Thread: Dog licking her tail

Hello;
I have a 4yr old mixed with long hair (especially her tail). She has developed this irritating habit of licking the base of her tail.
Several months ago, we thought this had to do with the glands around her anus, and took her to the vet.
The vet expressed the glands, and found that the dog had worms, and prescribed medication for the worms.

The dog no longer has the worms, but she is still licking in that area.
We have done a little observing, and it now appears that she is licking the base of her tail, not the anus.
While I held and petted the dog, my mom picked up her tail and checked. It is very difficult to see anything with all the fur, but there does not appear to be anything obvious.

Since we have already spent over $200 on the vet for this problem, and none of us can afford another vet bill, my mom thought maybe we could do something ourselves.
She applied some Lanacaine anti-itch cream to the base of the tail while I held the dog.
At first she was very resistant, and kept trying to pull away. But after a few tries, it seems that she realizes that we are trying to help her, and even feels better after the cream has been applied. That could be just that the act of applying the cream scratches her itch, and she feels better.

So, now we are going to try the Lanacaine twice or more times per day and see what happens.
But at the same time, I am wondering whether there is any other cream that would work better for dogs.
Since she has so much fur and hair on her tail (and everywhere else), it is difficult to apply the cream. Perhaps a spray, or a liquid would work better. I don't know.

Also, what might be causing this itch? Could it simply be something like Athlete's Foot, or Jock Itch?
Since the dog doesn't keep her tail up most of the time, that area doesn't get much air, and thus I can imagine that there might be a problem there.

Any ideas?

I really want to treat this myself, since we cannot afford the vet right now.

Thanks

FW

Originally Posted by agility collie mom

Is your dog on flea prevention? Fleas tend to congregate at the base of the tail and make dogs very itchy. Also what type of worms did the vet find? I'm guessing tape.

I didn't mention that she is licking the underside of her tail. From my experience, fleas congregate on the top side of the tail.
She is on FrontLine flea and tick prevention.

I believe the vet said she had round worms; but from what I read on the subject, just about every type of worm a dog can get is a roundworm. Other than that, I cannot be more specific.

Thanks for your reply

FW

Originally Posted by kerplunk105

I had a Golden a few years back that very thick hair, especially around her tail. She was licking at her tail for a few days. Finally I took a look at it. She had a huge hot spot on the under side of her tail, right near her anus/butt area. I had to shave the area and keep an eye on it. She always had issues with it. Maybe its a hot spot or skin rash/irritation? Did you really part the hair and take a look at it?

My mom took a look at it, but it's difficult to part the hair. She said that all she saw was slightly pink area.
We started using Lotrimin anti-fungal cream, and it seems to be helping. First off, the dog lets us put it on now, and apparently feels better from it. She is not licking much over the past few days.

FW