Obsessive Compulsion Disorder: Licking

[Nanette de la Torre]

Hope you can help me out. My dood, Higgins, is an obsessive licker; to the point that he has practically licked the hair off his forepaws. Does anyone have any ideas/tricks on how I can help him stop this compulsion? Thanks!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Hi Nanette; Licking the paws is one of the first, and most common, signs of allergy in dogs. Have you talked to the vet about this?

[Tamara & Giada]

Karen is right, could be allergies..........my Summer has allergies, and that is the first sign:( I hope it's not for his and your sake.

[Ali]

I agree, it could be allergies. Is s/he itching real bad? Do you see hives on his body? Or they are having bad dandruff due to all the itching they do and scratching their skin. But it could be from boredom as well. Okay, so my best friend's brother has a lab that does this. It has gotten so bad that the dog, Abbey, licked all her hair off on her foot (she favors a foot to lick) and her rough tongue has caused her skin to blister. They took her to the vet, who gave them medicine to put on it and told them it is from boredom. The brother does not take this huge lab on walks or play fetch with it. It is my friend and I who take care of her, but we go to school in different cities, so it is only a couple of times a year. Even if she is not home, I will go get her to throw the ball around or take her on a walk. She is such a good dog. So, it could just be that your dog is bored and has taken up licking as a hobby, instead of destroying your house.

If this is the case, which is just a suggestion, take you dog on walks and play ball. Also, have a lot of chew toys or balls for you dood to play with. I particularly like the balls they have to figure out how to get the food out. It may take them a while. My favorite is called the Everlasting Treat. In one side of it there is this huge treat that lasts a pretty long time. It attracts them to the ball. And then on the other side there is an opening for another everlasting treat, but I leave this part open and fill the hole with her dog kibble or little treats that can come out of the openings. I know there are a variety of things like this at the pet store. There is also a cheaper version, take a plastic water bottle and fill it with their dog food, and come dinner time they have to figure out to how to get the food out, making dinnertime fun and helps their problem-solving skills develop. Even if boredom is not the case, these are still fun suggestions for any dog. I also have a sterilized bone laying around the house and usually some chew treat that lasts a long time.

Also, make sure an infection does not develop if your dood does lick to this point. And if it is allergies, you can try switching to a completely grain free dog food to see if this works, but this only covers part of the causes of allergies in dogs. Or adding fish-oil to the food can help their skin if it irritated and dry. Good luck with everything. I hope you figure it out

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Hi Ali: As you may know, allergies are one of my issues, and the assumption that food is to blame is widespread but usually incorrect. As you mentioned, "this only covers part of the causes of allergies in dogs." In fact, out of the estimated 5-15% of all dogs who have allergies of any kind, only 10% of them are caused by food. It is a better idea to consult with a vet first before starting to play around with the dog's food.
Just a bit of info for anyone who may be reading this.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

To put the numbers in even clearer perspective, out of any 200 domestic dogs, only 1 to 3 of them has an allergy related to food.

[2m42srv7vi6sq]

Nannette,
I really hope it isn't allergies because you can drive yourself crazy trying to figure out what might be causing the allergies!

We are going through this now with BOTH dogs!

Bella is obsessively licking her paws and rubbing her face on the floor. Cealeach is itching and losing coat. Our vet is stumped because it can't be the usual suspects, pollens, grass, etc. It has to be SOMETHING in our home. We have not been able to figure out just WHAT it might be.

Good luck, I hope it IS just boredom for your Higgins!

[LLongrtr]

Both my guys lick "hot spots" on their front legs and their paws. We and the vet have decided it is allergies. My personal thought is that it is long grass and pollen, but because they can't talk and the hot spots appear at an undetermined time after exposure to the allergen, we'll never really know.

We've pretty much conditioned them to stop licking as soon as we catch them and tell them to STOP! We rinse the area with cool water and pat dry, if it's raw we put a little neosporin on it. Oatmeal shampoos help, and for really bad hot spots, the vet gave us a medicated shampoo. We've also foudn that keeping the fur between their pads and toes short helps.

Good luck.

[Nanette de la Torre]

Thanks everyone for your comments. It's definitely not boredom because I take the dogs for 45 minute walks everyday and daily training. Plus, the have the prerequisite toys, kongs, bully sticks etc. When I think about this licking of the forepaws seems to have started when I had Higgins fixed. I also noticed that some days are worse than others and seems more noticeable after I give him a Kong filled with peanut butter (and not frozen). Perhaps its the peanut butter getting on his fur. I also noticed he doesn't exhibit the same behavior with Frozen Paws or frozen kongs stuffed with peanut butter.

I also noticed that he definitely doesn't like it when you groom around the area where he has licked most of the fur off. I think I will be him "formal gloves" (hah) and then will check with the vet and behavorist at our local SPCA.

[Ali]

That sounds like a good idea. Sorry I couldn't help as much. I only suggested things that I have come across in other dogs, so I learn new things everyday. That's why I love this site so much, I learn so much from other people's experiences. Let us know what the vet and behaviorist say. Good luck!