dog licking compulsively; advice?

I feel so bad for my mom. Her dog (8 y/o Golden Retriever) has this thing: he licks the fur on his back until it results in bare patches. Right now he has a few 1x2-inch spots there with no hair.
She puts an Elizabethan collar on him when she's not home. But is there any other solution or advice to this? She tried Bitter Apple and it did nothing.
Her vet prescribed Pramoxin (sp?) shampoo and spray along with Animax ointment. She is running out on these and wonders if she should go back to the vet and basically not get anywhere, or just refill the prescriptions and treat it as a chronic thing? I do not know what to tell her but thought that some of our resident vet-people or dog owners could help.

i'd talk to the vet and let them know it's not really working and ask if there are other options

Jen, I know allergic dermatitis is a common problem with that breed. I remember my brother's Golden was always licking at itself but I'm sorry I don't remember what they did to treat it. I think it was basically an allergy type treatment of some sort. She also had epilepsy which is another problem with this breed. You might also ask if your mom's vet has checked her dog's thyroid function. That was something they always monitored in my brother's dog as it had something to do with both the coat issues and the seizures.

I had an Irish Setter that used to lick and scratch that same spot many years ago. I spent lots of money at the vet to no avail.One day an old lady asked me why I didnt do something for the dogs' problem.I told her that I had been to the vet several times and had spent lots of money. She said "Heck, dont those vets no nuthin'?All you have to do is rub Bag Balm on it." Well I didn't know what bag balm was and she explained that it was an ointment to put on milking cows teats to keep them from getting raw.I tried it and it worked right away.The dog would occasionly start bothering that area for the rest of his life and I would rub bag balm on it and he would leave it alone immediately.They usually sell it at Rite Aide and CVS.And of course at feed stores.One can for about $8 should last the rest of the dogs life.

Hm.. I will ask her about the thyroid thing. The BB sounds like a plan; they sell it at a few local stores that I know of. My friend's pitbull also does this; he compulsively licks his front paws I guess. It was weird because out of nowhere today, she started telling me about this..

If it is NOT an allergy, it could be a compulsive issue. Working breeds are the ones I have seen with this issue more than others. Make sure the dog is getting plenty of exercise, not just physical but mental. Try using a dog backpack on during a walk, get kongs or find some sort of "job" for him to do.

He does have a friend; she has a female shepherd mix also. She does work duing the day but walks each of them for about 10 minutes in the am and pm.

Our Jack Russel has the front paws issue. Sometimes she will lick, other times its as if she is gnawing or chewing! It may be a boredom thing, even though we go on regular walks and I rough house with her alot. She hasn't got bare patches yet but we can definitely see that the fur is thinner.

Paw licking is usually an environmental allergy, but licking on the back is almost exclusively a flea allergy thing. In sensitive dogs, even a single flea bite can cause systemic itching.

Basic allergy overview:
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Con...S=0&C=0&A=2604

Self-mutilation in dogs:
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Con...S=0&C=0&A=2322

I would bet anything that she has fleas...if that is the case (and this should be mandatory for any dog that itches for any reason anyway), 100% flea control ASAP is key.

That means Capstar for every cat and dog in the house, followed by Frontline on every pet every 3-4 weeks for life, and I would strongly recommend a house treatment with a carpet spray that contains an Insect Growth Regulator (IGR) such as Nylar. The one my clinic recommends is Knock-Out, but there are others on the market as well.
Expect treatment to take around three months before all fleas are completely eliminated.

I have -never- seen a dog lick its back that did not have fleas. There is often a weepy secondary infection with a characteristic moldy/musty/mousy smell.

Flea Allergy Dermatitis:
http://www.petplace.com/dogs/flea-al...ogs/page1.aspx
Pop-ups, but good info and pics.

Flea control:
http://www.petplace.com/dogs/how-to-...dog/page1.aspx

My aunts Belgien Turverian is a little neurotic. He's from pedigreed champion lines, but He will lick his back right foot when he is uncomfortable, nervous, bored, or sometimes for no reason we can figure out. He will lick it raw. They've been to the vet his whole life for this problem, and so far the best thing for him is to engage him in an activity. He is diagnosed with some mental disorder that they give him meds for when he goes wacko, so there could always be something underlying emotionally [mentally] that they may not be aware of. I hope everything works out for him, and hopefully it's something that can be fixed.

The 2nd diagnosis that the Vet made on my Irish Setter was fleas (although I had seen no evidence) . He prescribed medicine that made my dogs blood poisonous to fleas,shampoos, bombs etc. Then a couple diagnoses later it was allergies with a couple rounds of allergy testing. The vet successfully separated me from lots of money, but only the old uneducated lady gave me advice that worked. This dog sounds like it has the same symptoms. The price of Bag Balm would be a very small amount to gamble before laying out the big money. Just one mans opinion.No offense intended to anyone.

FYI, most owners are in denial about fleas...they seem to be a sensitive subject.

If you scratch with your fingernails on the dog's skin, especially along the back towards the base of the tail, and come up with any trace of black crunchy dirt, try smearing that dirt on a damp papertowel...rusty streaks are a sure indicator of fleas, even if you haven't seen any actual insects. They are far more common than most people think. And for every adult flea you spot, there are about 19 more sub-adults in your house....nasty bugs.

He has no fleas at all. I went through his coat with a fine toothed flea comb. he is treated with K9 Advantix religiously, and so is her other dog and their cat (feline advantage.. same stuff that I use on my cat; it is a godsend.) The only people who really visit her are my sister/family and us; ahd we treat our animals as well. I would definately know if I had fleas anywhere near me, as they literally attack me and eat me alive for some reason.
He used to chew/lick his front paws like this, but now it has shifted to his back, about 5inches away from his tail along the spine. It is just pink bald skin there that really does not look infected to me. I really think that it is similar to cribbing in horses; a neurotic, weird habit that just keeps on going on when housed in captivity.

I am really not in denial about fleas. For most of 2005, we had a severe infestation. Our cat had them, and everytime I would wake up, my white socks would have 5-10 of them on them, and my legs were so eaten-up that I looked like I had leoprosy (sp?) so I know what fleas are about! We have used the Advantage on our cat and I have not seen any. My mom is the same way with treating her animals; she is more anul about it than anyone I know, and her dogs literally live better health-carewise than many humans I know of. I actually wish that it were something as simple as fleas! That'd be easy to get rid of.

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Originally Posted by Ginevive

I feel so bad for my mom. Her dog (8 y/o Golden Retriever) has this thing: he licks the fur on his back until it results in bare patches. Right now he has a few 1x2-inch spots there with no hair.
She puts an Elizabethan collar on him when she's not home. But is there any other solution or advice to this? She tried Bitter Apple and it did nothing.
Her vet prescribed Pramoxin (sp?) shampoo and spray along with Animax ointment. She is running out on these and wonders if she should go back to the vet and basically not get anywhere, or just refill the prescriptions and treat it as a chronic thing? I do not know what to tell her but thought that some of our resident vet-people or dog owners could help.

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Just Shoot him! LOL... Just kidding or not...

No.. he is an awesome dog. I hope you were kidding..
He is just a canine victim of OCD I guess. There is no reason for it.. I guess that all she can do is prevent infection with the cream and keep his collar on when she is not home.

What kind of food is he on? Corn and corn-by products are a very predominant allergen, as is wheat.

Oh, and K9 Advantix, the fleas still have to bite the dog to die. He may have a flea bite allergy. Frontline kills fleas and larvae on contact and works wonders with dogs with flea allergies.

I would not let him keep licking himself. It can cause a nasty bacterial and fungal infection that will be difficult to treat. Try to get some Tresaderm from the vet as that helps alot. May also want to put him on a 3-day dose of steroids to make the itching go away.

Thanks. I will ask her about the flea thing. There are some pretty smarmy people living behind her and their dogs are in that yard; I would actually be surprised if they did Not have fleas over there. So yeah, I guess hypothetically when they go out they could pick up a flea or two that would have to bte them to die..
She is def. keeping the Elizabethan collar on him when she is either not home or cannot watch him like a hawk. He cannot reach it when the collar is on.. and it is not like the collar is painful or anything for him, so I am going to reiterate to her not to let him get at the spot. I will tell her about asking about Tresaderm too because she is going to end up taking him back in; she is set on that.

I have a golden and he too had that problem once and we took him to the vet and they gave us an ointment, i forget exactly what they told us he had but he had the cone on his head for a couple weeks and the hair grew back fine and he didn't do it again...i'll call my mom and ask her what it was tomorrow and see if she remembers

Oh, she is feeding Science Diet; not sure of the exact formula but I know that is the brand name.

I have used Tresaderm ( from the Vet) for ear infections on my Dogue de Bordeaux and it works great. I still think that bag balm work be a quick and inexpensive solution in this case.