Does dog have an allergy?

paultf

Anyone have any ideas on this one?

Darby starting licking the top of his front legs recently such that his white-ish hair turned an orange type colour. I then noticed a hotspot below each area on each leg.

I toke him to the vets and she suggested that it was an allergy (maybe pollen?). He was perscribed some meds and a medicated shampoo. I have clipped his coat short and used the shampoo.

Darby is still licking but I don't think excessively. One of the hotspots has dried somewhat and has a crusty top. The other opens up and goes red - and then dries again.

The only other thing I can think of is I tried him on a new Wahl concentrated shampoo just before this happened. No effects on the other dogs but I have read that if not properly rinsed that it might produce hotspots.

Anyone any suggestions? I going back to the vet next week.

aonb

Pretty obvious suggestions - have you changed his food at all? Any new additions to his diet? Anything new plant-wise in the garden/walks that he could have a reaction to? Is he anxious/stressed - licking paws bald is pretty common anxiety behaviour in some dogs? Why would he suddenly start doing this/showing these symptoms - hes mature, right (not a puppy)? Odd that its only his paws that are showing these symptoms/hot spots. If it was that shampoo not rinsed properly you would think other parts would be more effected. If its an allergy, you could ask your vet what anti-histamine (mine had a human anti-histamine - over the counter from the chemist) you could try him on. Hope you find the solution soon

paultf

aonb wrote: »

Pretty obvious suggestions - have you changed his food at all? Any new additions to his diet? Anything new plant-wise in the garden/walks that he could have a reaction to? Is he anxious/stressed - licking paws bald is pretty common anxiety behaviour in some dogs? Why would he suddenly start doing this/showing these symptoms - hes mature, right (not a puppy)? Odd that its only his paws that are showing these symptoms/hot spots. If it was that shampoo not rinsed properly you would think other parts would be more effected. If its an allergy, you could ask your vet what anti-histamine (mine had a human anti-histamine - over the counter from the chemist) you could try him on. Hope you find the solution soon

He is 10 years old. Diet has been the same for a long time. Walk wise our routes/places haven't changed so environment/plants should be OK.

I did a search before and there was a long list of medical reasons for licking. One referred to anxiety like you mentioned. The only extra anxiety he has had since he started the licking is that we got a new pup 2 months ago. There has been no trouble between them - in fact the pup sleeps on top of him in his bed. Also wherever we go I always bring Darby and the pup together. I don't think this has stressed Darby out but I am wondering now? Even today catching him licking his paws, it seems that it has developed into a habit that could be anxiety related.

aonb

Poor Darby - its horrible to think that your pet is 'anxious' or stressed isnt it.
Great that he gets on so well with the pup though. One of my dogs is the anxious/clingy type and develops habits so quickly its scary. My friends Lab - an elderly but very happy girl started constantly licking her paws when she got the second lab - they are GREAT friends, and she doesnt look obviously stressed/anxious but just licks til bald... Maybe make a bit more fuss of Darby when the puppy is around? Could you 'paint' something nasty tasting (but safe) onto his paws to get him out of the cycle, or say NO! when he starts? Of course, the licking could have been started/caused by that shampoo you mentioned.

snoman

I had my staffie from about 6 months. He was a rescue - dumped over a ditch - and took a lot of tlc to get him healthy and happy. Then I got my other rescue, an older, bossy dogue de bordeaux - who took over!!! They integrated well, she was very pushy but he accepted that and they settled but a couple of months later I noticed that he was licking the top of his leg resulting in a hot spot as you described. I realised that I'd started to treat them as a couple and that this obviously was great for her, but not for him so I started to give him a bit more individual attention. Sometimes walking him separately, he's allowed on the sofa - she's not (she's got bad arthritis so it's not great for her anyway) and plenty of cuddles. Don't get me wrong - she still gets loads but I realised that she is far more pushy than him and that meant she was pushing him out of the way, and I hadn't noticed. Sorry! Bit long winded.

paultf

snoman wrote: »

I had my staffie from about 6 months. He was a rescue - dumped over a ditch - and took a lot of tlc to get him healthy and happy. Then I got my other rescue, an older, bossy dogue de bordeaux - who took over!!! They integrated well, she was very pushy but he accepted that and they settled but a couple of months later I noticed that he was licking the top of his leg resulting in a hot spot as you described. I realised that I'd started to treat them as a couple and that this obviously was great for her, but not for him so I started to give him a bit more individual attention. Sometimes walking him separately, he's allowed on the sofa - she's not (she's got bad arthritis so it's not great for her anyway) and plenty of cuddles. Don't get me wrong - she still gets loads but I realised that she is far more pushy than him and that meant she was pushing him out of the way, and I hadn't noticed. Sorry! Bit long winded.

You could be on to something there in my case.

Dooley is 5 months old and the breeder told me he was the dominant one in the litter. He is big for a cocker of that age - weighs 6.5kg already. He is smart (nearly housetrained) and placid at the same time. He very food hungry - the breeder told me he had a big appetite. The breeder also told me when playing he gives as good as he gets. Dooley ignores one of the girls as she likes to be on her own. He plays with the other girl - rough sometimes - she gets tired of too much play. Also she gets jealous of Dooley at times if I am giving him attention.

Even as I type Darby is in the bed behind me with Dooley lying on his back. Dooley often comes up to Darby to lick his face and Darby growls but never snaps back. (He does this with the other dogs too.)

Also Dooley has started to 'hump' Darby from the side which I think is a domineering thing. Darby doesn't react. (I plan to get Dooley neutered at 6 months.)

Darby started the licking around the same time the pup arrived. So maybe that could be it. I'll start doing more things with Darby on his own. Before Dooley arrived I was already doing that but then the routine changed a bit with the new pup

snoman

Yup. That all sounds really familiar - specially the bumping. She rushes him when she spys him sniffing and bounces him off, he doesn't really care now that I've changed my behaviour but his head used to go right down. It really could be this, but don't close your mind completely to allergies etc. If one thing that having dogs had shown me is that it's always complicated! Good luck any hows.

paultf

Still trying to figure out this licking problem.

I was in touch with Burns and I don't think it is related to his diet - well, I hope it isn't as it sounds like a nightmare to fix that one.

But Burns did suggest that sometimes if a dog has arthritis or joint problems they lick their legs/paws etc.

Funnily enough Darby has just started anti-inflamm/painkillers for a stiff hind leg and to me it seems the licking has eased off somewhat. Both hotspots have dried up though they still have a crusty top. (I wonder if they will ever clear?)

Has anyone ever come across that scenario before i.e. licking due to arthritis/joint problems.

Plan to visit vet this week - want to be armed with as much info as possible. Thanks.

aonb

consider: if you are a dog and you have sore joints - what does a dog do for sores/pain - lick! Maybe his other joints are sore, so he's licking them better? My old dog is on glucosamine/chrondroiton (sp?), but will lick his front paws for ages. I think he gets 'locked in' to the licking and forgets to stop but its probably a mixture of maintenance and sore joints. Its not a problem with him - hes never licked himself bald/raw.

The other things to consider, which makes the whole thing complicated and hard to pin down:

Dooley added to the mix, causing a bit of anxiety/stress - licking is a symptom

Diet - dogs can develop sensitivities/allergies as they age - might be worth changing to something senior/cereal-free if you havents already dont this.

Sounds like he is happy/healthy in any case, so its probably the human getting worried/fixated on the problem so once you know its not a huge issue, try not to worry too much - easier said than done I know, since Im watching any change in my older dog like a HAWK these days :rolleyes:

Licking front paws could also be a mental thing. They do it to help them relax Kind of like a nervous tick. This often leads to a HotSpot ( a sore that occures from constant licking )

Pretzill

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Licking front paws could also be a mental thing. They do it to help them relax Kind of like a nervous tick. This often leads to a HotSpot ( a sore that occures from constant licking )

+1
My dog has had what are called lick granulomas one in particular that rarely gets a chance to fully heal I've tried covering it up but hes a professional at removing socks! But I notice if he gets stressed he hates thunder and football matches? He licks to soothe himself so all I can do is make sure it doesn't get sore and try to distract him from it.

Pumpkinseeds

Could it be Atophy? I picked up a newsletter at the vets today and it mentions a condition called Athopy, it can also be seasonal. I suppose we can all develop allergies at any age. Up until a few years ago I didn't have an allergy to tree pollen, now I do. It might be worth checking out OP.

aonb

Pumpkinseeds wrote: »

Could it be Atophy? I picked up a newsletter at the vets today and it mentions a condition called Athopy, it can also be seasonal. I suppose we can all develop allergies at any age. Up until a few years ago I didn't have an allergy to tree pollen, now I do. It might be worth checking out OP.

Dont know about Atophy but my old dog never had any problem with cereals in his food, now he's got a major problem with them, as hes aged, he's on a home cooked diet and is doing great (meat, potatos, chicken, rice, yogourt, bones and non-cereal dog-biscuits for those very important treats)

Pretzill

Pretzill wrote: »

+1
My dog has had what are called lick granulomas one in particular that rarely gets a chance to fully heal I've tried covering it up but hes a professional at removing socks! But I notice if he gets stressed he hates thunder and football matches? He licks to soothe himself so all I can do is make sure it doesn't get sore and try to distract him from it.

Its actually very common. I saw one dog that had it, the owners kept an eagle eye on him and managed to distact him ever time he did it. He then started licking their other dog and gave one to him !

paultf

Yeah maybe the licking is just a bad habit or anxiety.

I was at the vets yesterday and Darby was getting a few things checked. No further discoveries about what is causing the licking.

The vet ruled out the arthritis theory as this is in hind leg and the licking is of the front legs.

The vet told me to keep using the medicated shampoo.

I think the amount of licking has reduced so as long as he doesn't reopen the hotspots then that will be some progress.