Hi – my sister has a chocolate Labrador, male, 5 years old, desexed and a german shepherd, male, almost 4 years old, desexed. The labrador keeps licking his front or hind leg for over 2 months now. He does that normally in Spring but this year it seems to be in Autumn / Winter as well. We used to think he has an allergy with pollen count being high in Spring, and there is an ointment which we put on him to help him recover and my sister used to watch him like a hawk so he doesn’t lick during the day. This time no ointment seems to work. First the doctor says some are hot spots and some are allergy, after steroid treatment his hot spots are much better and after changing to a more powerful flea treatment and change of diet, his allergy seems to be under control, and yet he is still licking a lot. We then thought it might be due to boredom but we found that sometimes even after a long walk and playing balls for multiple times he would still lick when he is left alone with the german shepherd, conversely the 2 brothers would be left in the patio whilst the adults are inside the house and he would not lick. Same with being in a car, sometimes he would lick, sometimes he wouldn’t, all the time with his german shepherd brother. So we are only left with 2 possibilites – habit or he is scared/anxious. The chocolate labrador is a very gentle soul and was bullied by his biological siblings when he was <8 weeks old. Since then he was never bullied and have been loved to bits. His younger brother, being a german shepherd, is more assertive but it still a very gentle soul. But he will still have a temper from time to time and would scare the labrador when he has a tandrum. The 2 brothers’ introduction went very smoothly, the Labrador being a gentle soul as he is, loved his younger brother to bits, protected him from larger animals when he was a pup and would calm the younger brother down in the morning before adults got up (we have a video cam set up in their sleep area). The first night the younger brother was home with us, he was crying a lot until the older brother came in to calm him down. Would it be possible that the Labrador feels anxious when his younger brother is around? How can I tell if the Labrador is scared of his german shepherd brother? Also, how can I test to see if he licks because he is bored? Thanks
Welcome to the forum I wouldn't rule out the allergy as being the problem. Licking the legs can definitely be a response to itchiness caused by an allergy. Allergies can be to lots of things in addition to pollen, like mould spores which are also seasonal. I mean mould spores from outdoors, not in your house Allergies can start with one season only and then the next year expand to affect the dog in other seasons too. I'll describe our experience with this. Our dog has allergies and it started with Spring only and is now all year except for the winter months. He will lick his legs as a sign of low level itchiness. During the 'itchy season' he gets antihistamines every day (these don't work for all dogs though and different dogs respond to different types). If he's especially itchy (usually after getting wet) he has steroid tablets. It's a case of observation and lifelong management and always having the medication on hand. We manage to keep it at bay and it's not a major problem. I would see a veterinary dermatologist about this to fully explore the possibility that allergies are still the.
Agree with Rachel that I would suspect allergies over anxiety. It could also be food allergy, my previous dog licked his feet due to allergy to chicken, which stopped when we switched to a lamb-based kibble. Going to a vet dermatologist would be a good idea.
Many thanks to Oberon and Lisa on the extremely useful information on anti-histamine and veterinary dermatologists suggestions - at least our vet hasn't mentioned any of these and now we know. I have just found a veterinary dermatologist in our area and I have passed all your replies and the dermatologist information to my sister. At least there seems to be ways to manage the situation and the outlook doesn't look so grim now. I am on daily anti-histamine myself so I know how effective but painless the whole process is. Many thanks for your prompt reply and your help - the sharing of your experience is a great help!
No worries Julia. I forgot to mention that the steroid tablets my dog has are a combined steroid and antihistamine. Hope your sister is able to find a solution that keeps her dog comfortable
Thanks Rachael. Sister is going to the vet later on today. Hopefully we find a solution for the lab soon. The baby likes to have a dip in the pond but he can't do that for now
I hope you get some answers! Let us know how it goes, hopefully your sister's pooch will find some relief!
Hi there , I see you've had lots of advice and I really hope it helps..I was just stopping by to say how kind you are helping your Sister with her dog .....
Thanks Lisa - the vet has referred my sister to the dermatologist, and hopefully we will be able to provide some relief for the poor lab. Will definitely update in due course. Hi Angela (and Dexter) - thanks for your kind words. The 2 boys are like my own babies. I babysit them from time to time too so I get quite attached to them. They are definitely part of my family.
Hi all - just to give you an update. Sister has taken the chocolate lab to see the dermatologist and has scheduled to have a patch test on 4 Aug. Meanwhile the steroid has stopped so as not to give a false negative to the upcoming tests, and instead the lab is now on antibiotics. We have also put the cone on him whenever we are not around and his scratched skin seems to be healing well. Hopefully once the patch test is done and we are sure what causes the allergy, we can then find a way to manage this going forward. I have passed on all your advice and experience to my sis, we are both very grateful for your help!
Thanks for the update Great to hear about the further investigations. I hope you can get all the answers you need and that there is an itch- and lick free future ahead.
