Leg licking

[DaveFisher]

Skylur is our 12 year-old spayed female who has a habit ever-so-often of licking one of her legs until it is raw and bleeds. We have dealt with this for several years and actually changed vets because the one we were using wanted to medicate and have her wear the collar to prevent her from licking. Our current vet also medicates but wraps the infected area until it heals. Sometimes it takes 3-4 weeks and 3-4 new wrappings to get the area to heal. She has done this to all 4 legs at different times, one at a time.

Our vet says this is like a baby sucking its thumb to comfort itself and seems to think it is caused by anxiety. He prescribed pills to treat anxiety but I am reluctant to give them to her all the time and I tend to think the problem is caused by allergies. Sometimes she has an episode when have company but sometimes it can happen without anything unusual in the house. We give her Benadryl when she has an episode and it seems to help some but she still licks some of the time.

We are not sure if it is anxiety or allergies or something else. Has anyone ever experienced this? We are very concerned as she has a new spot that she started licking 2 days ago; we are watching her carefully and using the collar if we have to leave her alone and will take her to the doctor tomorrow.

Thank you.

 

[The Quahog]

Google acral lick granuloma.
The way I explain them to my clients is i pull out the medieval textbook from when I was in veterinary school . It lists 14 treatments - surgical excision, injecting with cortisone(or cobra venom!), wrapping in white liniment, X-ray therapy etc etc.
And I point out that this is pretty much nonsense. When there are 14 treatments for something you know none of them are very good, or there wouldn't be the other 13.
Then I pull out the recent texts, where these granulomas are covered under the chapter 'Psychogenic dermatoses.' The point is there is nothing wrong with these dog's legs. (I am speaking in general here, of course, not about your dog specifically, not having seen it.) Its a bit like a person going to the doctor and saying 'I've been a nervous wreck these past 2 weeks, and I've been chewing my nails and they look terrible.' If the doctor says 'Well, wear a glove and your fingernails will be fine', he's missing the point. There is nothing wrong with your fingernails.
So do NOT overtreat. Anything you do to these lesions will only attract the dog's attention to something that won't get better until he leaves it alone. I can recall many years ago saying to my partner, 'Did you ever notice that these just keep getting worse while we treat them, and only get better when we give up and stop treating them?'
So yes, you can use anti-anxiety drugs. Or antibiotics if the lesion is swollen and infected. And, sure , the 'OCD' if you will is often initially triggered by an underlying itch problem like an allergy, but if the other legs are fine that is probably not an ongoing issue. But generally a better course is exercise and 'benign neglect'.
- Hope that helps. - Dr. Mac

 

[Caro]

My female has a nervous lick on her front legs that sometimes turns into lick granulomas (hot spots) in other parts of her body. But I am pretty sure this happens when she has an allergy or gets bitten.

Her front paws seem to be able to take the constant licking. But if she licks her paws more than usual she gets an antihistamine which does help relieve things. If she starts licking any other part of her body then it doesnt take long for hot spot to develop and usually that means antibiotics.