How do you keep a dog from nibbling on himself?

[grasswire]

Geez!

The border collie constantly nibbles on his legs. He's been flea treated, so it isn't that. It's almost like a pacifier. He is a rescue dog, so I assume that it is learned behavior from anxiety or boredom the two years he spent in a shelter.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

1. He may be allergic to some of the food he's getting?

[RebelOne]

8. That was my thought.

I had a rescue dog that would continually chew on himself. I changed his food and that cured it.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

16. I saw something like it on Rizzoli and Isles the other night....

Her dog was allergic to Chicken. LOL Most of my knowledge is picked up by osmosis thru TV. LOL

[EFerrari]

12. My girl was allergic to wheat. Changed her to grainless food,

no more hot spots and her coat got beautiful.

[madmom]

2. It could be an allergy to almost anything. His shampoo, food, something you

wear, or use on your clothes etc. We had a dog who was allergic to grass.

[mzteris]

18. I had a Lhasa who was allergic to grass

and just about everything. We switched to lamb and that helped.

If I remember correctly, I gave him half a children's chewable benedryl nearly every day.

[rrneck]

3. Rub bacon fat on your shoes. nt

[MiddleFingerMom]

4. What a idjit!!!!

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Any Michigander would know that's the secret to playing hockey 365 days a year.
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Are you eating enough fish?
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:rofl:
:hide:
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There was just a Rizzoli and Isles episode where the vet charged $300 for a
diagnosis of OCD behavior due to stress when it was revealed later that many
smaller breeds(???) are allergic to poultry.
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A change in dogfood might be your easiest, least expensive answer.
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But odds are excellent that an allergy of some sort is the reason.
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[grasswire]

5. it's not an itch, I don't think

Because when he has an itch he pulls his hair out.

And this isn't that. He just nibbles, like those plastic chattering teeth windup toys. Nibble, nibble, nibble.

I'm going to try some chamomile tea on his food. I don't even know why I want to stop his behavior, cuz it doesn't harm anything.

I tried chew toys, but he buries those in the couch.

[mnhtnbb]

6. Does he have toys? Chew things--like rawhide 'bones'?

Is he left alone a lot during the day?

[grasswire]

13. he buries chew things in the sofa

Even real marrow bones. I bought him a kong thing the other day, and he ignored it, and then buried it in the couch.

And no, he is rarely alone. At the most, an hour or two several times a week.

[dixiegrrrrl]

7. I have been told by the vet tech that chewing and licking of legs is allergy.

And I know my dog stops doing it when I give him Benedryl, and starts doing it when the Benedryl wears off.
He does it worse after being in the grass outside this summer, does it less when he is kept in the house and allowed only on paved/gravel surfaces.
It started this spring and is decreasing as we go into fall.

[RebelOne]

9. I gave my dog Benedryl and changed his food and it worked. n/t

[dixiegrrrrl]

10. What food did you change him FROM?

and TO?

[RebelOne]

24. I can't remember because that dog went to doggy heaven at age 13..

But I believe I was feeding him Purina. I witched to Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance. And that cured his scratching and chewing on himself.

http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dogformulas/home.html

[grasswire]

14. Benedryl?

That would make him sleepy, right?

[mzteris]

19. half a children's tab for a smallish dog.

Give it at night.

[TorchTheWitch]

22. it can also make them hyper n/t

[RebelOne]

30. My vet recommended that also for my dog's allergies.

It helped, but changing his food did the trick.

[sinkingfeeling]

29. Last summer my dog took Benedryl twice a day and it didn't stop him from gnawing on his feet. I

suspect it's more fungal. I'm trying anti-fungicide cream this week.

[dropkickpa]

11. sounds like a food allergy

The most common culprits in dogs are corn (biggie) and chicken. Mine is allergic to corn, wheat, chicken, and beef.

[grasswire]

15. This dog has a varied diet.

We don't buy big bags of mass-market dog food. He doesn't get any corn. His coat is shiny and he is healthy. He does get some table scraps of vegetables and gravy, etc. on top of his kibble at times. He luvs green beans, but he will not eat corn.

[mzteris]

20. try lamb-based. n/t

[dropkickpa]

23. corn is the #1 or #2 ingredient in 95% dog foods

alternating with chicken in some form or another. Even the vast majority of top label dog foods have corn/chicken in them. Believe me, the search for corn + chicken free food took me a lot of time and frustration, not to mention when I had to also then eliminate beef and wheat.

At this point, I have 2 choices in food, 1 formulation from Wellness, and 1 from Solid Gold. There are a couple of others, but I have to drive 25+miles to get to the stores that carry it, and I am not willing to pay shipping costs for enough food for a 70lb dog (they'd almost equal the price of the food!!).

[HopeHoops]

17. THE CONE OF SHAME!

[TorchTheWitch]

21. get thee to the vet

It's likely some sort of allergy. Dogs tend to get skin reactions to allergies. Do you notice any sores, dry flakes, redness, thinning or bald spots, etc.? Tis the season for allergies though it could also be a food allergy or some other kind of allergy. Though it could be stress or something like that it's probably some kind of allergy. Don't try treating the dog yourself especially with medication since a) you don't know what it is yet, and b) you need to find out from the vet what medication he might need, how many milligrams, how often he should have the medication, etc.

I'll never understand why people ask for medical advice from strangers on the internet, friends, neighbors or whatever other non-professionals. Advice about medical treatment for a dog is only ever properly addressed by a vet. Call your vet. It's likely that they can advise you on treating the dog with over the counter medications or other preparations, but they are the ones to ask and be able to tell you what medication, milligrams, etc.

[LeftyMom]

25. +1

Went through something similar with my cat, it turned out to be an allergy, which is what I suspected. But it took a few tests and a professional examination to be sure, and my vet was able to point me in the right direction in finding a food my girl wasn't allergic to, tell me how long to stick with each before trying another, etc. Oh, and she put her on steroids to handle the itching until we found a food she could eat, which of course I couldn't do at all because they're prescription. Totally worth the vet visit.

[grasswire]

26. really?

"I'll never understand why people ask for medical advice from strangers on the internet, friends, neighbors or whatever other non-professionals. Advice about medical treatment for a dog is only ever properly addressed by a vet. Call your vet."

Could you think of any reason? O......kay.

[TorchTheWitch]

27. yes, REALLY

When you take on the responsibility of caring for a pet you take on the responsibility of PROPERLY seeing to its medical care, which means taking any medical problems to the vet and not random strangers with no qualifications. If you're broke than beg, borrow or steal the money needed to PROPERLY address the pet's medical care. A pet is not a fucking medical experiment. They can't tell you what is wrong or what hurts anymore than a young child can, and giving medication you don't even know is appropriate and not knowing how much to give is both foolish and potentially dangerous. At LEAST talk to the vet on the phone and see if they can advise anything you can do for the pet without bringing them in for a visit, which many times they can. A phone call to the PROPER medical professional is FREE. Asking random strangers on the internet for medical advice for your pet INSTEAD of calling the vet is ASININE and totally irresponsible. If a person cannot properly address their pet's medical care then they have no fucking business owning a pet.

I don't give a shit how broke someone is, a damn phone call to the vet is FREE. I've spent most of my adult life being pretty damn broke, and you're damn right if my dogs needed medical attention they got it from the PROPER medical authority, and if I had to beg, borrow or steal the money to PROPERLY treat them, you're damn bloody right that's exactly what I did. If the rent payment was late because I needed that money to pay for his medical attention, then the rent payment was late. If I had to cancel any unnecessary services to PROPERLY address his medical care, you're damn bloody right those unnecessary services were canceled so I could use the money to address his medical care. There were several times that I ate nothing but soup and rice so I could pay for necessary PROPER medical care for my dog. HE got all the food he needed BEFORE I did. A pet is a family member just as any other family member, and if a pet owner would rather have cable tv than pay for PROPER medical care for their pet then they have no damn business owning the pet, and if they'd rather ask for and take medical advice from random strangers on the internet INSTEAD of making a free phone call to the vet then they have no damn business owning a pet. PERIOD.

[grasswire]

28. I'm sorry for you.

You seem to be having a really bad time right now. Sending good vibes and hopes that things look up soon.

[lillypaddle]

31. You yell, "Quit that damn nibbling,"

at him. Just kidding, but I understand: my rescue doggie is constantly licking - licking the sheets, licking the sofa, licking herself, licking, licking, licking. That's what I do, yell "Quit that damn licking, Coco!" Sometimes she stops.