Dog biting itself

Vince32

As the title says, my dog keeps biting itself around the hind quarters, and lately her forward paws and legs too.

I don't know if she is just bored or if it's fleas ( just gave a flea dosage Advocate 3 days ago). When we were playing I noticed she has tiny pit marks on the pink of her belly.

I found a test for fleas, standing the dog on a light sheet of card / paper and rubbing her coat, watching for tiny black dots that may fall onto the card, flea poop, and there was a few. This could be dirt caught in her fur or the other.

So I guess I want to know if its fleas or something else entirely, and if people think it could be fleas, what product is 100% guaranteed to kill them off.

I read it could take months to rid her of an infestation (larva / pupae), and I hate to see her itching all the time.

On the other hand, if Advocate, is 100% effective, what else might be the cause of her discomfort?

Thanks for replies.

andreac

It could be the food also. What food is she on?

anniehoo

andreac wrote: »

It could be the food also. What food is she on?

That or other allergens. If fleas are ruled out it could be an Atopic Dermatitis whereby their bodies produce IgE antibodies (allergic response) to certain things e.g. house dust mites, pollen, grain,feathers etc.

If its not fleas, mites and not your food, then you can get allergy testing done just like in humans. Its quite expensive though (€150+) but it can identify the likely causes.If it persists id try and find a vet actually interested in dermatology rather than an all rounder.

Vince32

Select gold junior, it's a premo dog food, and won awards in Germany for its content and nutrition.

I don't know if you speak German, but this is the stuff.
http://www.select-gold.de/fuer-den-hund/?tx_uhproducts_pi1[lcid]=1&cHash=fbc9046a462df221c9bce4405d40877a

I know there is a way to translate pages, I just don't know how to do it, the food came recommended (they always do). I could try snap the ingredient list for you, but there is 0% fillers, in this food, and I got it for that very reason.

Bannasidhe

Vince32 wrote: »

As the title says, my dog keeps biting itself around the hind quarters, and lately her forward paws and legs too.

I don't know if she is just bored or if it's fleas ( just gave a flea dosage Advocate 3 days ago). When we were playing I noticed she has tiny pit marks on the pink of her belly.

I found a test for fleas, standing the dog on a light sheet of card / paper and rubbing her coat, watching for tiny black dots that may fall onto the card, flea poop, and there was a few. This could be dirt caught in her fur or the other.

So I guess I want to know if its fleas or something else entirely, and if people think it could be fleas, what product is 100% guaranteed to kill them off.

I read it could take months to rid her of an infestation (larva / pupae), and I hate to see her itching all the time.

On the other hand, if Advocate, is 100% effective, what else might be the cause of her discomfort?

Thanks for replies.

Could be a number of things. Allergies are quite a common cause - food, fleas and dust mites being the main causes.

If she persists with the licking/chewing she could end up doing herself some serious damage - I have a Jack who started this and she ended up with a paw 4 times it's normal size over the course of a single weekend, plus she has bald patches on her hind quarters and sides from all the licking. We tried a collar, but somehow she manages to get it off (would need CCTV everywhere to find out exactly how!).
It's now costing me a fortune in special shampoos (27 quid a bottle!), steroids, weekly vet visits and antibiotics.

Take her to the vet as soon as possible and get a skin scraping done would be my advice.

andreac

Vince, just because it says its a good food doesnt mean it will suit your dog or wont cause problems.

Hills and Royal Canin are so called good foods:rolleyes: and both give my Rottie severe hot spots if he even gets a small amount so i wouldnt let that make you think the food is ok.

ISDW

Which select gold junior, because the lamb, salmon, rice and potato has the first ingredient as rice flour (40%), I wouldn't feed something that has any kind of grain or rice etc as the first ingredient.

kenon

My cousin's dog licks and nips herself around the paws to the point where the dog has developed bad scarring.

The vet said it was because the dog was a self-harmer...

andreac

I was just going to post that too ISDW. The main ingredient is rice flour 32%, not meat which would concern me as i would always try and feed a food that has meat as the first ingredient.

Vince32

Ok thanks for that, lets say for the moment it's the food causing the irritation, how do I go about choosing a food that won't have the same effect?

EDIT: Just seen the posts form ISDW and andreac, I'll be changing the food right away, any recommendations?

Basically I'm going through a process of elimination, I'm not sure the flea treatment has worked 100% after I did the test on the white paper... So is there a flea treatment that is guaranteed? (on the box they all say 100%) but is one better than another?

Then my next stop was to look at her environment, plants in the garden ( i know some are poison to dogs if they eat the flower)

andreac

What kind of budget do you have for food, monthly or per bag etc?

Vince32

Well... I guess we could stretch to 30E /Pm of even 40 if need be, The Select gold is 24E per 4 kg.

subway

24 for 4kg works out at the very very expensive end of things. (90eu per 15kg)
buy a 15kg bag, it will cost around 50-60eu depending on quality.

try http://dogfooddirect.ie/

someone more knowledgeable might recommend a brand fro you.
high meat content is the main indicator, followed by nutrient breakdown (i believe)

andreac

€24 per 4kg? :eek: Thats very expensive.

You can get a good quality food, a 15kg bag for around 40/45euro. Im feeding Clinivet which is currently on offer in Petmania for 41euro for a 15kg bag.

lucycat

OP I would recommend getting the allergy testing done - my Havanese was going through a phase of licking and biting her paws and the vet first asked us to change her food (she suggested beef, lamb and game as a lot of dogs can be more sensitive to chicken and poultry), we went organic on it and it still wasn't helping. We asked the vet to do the allergy testing and just be prepared for the cost if you go this route, it ended up costing us in the region of €400, but for that we got full panels on insects, food and environmental stuff, and in my opinion, it was worth every penny.

Turns out Izzy is highly allergic to beef, lamb, house dust mites, birch and ash trees. We changed her diet, got special shampoo which eliminates dust mites and her paws have improved 100%.

The vet had also suggested it was due to stress and/or lonliness and this played a big part in us deciding to get a friend for her, so between eliminating the allergens and getting her a doggy buddy (as opposed to her old playmates of two cats and a rabbit) she is much happier.

Good luck with your girl, hope you get the problem solved quickly.

Vince32

Righto, thanks everyone I'm off to visit a few food stores, and see if I can find a better food for less (or more) cash.

First ingredient meat ! I'll be double checking everything, I'll probably start buying online from now on, but for right now I want to start changing her food today.

Love and hugs for everyone

subway

dont change the food too quickly, it could upset their digestive system.
buy a new food, and introduce it slowly over a week or two.
ie, mix it with the current food, gradaully increasing the amount each day until the old food is completely replaced.

andreac

Change very gradually, not suddenly.

Arden Grange is a good food too and its on that site.

Kattra

I had also hot spot and this licking/biting issue with my Brian when I had him on Select Gold. Switched to Barking Heads and the issue is gone.
The issue won`t fix itself in a few days, so better take your time to choose the new food. You wouldn`t want to change it too quickly anyway.

reeta

Select Gold had a dreadful effect on my dog, springer/cocker spaniel.It totally disagreed with her giving her constant "runs" and sick stomach. She is on Red Mills supreme and the difference is unbelievable. The food might not suit your dog.

Vince32

Righto, I just got back from the dog food depot, and I asked specifically for a meat based dry food, and this is the ingredient list on what I settled on. I have a 2kg (test baggy) cost 10.75E.

Cost is not the issue, I just want to know what you guys think of it

Fresh Chicken 22%
Dried Chicken min 21%
Brown Rice min 21%
Ground oats
Dried Salmon min 10%
Potato
Chicken fat
Sunflower oil
Dried egg
Salmon oil
Minerals
Dried Tomato
Dried Carrot
Natural Seaweed
Vitamins
Glucosamine
Chondroitin
MSM.

Typical analysis.
Protein 28%
Fat 18%
Fibre 2.5%
Ash 8%
Moisture 8%
Vit A 20000 iu/kg
Vit D3 1800
Vit E 690
copper 11mg/kg
Omega 6 4.4%
Omega 3 1%

andreac

Whats the name of it?

Vince32

I'll tell you :P if you tell me what you think of the recipe

Vince32

Barking heads "puppy days"

medium dog 12-25 kg - 3-6 months 140-375 grams per day

andreac

It looks very good, the fact that meat is listed as first ingredient is a good thing. Ive heard good reports about the barking heads food.

pinkdaisy

Another thing to bear in mind would be her anal glands. Some dogs self-mutilate if the glands are full since they can't get to the glands themselves. Usually starts around the hindquarters but I have seen dogs biting their forepaws and other parts of their body due to this also.

Vince32

well its wait and see now, if the symptoms are reduced or stop altogether, we're onto a winner.

Thanks to everyone for their help

promethius42

lucycat wrote: »

OP I would recommend getting the allergy testing done - my Havanese was going through a phase of licking and biting her paws and the vet first asked us to change her food (she suggested beef, lamb and game as a lot of dogs can be more sensitive to chicken and poultry), we went organic on it and it still wasn't helping. We asked the vet to do the allergy testing and just be prepared for the cost if you go this route, it ended up costing us in the region of €400, but for that we got full panels on insects, food and environmental stuff, and in my opinion, it was worth every penny.

Turns out Izzy is highly allergic to beef, lamb, house dust mites, birch and ash trees. We changed her diet, got special shampoo which eliminates dust mites and her paws have improved 100%.

The vet had also suggested it was due to stress and/or lonliness and this played a big part in us deciding to get a friend for her, so between eliminating the allergens and getting her a doggy buddy (as opposed to her old playmates of two cats and a rabbit) she is much happier.

Good luck with your girl, hope you get the problem solved quickly.

I big +1 to that post. We had a very similar experience. Don't take the chance and get get it sorted, you'll be glad you do.

Vince32

If she keeps it up over the next 7-10 days I'll book the allergy test, I want to see if the change in food has any effect first, as it is the most likely cause. I think the high rice flour content in the old food is the culprit, since huskies in general can develop dermatitis.

I'm not discounting anything at this point, just going through the process of elimination.

LucyBliss

I had my three on Hill's Science Plan because the vet recommended it and I thought, well it must be good. Two of the dogs ended up having bad reactions to it; Jack would do as you described, Vince, and I was checking for fleas, for irritations and cuts, thought he was bored, walked the legs off him, played with him but couldn't fathom the problem.
Then Meg started throwing up which freaked me out, I'll admit, because the last time a dog of mine had vomiting, it turned out to be cancer so I was a bit OMGWTF?!

After various tests that turned up nothing, they wanted to do a biopsy and I thought that was a bit severe for my poor Meg. As it happened, I got talking to a friend who suggested food allergies and I did my research and realised that every food she'd been on, including the Hills Recovery food, all had maize in it. Cue more research on how maize can affect dogs and I realised that it's not always an immediate reaction to the maize, it can build up over time, and I also recognised the symptoms in my two. Rosie, the third dog, wasn't affected at all. I switched them over to Barking Heads and we have had no problems since.

The vet didn't believe me actually when I said it was a maize allergy and defended the Hill's food. But the important thing is that the dogs are in good health now.
I didn't change the food slowly, I just gave it to them but I am fortunate in that they're not fussy dogs when it comes to food. They will eat any type of dog food you put in front of them and it doesn't knock a stir out of them.

I like the Barking Heads range and it's got no additives or preservatives and it has a good meat content so I hope it does the trick for your girl too. I find it pretty affordable too, compared to some of the other brands.

barbiegirl

Our retriever cross was quite similar always biting at herself and licking, and also her eyes and nose were in absolute bits. The vet said allergies.

We have found that the advantix sets her off, she seems to be allergic and really goes at herself when it's applied so now looking at some alternatives. She's overdue a treatment.

On the food, we switched her to Robbies and the difference is massive. She's been on it over a year now and no vet visits for eyes, nose or skin. We had thought we were in for years of problems with hot spots and the vet had said if it kept up she would have to be on steroids full time.