Licking himself. Its driving me bananas.

EllenCherryCharles · 05-30-2007, 10:59 AM

Lately Dakota has taken to licking his body a lot. He licks/chews mainly the top part of his hind legs, his front legs and his "area" (this is a favorite spot). He's LOUD when he does it and likes to do it in the middle of the night. He's on flea/tick medication (Frontline) and doesn't have any obvious skin issues. He's been on his food for a while now (NV Prarie Lamb and Rice mixed with New Zealand Venison). Any idea why he's doing this? It almost seems like its "soothing" to him and helps him calm down when he wakes up at night. Is that possible? Any ideas as to how to get him to stop? I'm afraid he's going to wear away his fur or something.

Tess&Coco · 05-30-2007, 11:07 AM

Hi! I saw your post about the sticky eyes. Could this be part of the same allergy? Skin irritation and eye irritation may be related. How is Dakota doing otherwise? Any more piccies??

ETA: OUr older dog Tess seems to take great pleasure in licking her bits VERY LOUDLY! *She's* not embarrassed!

EllenCherryCharles · 05-30-2007, 11:21 AM

LOL, I've been posting all over! Its possible that the two are related, but he's been doing the licking thing for a long time. Its just annoying me lately b/c the cat wakes him up and then he starts doing it at like 3 am.

How would I go about figuring out if he has allergies? What are some typical culprits? I think I heard Lamb was one....so we are slowly changing him to the NV Venison (even though they say you can just up and change it up within their brand). Any other ideas?

briteday · 05-30-2007, 11:28 AM

Grains can be another likely source of allergies. You can do a surefire elimination test with a kibble containing fish and sweet potato, for instance. (Natural Balance dry kibble is easily available at most Petco stores) That way you have cut out the red meat as well as grains. If you see a difference after feeding this for 6-8 weeks (in my dogs it was within a week) then, if you prefer, you can slowly try other meats again (avoid the lamb) and stay with a grain-free product. Innova Evo is one that comes to mind, but there are others.

Tess&Coco · 05-30-2007, 11:28 AM

At this time of year (at least in the UK) there is a lot of pollen about which might cause allergies - it does in humans! Tess used to get runny eyes if she ran through long grass and got the seeds or pollen in her face.

Also, my girls react badly to insects such as midges, so if we're outside just as it's getting dark I have a lot of scratching and irritation. I'm not sure whether frontline is effective on them. You could ask your vet about possible allergens too.

Ginny01OT · 05-30-2007, 11:50 AM

NV is a grain free food so I think you are on a quality dog food, switching hm to Venison is a good idea--give it a little time and see if it subsides. Additionally, Riley gets into a little licking so often and he is fine. I think if it was allergy related you may see some redness/rawness in the paws and perhaps some ear allergies.

I saw your other post which said you were switching your dog from Purina--and then I guess NV Lamb and now NV venison. It seems like a lot of switching over a short period of time. Perhaps the dog has a dairy allergy if you are still adding milk to the kibble as well. Switching has to be slow for a pup so young and the toxins can be coming out before you start to see an improvement in things.--Now I am thinking I am confusing your Dakota with another Dakota in another thread--sorry if that is the case.

Give it some time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by briteday

Grains can be another likely source of allergies. You can do a surefire elimination test with a kibble containing fish and sweet potato, for instance. (Natural Balance dry kibble is easily available at most Petco stores) That way you have cut out the red meat as well as grains. If you see a difference after feeding this for 6-8 weeks (in my dogs it was within a week) then, if you prefer, you can slowly try other meats again (avoid the lamb) and stay with a grain-free product. Innova Evo is one that comes to mind, but there are others.

You cannot give a large breed puppy Innova Evo or NV Raw Instict because the calcium level it too high which can contribute to the bones growing too fast and therefore joint problems. I even confirmed this with a naturapet (innova) customer rep. I had thought about switching Riley to Innova Evo but they told me to wait until he was full grown.

rhino-lfl · 05-30-2007, 01:41 PM

If only ...

Scamp · 05-30-2007, 01:48 PM

I feed my pup California Natural Lamb. It is supposed to be the best food for Allergy related issues. They have the fish as well in that brand. My pup was doing the same thing and she still is. She has only been eating this food for 2-3 weeks, so I am going to give it some time. She has licked and chewed herself raw.
Good Luck

RonE · 05-30-2007, 08:42 PM

My lab used to lick himself, specifically his 'privates', with great gusto. He was doing that with reckless abandon in the back of my van when one of my children said, "EEEEWWWW! Why does he DO that?"

Dads are supposed to have all the answers, so I said, "Because he can."

I'm quite sure he didn't have any allergy issues.

It wasn't something you wanted to listen to in the middle of the night.

EllenCherryCharles · 05-30-2007, 09:14 PM

Thanks to everyone for all the advice! He's been on 3 different food brands during his lifetime. He was on Purina Pro Plan at the very beginning (vet gave it to us), but we only made it through one bag before switching him to Nutro Natural Choice. About a month and a half ago we changed to NV partly b/c I read here that it was a good food and partly b/c I wanted to stay away from any companies that had food recalls. It might be a lot of changing (he's only roughly 7 months old), but I've been trying to improve his food and learn more about food as we go along. I think with NV we've found a winner, as he seems to do well on it.

Ron, I think it might just be a "because he can" issue here as well. He's always done it, but lately its just been more frequent and it bothers me more b/c he's louder....and he likes to do it at night. And "gusto" is a good word for it. Dogs do weird things. Glad to know this doesn't sound like a major issue.

Oh, and Tess&Coco, otherwise he's doing great! He has learned that he really likes to retrieve things from water (lakes mostly). This works out great b/c my H and I like to hike around and there are a few lakes we've found that are reasonably dog friendly. On a less exciting note, the other day he learned that his new teeth are great for chewing through leashes. Two actually. Within about a half hour. I thought I was losing my mind. LOL.

I've attached a few more recent pictures of the culprit.

Ginny01OT · 05-30-2007, 09:53 PM

He's a doll and I think he is looking pretty darn good. Keep up the good work!