my dog won't stop licking his paw!!?

Question

i have an doberman and he is my baby. i love him so much but he has gotten a bit on his paw and he began licking and licking and licking.... he finally stopped and it has begun to heal... but now there is another spot on the same paw!!! but it is 5 times worse. i have taken him to the vet 7 times got prozac and all other sorts of meds, i have gotten him an elizabethian collar, and he still managed to lick it. we have gotten srays, meds, wrapped it in a gauze and wrapped it even with a gauze the in ducktape!!! and yet he still manages to pull it off and lick away. we have done everything i need some help to help my baby get better please help my baby. :D Kaitlyn

Answer 1

Is it on top of his paw?? It's a ' Sorry sore ' he is needing more exercise and attention.. Once you start doing more with him, getting him out more and including him.. Tiring him out, he'll stop.. Try wrapping it with gauze and spraying w/ Bitter Apple Spray.

It's possible it's related to corn / wheat in the food as well he should be eating a good quality dog food.

Answer 2

Make sure the wound heals.
Supervision may be the only way until the wound/s heals.
There “is” a med out there that will work; it’s a matter of finding the right 1 and right dosage for your dog and the specific problem.

You may want to check out a homeopathic vet too. This was my solution, and how we got to our root problems.

What works for 1 dog, may not work for another.
I have a dog with compulsive anxiety disorder. She is off meds now, but it took years to find what worked. She actually had a sensitivity to several foods (food allergy), along separation anxiety (2 problems).
Once it works then you get to the root of the problem. It may be anxiety, environmental, separation anxiety, etc…
She has not had any problems in years.
While figuring out meds – look at what she is eating (her diet), try an elimination diet to see if that could be a trigger., also look at things in the environment from rug powders, sprays, cleaners, carpets, shampoo, water (yea even drinking water), never know.

If you can get the wounds cleared up/healed, and have already tried bitter apple spray ---
Hot sauce, Cheyenne pepper (“not” on “any” open wounds), and only start with a “very small amount. This is a last resort. If there is digestive upset stop using. Most dogs will “not” lick after this –all they can do is try to get it off there tongue.
Also use positive training, praise when she is not licking, try to divert her attention from licking, and tell her not to do it when she is and direct her attention else where..
I know it’s not easy.. We had a poodle lick her paw hair, and leg hair off—but she did get better…

Answer 3

First off, I would suggest exercising the dog whenever it starts to lick its paws. This behavior may just be from boredom. If the exercise doesn't work, you can try an E-collar, but the best thing would be to take the dog to a vet.

Answer 4

The dog always needs to be supervised when indoors. Every time the dog goes to the toilet in the house, and he is not caught and corrected, the behaviour is reinforced and he will think it is acceptable behaviour.
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• Take your dog on lead to the area where you would like him to relieve himself
• Use the word “toilet” when the dog is going to the toilet so he learns to associate the word with the action
• Reward with high praise and a treat reward so this behaviour is keenly repeated by the dog
• If the dog tries to jump and play with you ignore this behaviour until the dog focuses on sniffing the ground and starting to cue for the signs of relieving himself
• Remember to be patient – as this may take time
• If consistent, in weeks to a couple of months you should be able to do without the lead and your dog should be able to relieve himself on cue when hearing the command “toilet”


As prevention is better than cure; get in the habit of closing doors and not allowing your dog free access to areas that are unsupervised. NB: Baby dividers between rooms and hallways can be very effective to keep dog out. It is interesting to note that carpeted rooms are attractive to puppies as they hold the scent particularly well.

Make sure your cleaning the urine up completely! There are a number of excellent cleaning products that you can now purchase from pet stores that eliminate the smell of urine or feces. If the pup can smell any urine or feces, remembering it has a much stronger sense of smell than us; it will encourage him to go again on the same spot.

If you are to catch your dog in the act simply give the “a-ah” command. Pick the dog up and place outdoors or on paper so that he can finish his deed there. Remember that if you do not catch the dog within 3 seconds of an undesirable act he will have no comprehension of what you are correcting him for. This may worsen his toileting habits as the dog will learn to be deceptive as he will now want to hide away.

Answer 5

Hi.
I believe that the best thing to do is to manage to change his focus to something more attractive than his paw. Let's say that your baby has some toy that he likes very much or maybe some kind of food or treat or game that he likes to play.
If he is bored and sitting all the time, he will probably go back to his paw, otherwise he will be "entertained" by "this" something else I told you about and go about his business.
Good luck and good healing for him!

Answer 6

Yep, bitter apple will cut down on the licking, but it will need to be applied several times a day until the paw heals.

Doc

Answer 7

Okay gotcha.

This worked with a friend of mine's dog that was obsessed about licking.

Lots and lots of exercise. Keep them tired out they don't think about licking. Get him a dog sitter during the day if he needs it to take him on long walks like 3 times a day if needed.

Answer 8

Poor doggie. He has OCD. Today on Animal Planet (TV) it was being discussed, but I did not watch the whole show. Please log on the Animal Planet website and see if you can find it under Animal Dr or something. I wonder if he needs a friend doggie to play with; just an idea. He is trying to express something, that's for sure. Also try to find a doggie shrink.There are such people.Good luck. Aloe vera is good for wounds, and I do not believe it can hurt him.

Answer 9

Get malaseb, it worked for my pups. Your dog probably has an allergy, smell the paw. Do they smell like tacos? I know this sounds funny, but my dogs don't chew their paws anymore. Good luck!

Answer 10

check the dogs paw maybe there is something in it if not take it to the vet there may be a cut thats infected