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Funny you sent this, I found the same information. I asked the vet could it be from anxiety, or an obsessive behavior. He's definitely got some issues since we moved here -- I can"t get him to do into the backyard. He'll walk along the mulch, but REFUSES to go into the lawn. I know the grass is different here, and the back is always wet, and we back up to a wooded area - but since when did a dog care about these things? Something is freaking him out, he comes back in the house, and goes to the front door and whines -- he wants to go out front. I heard on the Today show this morning that vets are now prescribing Zoloft for dogs for such behavior.
Anyway - the vet seems to think it's allergy related, and wants to exhaust the possibility of flea allergies, then move onto food. Poor dog wants to lick so bad, we tell him no, so he goes and hides upstairs so he can lick -- he's miserable.
It's probably seasonal allergies like we get, and it's just worse here, especially since it doesn't freeze -- that's when we would get relief up north.
we moved to mt. pleasant 5 years ago and our 2 terriers have had no problems. may i ask what foods you feed them? we feed ours a raw diet (for 9 years now) which we buy at palmetto paws and doolittles (natures variety in the freezers). most allergies are caused from low grade kibble (that could be just catching up with him) such as science diet, iams, etc. anything by Hills is crap, as well as purina, etc etc. if you must feed kibble please go to quality, high grade kibble which contain NO wheat or corn. check the label AND do your research online. your dog must be miserable, i feel terrible for you and him. good luck. Nature's Variety
we moved to mt. pleasant 5 years ago and our 2 terriers have had no problems. may i ask what foods you feed them? we feed ours a raw diet (for 9 years now) which we buy at palmetto paws and doolittles (natures variety in the freezers). most allergies are caused from low grade kibble (that could be just catching up with him) such as science diet, iams, etc. anything by Hills is crap, as well as purina, etc etc. if you must feed kibble please go to quality, high grade kibble which contain NO wheat or corn. check the label AND do your research online. your dog must be miserable, i feel terrible for you and him. good luck. Nature's Variety
We've tried different foods, right now he's on Kirkland's Lamb & Rice (Costco's brand) we've researched on the internet, and it's suppose to be good, but who knows? We had him on Nature's Recipe, Avoderm, Flint River, we've tried MANY dog foods (fish, venison, lamb, vegetable) - for a while we did strictly raw - raw meats, vegetables, eggs. But in MI, we had his allergies under control, it's been since we've moved here this summer, he continues to lick himself raw.
The vet suggest we try the new flea repellent first, then they'd like him to go on Nutro dog food, but if they change both things at once, they won't know what was affecting him, so they said it was easier to eliminate the flea bites first.
My Maltese and Bichon are also having a horrible reaction to the fleas down here, even though they are also on good flea preventatives. I never realized how bad the fleas were here until this year when we started to grass train them in addition to indoor mat training. Up until now they've been strictly indoors.
Now I wish I would have left well enough alone and just kept them inside.
Btw, my Bichon refused to walk on the grass unless forced and the Maltese did but only to do his business and then got right off of it. So your dog isn't the only one who doesn't like the grass here!
My Maltese and Bichon are also having a horrible reaction to the fleas down here, even though they are also on good flea preventatives. I never realized how bad the fleas were here until this year when we started to grass train them in addition to indoor mat training. Up until now they've been strictly indoors.
Now I wish I would have left well enough alone and just kept them inside.
Btw, my Bichon refused to walk on the grass unless forced and the Maltese did but only to do his business and then got right off of it. So your dog isn't the only one who doesn't like the grass here!
OMG - the dog we're having issues with is also a Bichon -- to funny. Our other dog could care less. The Bichon would rather hold it than relieve himself in our backyard.
Food is ALWAYS a contributing factor and a proper immune supporting diet and maybe food supplements can cure all ills. When I moved here I had switched my cat to an expensive but convenient can food called ORGANIX. For most of the time I've had him I made a home prepared diet where I added raw meat, liver and a supplement formula that I bought from www.felinefuture.com called Instincts--- and I'd add water.
A wonderful book that EVERY pet owner should own and think of as the health care Bible for their dogs and cats is Natural Health for Dogs and Cats by Dr Pitcairn DVM. At least if you own this book you have a guide to begin to put your pet back on a path to health even if none of the vets where you live have a clue. There are many many other books like this but Pitcairns book was the first.
If you must buy commercial food and can't make your pet's food, check out www.halopet.com whose recipies are based on those in Pitcairns book (and don't include grains in cat food). I buy this food for my cat as a back up.
For the first nine years I had him until he was 12 he was completely healthy. Then about the time I was gearing up for moving down here he sensed my stress and to make matters worse a neighborhood tom cat came by several times daily and stared at him through the sliding glass door which drove my cat wild. It created havoc with his immune system which caused a sever stress related urinary tract issue and about the same time I switched him to an expensive Organic prepared food called ORGANIX which had grains in it (which now I know I never should have done).
To make a long story short, before I moved I had successfully dealt with the stress issue with Rescue Remedy and by covering up the glass door but when I got down here, my cat would scratch and scratch and bite himself as if he had fleas ---- but, thanks to the holistic pet supply store called "All is well" at 1409 Folly Rd. on James Island, the owner or manager suggested that maybe the grains in the cat food I'd been buying was causing my cat's itchy skin. At her suggestion I immediately reordered the old "Instincts" and started making his food again and in a few days on the new diet he was completely recovered!
I should also add that no veterinarians have even as much knowledge as this store manager did in natural health for pets here in Charleston except I understand ,for one, that I plan to switch to. In trying to figure out the cause of my cat's problem, I brought him to one of the supposedly holistic oriented vets downtown and their only suggestion was to switch to another canned food (which also had grains) and give my cat Prednisone for the inflamation.
Evidently the "only vet" in all of Charleston County that is versed in natural medicine besides allopathic western medicine is Dr Holly Cone. She is the ONLY vet in the whole practice at www.beesferry.com that has this background.
I feel fortunate in that I have Naturopaths that I can consult with over the phone before I begin any treatment I'm not comfortable with suggested by doctors or vets down here from the Providence/ Boston area at www.holistichealthline.com
We don't live in Charleston (yet), but our golden retriever did the same thing, licked her legs until the hair was gone and she had raw spots that would bleed and get infected. It would last for months, then get better, then start all over again. We tried antibiotics, Benadryl, anti-itch cream, socks (that was cute), and the dreaded cone whenever we couldn't watch her every minute. After 2 years of this, our vet suggested it was a sign of anxiety and prescribed Reconcile (doggie prozac). It takes several weeks to start to work, and I was only going to give it two months and quit if it didn't stop the licking. At about 6 weeks, she completely stopped licking. We get to switch to a generic brand that's much cheaper soon, now that we know it works. I hate giving her meds, but it sure beats the constant infections and bright red bald patches.
We don't live in Charleston (yet), but our golden retriever did the same thing, licked her legs until the hair was gone and she had raw spots that would bleed and get infected. It would last for months, then get better, then start all over again. We tried antibiotics, Benadryl, anti-itch cream, socks (that was cute), and the dreaded cone whenever we couldn't watch her every minute. After 2 years of this, our vet suggested it was a sign of anxiety and prescribed Reconcile (doggie prozac). It takes several weeks to start to work, and I was only going to give it two months and quit if it didn't stop the licking. At about 6 weeks, she completely stopped licking. We get to switch to a generic brand that's much cheaper soon, now that we know it works. I hate giving her meds, but it sure beats the constant infections and bright red bald patches.
I asked the vet if it could be anxiety, and if we could handle it from that approach - since he's not scratching. I mean we moved from our house to an apartment to a rental house all within 2 months. The woods back of our house make him very nervous, and he doesn't like going in our backyard. We've all been under a lot of stress, between trying to sell our house in MI, taking a huge loss, trying to adjusted to living in SC - and all the financial stressers we've had -- I'm sure he senses the stress too.
Just a thought - we may switch vets soon, maybe I can get some doggie Prozac (smile).
Today on "Lowcountry Live" they discussed dogs licking, biting and scratching themselves raw. This place was able to help each one of the dogs they showed. All is Well
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