Lick Sores

[Dobermonster]

Hi there!

New to the forum (I'll post an intro in a bit) and thought you guys might have some suggestions to explain and/or inhibit this behaviour. My dog is a 4 y/o Doberman, and he's recently started making lick sores on himself. It shouldn't be due to boredom, especially considering I've recently *increased* his activity and training. I've thought that perhaps it's due to sore joints or muscles. Itchiness is a slim possibility, considering his scratching hasn't increased at all, though I may trial benadryl over the next couple days. His first lick sore appeared a few weeks ago, on his left hip. Treated with polysporin and corrected any licking - it started to heal about a week ago. Now he's going after the inner aspects of both elbows. I found a cone, so he'll be wearing that while they heal up. I really, really don't want to deal with any lick granulomas. If you have any advice or suggestions to throw out, it would be appreciated. He doesn't seem to be adverse to bitter taste.

 

[avaloncoolies]

well for speedy healing i recommend unpasturized honey....goober some honey on it and wrap for overnight...take bandage off in the morning and wash off sticky honey, leave out to air for the day, cone for the first bit until less raw and uncomfortable...after a week the healing should be complete and then you can keep on the correcting the behavior because then it will be just that a behavior not a response to discomfort...sometimes it is just a vicious cycle they get caught up in....

 

[stephsousa]

I'd suggest you try a high quality omega 3 fish oil. here's a link to the one i give my dog. http://www.luckydogvitamin.com/nordic-naturals-omega-3-pet-8oz.html I just noticed they have a free shipping special for orders over $20 too. Hope it helps. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Saeleofu]

A cone is really your only guarantee of not licking. Usually it's initially a response to pain or irritation, then they just get in the habit of doing it and don't stop.

If it's raw, that honey trick above is worth trying. Raw honey can do some impressive things. I'm pretty sure we've even used raw honey on the elephants before.

You may want to get his hips and elbows x-rayed to check for dysplasia, considering this started after and increase in exercise. Does he wear a harness during training or exercise? Logan's harness was poorly adjusted and until I figured that out he was licking the insides of his elbows. Adjusted the harness so it doesn't rub, and he hasn't licked them since.

 

[Dobermonster]

I'll try the honey. I did put a harness on him once so far, but it doesn't rub wear he's licking. I'm thinking perhaps I just overdid it with him and didn't take enough time to taper the physical activity up. He has an appointment at the vet tomorrow for a cursory physical exam for dysplasia just in case - even if the licking hadn't started, I think it's likely he is at least a little dysplastic, and it's worth getting some advice about it.

 

[Dobermonster]

So there's no evidence of pain in his hip or elbow joints, but he is tender around the base of his spine. The vet thinks the stress of moving last month plus the soreness may be the cause of the licking. Going to do a week of meloxicam to see if it helps, and I'm going to try and do some physical and massage therapies...though not sure how much it'll help a skeletal issue.

 

[DobeLove]

I recommend laser therapy. It worked super well for Avril, it was fairly cheap. ($20 per session and we went every other day for 10 days.) Hers started because of a few broken toes, but a lot start because of OCD.

Dogs that are extremely OCD are nearly impossible to train not to lick. Our friend had a dobe years ago who had terrible lick granulomas that eventually went down to the bone. She would put a cone on her, she would some how get it off to lick. She would wrap it and cover it in bitter apple and the dog would rip off the bandage and lick anyways.