just have to mention (since I've been through this and all the tests you can think of) that since she is chewing coat but not to the skin, if her skin shows no inflammation or irritation it's probably a behavioral thing not medical, and not likely allergies. Some dogs just like to eat coat, just like some dogs like to chew shoes. Although now that you've described her diet it's possible it's not balanced at all. Dog foods are forumulated to be balanced, it's almost impossible with homemade or raw diets to get that kind of balance for what dogs need. People tend to go with what they think they need and canine nutrition needs are very different from humans. Also although garlic is in fact in many dog foods it's actually toxic to dogs in some cases, I'm not sure if it's based on raw or cooked garlic or if it's based on amounts etc.... maybe that's worth looking into. |
Willowsprite wrote: I just have to mention (since I've been through this and all the tests you can think of) that since she is chewing coat but not to the skin, if her skin shows no inflammation or irritation it's probably a behavioral thing not medical, and not likely allergies. Some dogs just like to eat coat, just like some dogs like to chew shoes. Although now that you've described her diet it's possible it's not balanced at all. Dog foods are forumulated to be balanced, it's almost impossible with homemade or raw diets to get that kind of balance for what dogs need. People tend to go with what they think they need and canine nutrition needs are very different from humans. Also although garlic is in fact in many dog foods it's actually toxic to dogs in some cases, I'm not sure if it's based on raw or cooked garlic or if it's based on amounts etc.... maybe that's worth looking into. Although I can agree with you on the fact that some dogs simply like to chew hair the same way some dogs simply like to chew shoes, I do have to tell you that Melody never once broke her skin chewing or scatched herself. She simply chewed her hair off at skin level on her showside thigh. It was probably about 8 months before we found out exactly what the problem was. By this I mean she started chewing off her hair & my vet tried several different things that either didn't work or stopped working once the meds were stopped. After 5 months of this, I made an appt. with the specialist & within 2 months she was not chewing anymore & she was growing coat. Rather than wonder what is going on, maybe it is better to go for the appt. & have an allergy ruled out. At least you will feel like you have covered all the bases. |
| I had a sheepie who did the same thing her white fur on her legs was pink from the ph of her saliva. I hope you all don't cringe at what I used to do to avoid the problem, but I would spray her legs with bitter apple.......... she hated it and it helped the problem. I believe it was a habit and not an allergy. Like humans who bite their nails. The bitter apple broke the habit. |
Lisa&Brian wrote: I had a sheepie who did the same thing her white fur on her legs was pink from the ph of her saliva. I hope you all don't cringe at what I used to do to avoid the problem, but I would spray her legs with bitter apple.......... she hated it and it helped the problem. I believe it was a habit and not an allergy. Like humans who bite their nails. The bitter apple broke the habit. Bitter apple can help in some cases. In Melody's case, she chewed right thru the bitter apple trying to get to the itching. My suggestion about the allergy specialist was because it seems this person has pretty much tried eveything out there to get her dog to quit chewing the hair off her body & nothing seems to be helping. |
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