My dog bites his hair off any idea what I can do to make him stop?

Question

My dog bites his hair off his front and back legs to the point he's pink and recently he's started bleeding and getting scabs. I've taken him to the vet and they've put him on meds, it helps but as soon as it runs out he starts biting again and he can't be on the meds for more than 2 weeks. The vet then suggest oatmeal shampoo and conditioner which I've tried and still nothing. Any other options I hate seeing him bleed.

Answer 1

If the doctor hasn't found any evidence of fleas, the allergy could very well be the food or the environment. A lot of dogs have allergies and allergies generally show up through the skin vs like humans with congestion, sneezing, etc.

You may have to try a new diet, making the switch slowly, over a week. The food will not be cheap. You need to research this for yourself to find what may be best in the long run for both of you. Some people will actually cook for the allergy prone dog on a daily basis, with the symptoms disappearing all together. Cut out corn, soy, wheat and by-products and find a food with not the common meat source. Find bison, duck. venison or organic beef, chicken, etc.

Answer 2

Dog Biting Hair Off Leg

Answer 3

I once had an elderly lady for a friend. She had a wonderful little dog. A mix of some sort. She had the dog trained well and it behaved very well. Learn here https://tr.im/liHoN

She kept an uncovered candy dish on her coffee table with candy in it. The dog was forbidden to eat the candy. When she was in the room observing the dog he did not even appear to notice the candy. One day while she was in her dinning room she happened to look in a mirror and could see her dog in the living room. He did not know he was being watched. For several minutes he was sitting in front of the candy bowl staring at the candy. Finally he reached in and took one. He placed it on the table and stared at it, he woofed at it. He stared some more, licked his chops and PUT IT BACK in the bowl and walked away. Did he want the candy, oh yeah. Did he eat it? Nope. They can be trained that well but most, I'll admit, are not trained that well. When I was a young boy, maybe 5 years old. We had a german shepherd. He was very well trained also. My mom could leave food unattended on the table, no problem. She would open the oven door and set a pan roast beef or roast chicken on the door to cool. No problem. He would not touch it, watched or not. But butter? Whole other story. You leave a stick of butter anywhere he could reach and it was gone. He was a large shepherd so there were not many places he could not reach. Really, I think the number of dogs trained to the point they will leave food alone when not being supervised is very small indeed.
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Now if we are talking obedience training, not food grubbing, that is a different story. Way back when I was first learning obedience training one of the final exercises was to put our dogs in a down/stay and not only leave the room but leave the building for 15 minutes. The only person that stayed was our trainer, not the owners. Most of the dogs in my class did not break their stay, which would be an automatic fail. I'm happy to report my dog was one of the ones that passed.

Answer 4

Obviously your vet diagnosed something, so talk to your vet and see what other options you have. If he can only be on the meds that have been prescribed for two weeks I'm guessing they're antibiotics, which could be prescribed for a lot of things, but possibly hot spots? Your dog might also have food allergies, mange, fleas, nervousness...you really need to talk to your vet (and if he/she doesn't give you alternatives that work, see a different vet). In the meantime, as a last resort you might put an Elizabethan collar on your dog (those big round funnel-looking collars that prevent dogs from biting or licking their bodies). Your dog will hate it, but it's better than creating open sores.

Answer 5

sounds most likely like an allergic reaction, and the most common allergies are associated with food, and the most common food dogs are allergic to is wheat. So buy food that does not contain wheat. However, you will probably need to visit the vet unfortunately to be sure. Other allergies can be from plants in your garden or mites on its skin, etc. You will need to check for parasites as a matter of course. Fleas, ticks, etc. The third and least likely reason is psychological. Boredom or stress being most likely causes in this category.

Answer 6

Hi, what medication did your vet issue? It sounds like an allergy, in which case it might be best to consider changing a few things, such as your dogs food, and bedding, and household products that you use around your home.
Also is there any chance your dog is stressed? You need to find out what condition your vet is treating him for, ie stress, allergies, or something else.

Answer 7

Shave the area clean and put some antibiotic ointment on him. It sounds cruel but you may have to muzzle him and keep him inside when you're not watching him. He can't heal if he keeps biting or if he's rolling around in the dirt. You can tape some gauze (bald shaven skin, no hair!) over the area so he doesn't get ointment all over.

Did the vet tell you anything specific about the condition like what it is?

Answer 8

The most common cause of chewing on the feet has to be allergies. This can occur with food allergies and with inhalant allergies (atopy). Once in a while demodectic mange is confined to the feet and it is always worth checking for this when there is hairloss. Immune mediated diseases like lupus and phemphigus can be involved in hairloss and irritation of the feet but usually some other area of the body like the ears, eyes, nose or lips is affected as well. If a food allergy trial diet is not beneficial consider testing for inhalant allergies. If your vet doesn't do this, he or she can refer you to a veterinary dermatologist.

Answer 9

Depending on where you live, he might have flees. Most likely it's a skin allergy from food or treats. Try to stick with food that doesn't have corn, wheat or soy in it. The more natural it is the better for their skin. I use blue buffalo for my dogs here is a link to their website. You can get this at Petco.

Answer 10

Check the dog for fleas or some type of skin irritation. You can also get a special collar that will prevent him from biting himself. It might look stupid but it works.