Our Labrador chews his leg, at the moment it is really bad. He was rescued at around 3 years old, he is now aprox 6 years. He was a very nervous dog, now he is happy, except for the chewing. He has had treatment at the vet, still he chews. We are going to try feeding him chicken, rice, veg, tuna etc and see if that improves his leg, incase it is an allergy. Any suggestions? Thanks
Hello there, and a very warm welcome to the forum. Is it an allergy? If he is only chewing one leg (and you say you have seen a vet)....maybe it isn't an allergy but is some sort of obsessive behaviour? Like pacing or spinning?
I'm afraid I don't know a great deal about it, although I wouldn't have thought that it was necessarily the case that a dog shows multiple problems, it might just be a single behaviour. Anyway, worth exploring perhaps?
Hi does the vet think it could be an allergy ? Are there certain times when he chews his leg more than others for example when he's alone ? I have 2 nervous dogs. They are happy but they are nervy and I think they always will be to some extent. What was he nervous of and how did he behave ? Lots of questions sorry but if it isn't an allergy it's likely to be an obsessive behaviour as Julie has suggested. The problem with behaviours like chewing or licking, where the dog causes lick sores usually on their paws, is it can become comforting in a strange way and addictive because of the release of endorphins. Grain is a common cause for allergies in dogs. It sounds like you are making your own food but you can get grain free commercial dog food specifically for allergies. Have you considered a raw diet? I don't know enough about it but you can find out a lot of info here http://thelabradorforum.com/forum/canine-corner/raw-feeding I hope you manage to solve the mystery of his chewing quickly good luck.
