Dog scratching/biting like a maniac

[Phil Thien]

Watching a friend's dog while he travels. Some sort of poodle mix thing, very cute.

Dog is well know scratcher/biter (of self).

Dog has two prescriptions (oral).

Dog has seen thorough allergy testing, different tests have apparently yielded different results. At one time the dog was on special food, no change was apparently noticed.

My solution so far has been: Put bell on dog's collar, so I can hear if dog is in motion (like scratching motion). While the dog doesn't respond too much to instruction to stop, I can simply intervene (even picking up the dog).

Well this morning we woke to find the dog had been engaged in autocannibalism at some point during the night, and was bleeding a little on the side of his rear hip. I cleaned it up.

The funny thing is, I've been sitting here watching the dog sleep for 1.5 to two hours, and the dog hasn't budged. It is only when the dog is awake that this behavior ensues.

I have this dog for another week. Any tips on preventing or reducing this behavior so I don't have to return a three-legged dog to my friend?

[John O'Brien]

An e-collar is the only thing that will prevent him from getting to the area to chew it. One of my Shepherds has allergies and she licks/bites her feet whenever we are not watching her.

You can also try putting a t-shirt on him, or one of the bitter sprays available at the pet stores. They may or may not work.

[Phil Thien]

An e-collar is the only thing that will prevent him from getting to the area to chew it. One of my Shepherds has allergies and she licks/bites her feet whenever we are not watching her.

You can also try putting a t-shirt on him, or one of the bitter sprays available at the pet stores. They may or may not work.

Yeah my wife brought up the e-collar idea this morning.

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

Check with your local Feed stores and pet stores for a product called Calm Coat. It helps relieve hot spots, bee stings, allergies and so forth. There are also home remedies available on the internet for oatmeal baths and so forth that can calm some types of itching. Others have used Calamine and Milk of Magnesia with success. There is also a Benedryl spray found at local drug & grocery stores that can help relieve itching. It all depends upon what is causing the itching so it's a lot of trial and error.

If the dog is bleeding, the wound can be cleaned up and then honey placed on it and a bandage on top of it. For the next few days, change the bandage and clean the wound and reapply honey and you will see rapid healing take place.

When the owners return, ask them if they had the dog's thyroid checked. I have known dogs that suffered from allergies for many years in their youth and were otherwise healthy so they never had blood work drawn. When they finally made it to about 8 years of age, they had "Senior Dog" lab work done which included thyroid testing. The results came back as low thyroid and once they were put on daily thyroid supplements ($4 at walmart) they never suffered from allergies again. No more hot spots, itching, licking, etc. The dogs were probably low thyroid since they were young and could have saved years of extreme itching if they had thyroid testing done.

Finally, let's clarify that we are talking an Elizabethan collar and not an electric collar.

[Phil Thien]

Check with your local Feed stores and pet stores for a product called Calm Coat. It helps relieve hot spots, bee stings, allergies and so forth. There are also home remedies available on the internet for oatmeal baths and so forth that can calm some types of itching. Others have used Calamine and Milk of Magnesia with success. There is also a Benedryl spray found at local drug & grocery stores that can help relieve itching. It all depends upon what is causing the itching so it's a lot of trial and error.

If the dog is bleeding, the wound can be cleaned up and then honey placed on it and a bandage on top of it. For the next few days, change the bandage and clean the wound and reapply honey and you will see rapid healing take place.

When the owners return, ask them if they had the dog's thyroid checked. I have known dogs that suffered from allergies for many years in their youth and were otherwise healthy so they never had blood work drawn. When they finally made it to about 8 years of age, they had "Senior Dog" lab work done which included thyroid testing. The results came back as low thyroid and once they were put on daily thyroid supplements ($4 at walmart) they never suffered from allergies again. No more hot spots, itching, licking, etc. The dogs were probably low thyroid since they were young and could have saved years of extreme itching if they had thyroid testing done.

Finally, let's clarify that we are talking an Elizabethan collar and not an electric collar.

Thanks for all the pointers.

And yes, Elizabethan, NOT electric.

I gave the biter a bath with some oatmeal shampoo and it seems to have calmed him a bit, but I'm absolutely look into everything you mentioned.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Before you start applying topical solutions - have you talked with the dog's owner?

I'm not a critter owner at present. But - I have close friends and neighbors that are all over it. A sudden change in a critter's environment can create a lot of stress - and they don't have many words beyond "woof" to express concerns. This sounds to me like maybe the poor critter is simply freaking out.

No disrespect from the humans, but to him, the human he owns has disappeared, he's in some new place that is not his home, and all of a sudden he's got you. And he is unimpressed on the comfort level all of that provides him.

[Phil Thien]

Before you start applying topical solutions - have you talked with the dog's owner?

I'm not a critter owner at present. But - I have close friends and neighbors that are all over it. A sudden change in a critter's environment can create a lot of stress - and they don't have many words beyond "woof" to express concerns. This sounds to me like maybe the poor critter is simply freaking out.

No disrespect from the humans, but to him, the human he owns has disappeared, he's in some new place that is not his home, and all of a sudden he's got you. And he is unimpressed on the comfort level all of that provides him.

I'm not discounting the stress theory but the dog is on two prescriptions and scratches for the owner, too.

Right now the dog is sleeping on my wife's lap, and was sleeping on mine until about thirty minutes ago.

I have the phone # for the vet, so I figured if I can't get a handle on it I'll call the vet tomorrow.

After a bath the spot looks red and irritated but isn't bleeding.

I sure wish he could just tell me what is wrong.

[Scott Shepherd]

Maybe he needs D-I-N-O-V-I-T-E (reference to their commercials) in his diet.

http://www.dinovite.com/?gclid=CN_14...FbPm7AodPEcApQ

[Phil Thien]

Maybe he needs D-I-N-O-V-I-T-E (reference to their commercials) in his diet.

http://www.dinovite.com/?gclid=CN_14...FbPm7AodPEcApQ

I think I'd want to talk to the vet first.

I don't mind making decisions like that with my own dog (after lots of research, of course). But not with someone else's dog.

So this is a poodle type dog. He loved the bath. He is less itchy/scratchy, too.

And I don't mind giving him a bath every day or twice a day for that matter, if it makes him more comfortable.

But you'd think so many baths would dry his skin?

Yet I've never owned a poodle, just mostly labs. They don't like baths but they sure like water fights.

I'll ask the vet tomorrow how many baths this guy can have.

[Myk Rian]

The dog needs a neck cone. The biting is what they are for.

[Kent A Bathurst]

I'm not discounting the stress theory but the dog is on two prescriptions and scratches for the owner, too.

Right now the dog is sleeping on my wife's lap, and was sleeping on mine until about thirty minutes ago.

I have the phone # for the vet, so I figured if I can't get a handle on it I'll call the vet tomorrow.

After a bath the spot looks red and irritated but isn't bleeding.

I sure wish he could just tell me what is wrong.

Yeah, Phil - that all makes sense. Was just tossing out what little I have learned. You are on the right track, FWIW.............

My adjusted theory: The dog has issues, being addressed by the vet with the meds, and the disconsonance just made them a bit sharper. He wasn't stable to begin with. Dunno if that is characteristic of poodles in general..........I know it is a trait of Siamese cats, though - them critters are whacked out, as part of their lizard-brain programming. Neighbors moved from ATL to St Louis in 2 stages - Mom's job drove the relocate, and she was gone 4 months before the move, back every other weekend. Their dog - a lab + + mix - was freaking out over just that subtle change.

Good luck to you and the dog. They are sensitive critters with a strong connection to "home" and "safe harbor" and "stability". And they cannot tell you squat.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

You need to get some Sulfodine and put it on the part that is bothering him. Poodles are notorious for this problem. Sulfodine will help the skin heal and also keep him/her from biting it.

[Mike Cozad]

We had to put her in the cone of shame until she outgrew it.... She's an Aussiepoo....
IMAG0086.jpg

[Phil Thien]

Yeah, Phil - that all makes sense. Was just tossing out what little I have learned. You are on the right track, FWIW.............

My adjusted theory: The dog has issues, being addressed by the vet with the meds, and the disconsonance just made them a bit sharper. He wasn't stable to begin with. Dunno if that is characteristic of poodles in general..........I know it is a trait of Siamese cats, though - them critters are whacked out, as part of their lizard-brain programming. Neighbors moved from ATL to St Louis in 2 stages - Mom's job drove the relocate, and she was gone 4 months before the move, back every other weekend. Their dog - a lab + + mix - was freaking out over just that subtle change.

Good luck to you and the dog. They are sensitive critters with a strong connection to "home" and "safe harbor" and "stability". And they cannot tell you squat.

I do think it has a very large behavioral component, I suspect you're right and the change-up did spike the poor guy a bit.

[Phil Thien]

You need to get some Sulfodine and put it on the part that is bothering him. Poodles are notorious for this problem. Sulfodine will help the skin heal and also keep him/her from biting it.

I got a bottle of hydrocortisone from Hartz and sprayed a couple shots onto that area.

He hasn't bothered it all day. Not sure if the bath helped, or if he feels it was "mission accomplished."