Ok, Philbert is driving me crazy again! He is still doing the nail biting, but now he has started to bite his tail, too. He has made a sore right where his tail connects to his body. It is really gross and he made it bleed this morning (on the carpet, of course). Why do dogs do this? He just had a bath and flea drops. He has a bath about every 2 weeks and he gets the flea drops every 6 weeks. Neither has ever bothered him before. Any ideas to make him leave the sore alone?
what flea drops are you using? are you certain that he has no fleas? b/c it sounds a bit like flea allergies.....and it only takes a few fleas to start to irriate the skin...then the dog will start to bite at the area. not all flea drops work properly. the ones at the vet do work well tho. maybe your dog has a nervous condition? not all too common but it does exsist. also, if you are using medicated shampoo that could be the problem. your dog could be having a reaction to it. if i were you id switch to something gentle like baby shampoo and see if that helps.
or he might be allergic to something e.g glade plug in air freashner type things, or grass, or anything, your vet should be able to give him a jab or 2 which should settle it down. you could try evening primrose, cod liver oil tablets as well, or even a anti - histamine!!!!!!! (learn to spell hazel) like peryton or any allergy tablets, the people one's they can be used on dogs. as long as it's a small dose it should be fine x
My dogs do this too and I have yet to figure out what is bothering them. I think and this may be a long shot but I think they might be allergic to the detergent we use. We bought a different brand and the biting has seemed to ease up a lot or it could be something else completely. Also have you thought about that it may be just nerves? My jack russell mix bites her nails all the time and the vet says that it is just her nerves. Good luck!
I think it may be nerves. I have been using Advantage or Advantix, I'm not sure what it's called, but anyhow we have used it for a long time and never had any trouble. I am pretty sure that he has no fleas. He has really short hair and I looked him over and didn't see anything. We haven't changed his food or anything either. We put an E-collar on him for the last day or so. He hates it, but the sore he made is looking a lot better. I cleaned it up and put some neosporin on. He bites his nails too. I think he was abused before (we adopted him from a shelter) and maybe he has some anxiety issues. Poor baby, I just want him to be a happy pooch.
aww poor thing anxiety issues could very well be the problem. you could always attach a diaper of sorts or some kind of fabric "bottom" that covers the area that he is used to biting at so that he can no longer get to it and the area will heal up. but using neosporin is good too....maybe your vet will have some ideas. hope he gets well!
I have thought about that. He eats the same stuff that he always has, Pedigree dry food and a bit of canned food, he only likes the Alpo brand. He mostly wants people food, so I try to give him bits that will be good for him, cooked plain chicken, rice, steamed veggies. He really likes veggies. SInce we put the E-collar on, he seems to be healing pretty quickly. I can't get him into the vet's until next week, so hopefully he will be ok.
I took a picture of Philbert with his E-collar. It makes me sad because he hates it so much, but it is helping him to heal. poor puppy
perhaps try switching his food to a more high end brand from PetsMart or somthing~ with the discugsting contents in commercial dog food its no wonder our dogs are dying in 10-15 years and getting sick. infact i just read that the TRUE average life expectancy for a dog is somewhere around 30 years but because of commercial dog food they are dying in half that. anyway...i feed my dogs a brand called NutroMax Natural Choice. Since i started feeding it to them their skin and coats have never looked better and daisy has very sensitive skin.....(i just realized i sorta sound like a commercial *holds up can of nutro max with big smile*) plus my dogs are picky eaters but they seriously love this stuff. good luck....sweet pic! i feel for her.
I would love to feed Philbert better food, but I can't even afford better food for the people around here right now. If I could afford it, I would like to feed him meats and grains and eggs that I prepared myself, I think that is the best way. My dad always has lots of extra eggs, and his dogs get scrambled eggs for dinner a couple of times a week and they seem really healthy. Anyhow, he is almost healed. I have been taking the E-collar off for about an hour at a time and he hasn't messed with his sore too much. I think I will be able to take it off completely in a few more days. I don't think he will be going to the vet until October, so I hope it's ok.
aww poor doggy, hope he gets better soon though. my dog is still a bit itchy but he's on steriods from the vets!
I think Philbert is just about cured! I ahve been taking off the E-collar for about an hour at a time since Saturday, and he wasn't trying to bite himself too much. I took it off this morning and he has been a very good boy.
Why were you giving him a bath every two weeks. Was just wondering if perhaps he got dry skin/fur. I mean that is itchy and irritating. I bathed my peak once a month when she got her hair cut, and my lab/dobie we only gave her a bath when she rolled in mud or she smelled, which wasn't often because she had super short fur and she was mostly and inside dog, so maybe once every 3 months or so. Also, have you tried giving him brewer's yeast tabs in his food. Worked wonders for my dogs. Makes their coat shiney and never once saw a flea or got dry flakey skin. As far as the nerve shepards get that a lot they also get dry flaking skin issues too. I have seen quite a few with the same disorder.
Ive found that when my dogs get a sore, they lick it to the point that it makes it worse just because it irritates them. They arent smart enough to leave it alone when it itches. Now that the sore has healed and your dog doesnt pay attention to it, Im sure he should be fine. The Ecollar was a wonderful idea.
I bathe Philbert every 2-3 weeks because he is the stinkiest dog ever. He is mostly an indoor dog, so I don't why he gets so smelly, but my husband will send him outside if he is stinky. I use a shampoo for dry skin and sometimes I rub aloe on his skin (he has very short hair). Also, the dirtier he is, the more he seems to scratch. I had another dachshund mix when I was younger and he was a very stinky dog, too. Anyway, I took the e-collar off yesterday and he hasn't bothered the sore, it's really just a bald spot now.
i have to say that bathing your dog every two weeks is VERY irritating to a dogs skin. (even if you dont notice it, that might be why he is scratching) once a month is better...even once every 2-3 mths is sufficient. if you have problems with him smelling there are "dog wipes" that they sell (ive seen them at walmart even) and you basically use them like a baby wipe and just wipe down their fur.....helps with dander, smell, etc...and it might be way better for your dog since you are bathing him that much. the wipes ive seen contain aloe and claim to smell pretty. i havent tried them....but i think they would be great for my cat. im going to get some. (btw, i saw a mini pack of them for only 99 cents at walmart so i know they dont cost much)
