Dog licking legs......

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Has anyone any experience of a dog obsessively licking its legs? Hoover seems to have got worse as he gets older - every evening he licks his legs continuously, it drives me absolutely mad!

I think it has probably got worse since he had a nasty gash on his leg about 3 years ago after chasing some deer, I didn't have it stitched as it wasn't in a place that would have helped so it took a while to heal because.... yes....he kept obsessively licking the leg.....

I don't think it does him any harm, I intervene to stop him making the leg damaged or sore, it just drives me mad :D How do I stop him?
 
Helmet of shame breaks the cycle with Bear, who can be quite obsessive. That and constant monitoring plus a key word or noise. Having him on my knee in such a position that he can’t reach the spot is also helpful, but then he’s there 24/7anyway. :redface3:
 
Bandaging or Muzzle, my 2 Dobes have terrible OCD if they cut themselves, sometimes I put a buster collar on. Darcy is forever slicing her paw open on the lip of the garden path and if I did nothing she would keep licking it until it was 10 times worse.

If I was to just bandage it she would get the bandage off and eat it, cant believe I havent had to take her in for an op, luckily it came out the other end so what I do now is muzzle her, even so she will still lick the bandage It seems to be most of the time she is wearing one of the Pawz boots so she doesnt get her any dirt into her cut paw..

As a breed I know they can sometimes suffer with OCD and I have had 4 now with 3 of them with it though never one as bad as Darcy.
 
Have you had anal glands checked? My jrt is a nightmare for licking everywhere I wouldn’t have another pure white dog his skin is so sensitive. We toput the buster collar on for a few days to break the cycle x
 
We did try a buster collar with Hoov, it stopped him at the time (when he had 'the wound') but he recommenced as soon as the collar was removed?

I am quite tempted to try a muzzle now with him but it seems a bit unfair....even though I am SO annoyed with the constant licking..... #doesntmakesense !!!
 
dingle12 said:
Have you had anal glands checked? My jrt is a nightmare for licking everywhere I wouldn’t have another pure white dog his skin is so sensitive. We toput the buster collar on for a few days to break the cycle x
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Definitely isn't anal glands thankfully - one of the others is susceptible so I know the signs now! Sounds like a collar is the way ahead :)
 
THe cushion thing was useless with our lab, she got it off in 30 seconds. I could never get a collar to stay on my lurcher, either, her head was smaller than her neck! How about a cone of some sort but cut down so he only cannot reach his front legs?
 
My JRT is a terrible licker. She wears an age 2-3 long sleeve vest when she has a patch. She’ll start off with a tiny graze and lick it until it’s raw. I use Double K Furst Aid Shampoo every other day and it clears up. She’s had all sorts from the vet Including steroid creams that didn’t work.
 
My little cross breed seems to have a habit of licking everything and anything, but mostly his paws. I read somewhere that the act of licking can release endorphins or something and they can actually become addicted to it, I don't know how true that is but it certainly seems like he is addicted. If we put something in the way of his paws so he can't lick them, he'll lick that instead, or us, the sofa, a toy. We have spoken to the vets about it in case it was allergy related, but they said his skin is fine, and as long as he doesn't make himself sore or bald from the licking (and sometimes gently chewing) not to worry, just keep any wounds covered. Maybe give him something productive to lick, like a stuffed and frozen kong? Might give the legs a rest :)
 
My old Gordon girl does this. Its like a set routine, have evening meal, ask to go in/out several times during evening,settle down and chew toenails, then lick front legs obsessively. Ive put it down to dementia in her case !
 
Possibly pain related. Some dogs will lick their legs when something there hurts - and if they can't reach the bit that hurts, they lick the part that they can reach that is closest.
 
PucciNPoni said:
Possibly pain related. Some dogs will lick their legs when something there hurts - and if they can't reach the bit that hurts, they lick the part that they can reach that is closest.
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It can be. Can also become a bit of a obsession, they can get lick granulomas if they continually do it so it's important to stop them doing it. It can also be a sign of stress so it's worth looking in to that side of things.
If it continues to be a problem it's worth a trip to the vets as there are loads of things it could be. Skin allergy, food intolerance, stress, pain etc.
 
PucciNPoni said:
Possibly pain related. Some dogs will lick their legs when something there hurts - and if they can't reach the bit that hurts, they lick the part that they can reach that is closest.
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Absolutely! Consider scar tissue or other after effects of the accident you mentioned impinging on tendons/ligaments etc. Alternatively, arthritis if an older dog. This may be the dogs way of seeking comfort and relief rather than deliberately annoying you as you seem to imply. Dogs do what works. If this relieves pain....either directly or indirectly by diverting focus then this is what the dog wants and NOT to annoy you per se.
 
Hoover is sound as a pound - no pain issues at all, I can 100% guarantee :) And no of course I don't think he is trying to deliberately annoy me lol, he is a dog and they just don't have that sort of capacity or way of thinking at all....:)
 
I also think could be pain related, or skin/allergy related. See it a lot in veterinary practice. If he seems sound could you try him on a joint supplement like yumove to see if that helps first? How old is he? Any skin issues or lumps or bumps that may be aggravating him?
 
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I've been battling this off and on for several months with Daisy. An obsessive attention to diet, hygein and skin supplements have not worked (interspurced with cone wearing), plus the odd visit to the vet.

She's now been put on a course of Apoquel, and the chewing and licking stopped immediately. Not ideal, but for the relief for her worth it.
 
Lev I'm another who thinks it may be pain related. About 14 yrs ago I had two NH youngsters I was leading tap dance on my legs. I had severe nerve damage on one leg and had no feeling down the front of the leg for seven to eight years. I would start getting feeling sporadically after that, sometime very painful, sometime just a weird and uncomfortable sensation. I wear socks in bed( always have freezing feet!) and if the feelings happened when I was asleep I would rub my leg raw and not feel it. Rubbing the leg when I got these weird sensations did ease them. I was also by this point sound on the leg. He may have damaged the nerve when it was cut which could be causing him to lick.
 
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