My lab/staffy will not stop chewing one side of his back & legs.Flea,dermatitis&worm treated.?

Question

He is usually inside, only outside for short periods of time when I go out. All of the rest of his coat is beautiful, he only seems to chew one side. He lies on either side when inside or outside. What could it be and how do I treat it?

Answer 1

Sometimes, when a dog scratches at an irritation, the scratching may cause a secondary infection, known as a "hot spot". The hot spot is itchy, and the dog scratches or chews at it, which makes it more itchy, which makes him scratch at it more and so on and so on. Left untreated, these spots can become very large, and very nasty. They are often treated with a shot of cortisone to stop the itching, and a topical cream to treat the skin irritation, as well as a round of antibiotics to treat the secondary infection.

Your best bet is the vet.

Answer 2

It could be the first sign of allergies. My dog has allergies and her's started with licking her front paws all the time and then it got worse with time. Have your vet either send out an allergy test or have them refer you to a Veterinary Dermatologist. Dogs and cats allergies only get worse with age so some sort of treatment should be done. Most common dog allergies include fleas, dust, pollen, and food. A simple solution could be giving him Benadryl as needed (dosage prescribed by vet), changing food, or bathing him with an oatmeal shampoo every 2 weeks. As allergies progress other medication or even an allergy vaccine may be necessary. My dog is on the allergy vaccine which she gets every month to control her allergies. Also certain times of year could have more of an effect than others. Plus with all the scratching and chewing there is the possibility of a bacterial infection which also causes the skin to appear more irritated and causes more itching. This will have to be treated before the allergies can be controlled. Just talk to your vet to see what they recommend. Hope this helps!

additional note: certain breeds are more prone to allergies, labs being one of them.

Answer 3

It is very natural for a puppy to want to chew, but there are some things you can do that will help. It sounds like you have a very high energy dog. You may need to increase the walks you are taking her on to a bit longer. She is probably also very intelligent and needs a job to do. Are you spending any time obedience training her? Just 10 minutes a day in the backyard on basic obedience commands will give her a healthy outlet for her intelligence and then she won't get into so much trouble. It's good that you are giving her lots of things to chew on, but you may need to rotate them so she doesn't loose interest. My german shepherds like nyla bones but only if I rub them for a while or stick them in my shirt for an hour to get my scent on them, but they last a long time. If you are going to use real bones, make sure you only feed raw beef bones. Anything else may splinter and perforate the dog's intestines--it's very dangerous. When you do catch your dog chewing something inappropriate, take it away and pound the object on the ground using a loud angry voice. Make the object, not the puppy, seem like the bad thing. My dog trainer says that if you don't feel silly when you're doing this you are probably not doing it right. Then replace the unwanted object with something you want your dog to chew and praise the dog and play with her. She'll outgrow it--eventually. She neeeds lots of exercise, attention, and some obedience training to divert her. Good luck.

Answer 4

Go to Henry's and get Witch Hazel "With Aloe". It's in a clear plastic bottle. I had the same problem with my dog, and it was recommeded by a friend who's into natural remedies. It worked like a dream. Cleared up in less than a week. I have used it for other skin stuff with all my dogs since, and it's fantastic. It's very cooling and refreshing to the dog, and anti bacterial. Some dogs aren't too fond of the ultra clean scent, but it's all I use for that kind of stuff now.

Answer 5

If it were fleas, he'd proably be itching all over.

There could be an irritant on his skin (plant chemicals, shampoo residue?), he could have developed a food allergy which often affects a dog's skin and causes them to itch. He may also have something called 'hot spots'. Check that area's skin for a higher tempature, and hair loss. Those can be signs of hot spots. If so, get him checked out by a vet. He'd need anti-biotics.

Answer 6

My dog does this and it's very annoying.
Its separation anxiety related - he is nearly always with me but if i go shopping I leave him in with his dad and the cats and he goes and chews his back till he bleeds.
So far i have tried -anti chewing lotions, antiseptics, malaseb shampoo,tea tree lotions and buying him a rug. He has toys, company and food but the only thing that seems to stop him is a muzzle and I hate doing that to him.
Good luck

Answer 7

Our dogs are doing the samething, so I'm thinking they are allergic to their food. Tonite we started feeding them Innova Red Meat dry and soft. It very well could be due to what you're feeding them. Make sure the first 3 ingredients of the dog food you give has meat listed, and it should not contain soy, wheat, rice, etc. In other words try to get a low grain/no grain dog food. It will be pricey but not as pricey as the vet bills and all the meds they tell you to give. Good luck.

Answer 8

My mums dog gets the same thing. He chews at his paws but not all the time. She tookhim to the vet and it turned out to be an allergy that he gets at certain times of the year. She gives him fish oil tablets which had helped greatly. hope this helps

Answer 9

check for mites, fungal infection and have his thyroid checked. But it sounds like to me he is bored, and it is a behavioural problem Also if you bath him it might be irritation from shampoo residue. Always rinse well. I would use a mild bar soap like tone dove or even ivory. Then you can go to a medicated shampoo. For maintenance main and tail shampoo and conditioner. On occasion a flee and tick shampoo.