Paw Licking
This is going to be a long one due to I have been down this road with my Rottweiler who is 5 years old from when she was around say 6 months to a year old chronically licking 3 of her paws/legs. Why she does not touch the other has 4 Vet's stumped.
It all started out in the first fall after I got her and I have done a lot of research and she does not fit the profile for doing this. I am with her all the time being retired and take her everywhere I can with me to get her out. She gets her walks, but the only thing I cannot do is leave her outside in the yard alone due to she will eat anything.
I am thinking back to the first year and she started out on Benadryl per the Vet and I believe antibiotics. With this not working she added in Amitriptlyine and she hit her plateau due to it takes time to work and still doing it. Then Xanax was added in due to she is very bossy and demanding despite being basic and advanced trained. On a leash she is unbelievable and I can do anything with her and she listens perfect. Its the before she will follow me around and whine like she is in charge and telling me what to do wanting a walk or go somewhere. I walk into my kitchen and she is right there thinking she is getting a treat.
This resolved after we got our first deep frost once she was all healed up on all 3 paws/legs and all was good, then fall started to come back year 2 and it all started up again. Still 3 paws/legs and never touched the other. I forget how the change went from Amitriptline from the Vet to Prozac, but was on that for a long time with the Xanax. She was basically in a cycle where it was when fall was coming the licking started and injuries, many trips to the Vet, getting infections which I picked up on quick and never let the injuries she created get severe by bandaging her right up. Problem with that was she would lick through them so had to go with a lot or she would lick above or below.
I took her to a Specialty Vet which is basically like when a person needs a Specialist for a medical condition where they do not do general stuff only serious stuff. Hip surgery, knee surgery, spinal surgery, cancer, etc.
I was told to discontinue the Benadryl due to all those years it was not effective and to discontinue the Prozac due to all those year it was doing nothing. Her insides of her paws back then just like now are not red or irritated and perfectly normal. I have her on a 100% grain free diet. Purified water. Floors are all hardwood and have some small area rugs which for some reason she likes to put her feet under. I forgot they did add in Trazodone, which calmed her down for a couple days and it lost its effect.
I have her in an E-Collar and told the Vet I feel bad she has to wear it with tearing through bandages, getting them off, or licking above it or below it. I was told it is better to have it on her then her harming herself being so aggressive doing it.
I will give her a break and wrap her and keep a close eye on her but I notice she is always staring at me or trying to sneak away without the E-Collar. If I step away for 10 seconds and not in the same room it is instant licking I can hear and with her breed and aggression doing it she creates a small wound.
I will let her out in the morning to go out and if I am not there with her and the E-Collar is off due to she goes out after she eats once out the door if I am not right there she is licking away. Even while I am cleaning up the yard after she goes out she will try to hide on the deck to lick.
I was told it is something environmental here in Chicago and they are loaded with it and to always wash her paws/lower legs with warm water and paper towels whenever she comes in. Not sure if I put I have already tried a different food, different laundry detergent. My furnace is super high efficiency and the blower motor is always running at 20% to move air so their are not hot or cold parts of the home and is filtering all the time. I vacuum a lot and use a Dyson. I brush her to get excess fur out, brush her teeth, check her ears and clean them.
I know this is long, but this has been a long road and this year she did not come out of the licking at all. I know when the wound heals up with her breed it will be a white color at first and then turn dark and I was told that is when the wound is all healed up 100%. Problem is she will go right back to it again. Now I have her going at another paw with Fall approaching and not sure what is going to happen next with this E-Collar off, which they had to special order her a big one.
With this long road I think their were other medications tried, but all failed. The Specialty Vet said I could get the 2k to 3k allergy tests run on her, but advised against it due to they have done this many times in the past and they have come back negative showing no allergies and examining her paws on the top inside all looked clear showing no signs of allergies. That is when she told me that all the medications she is taking discontinue and explained the Prozac wean off due to that cannot be suddenly stopped and a wean down off the Xanax that with all that time she was on them they were ineffective. She did say try Zrtec and not the Zyrtec "D" due to that could harm her and told me the proper dosage for her weight due the internet was all over the place on how many to give. Talk to your Vet about Zrtec and do not trust the internet on this one due to the dosage by weight is all over the place on how many and how often.
This is my story on my dogs paw licking and have tried basically everything the 4 Vet's have come up with and nothing is working. Plus, the weird part that she stares and watches me to walk away so she can lick away or she will try to move out of my view to lick.
Has anyone had any results with anything else that were positive because I have no idea how to get her to stop doing this to herself with her being hyper fixated to do this and no medication has helped. Like I said I am always with her taking her places so it cannot be boredom due to she is never left alone. With her doing this since she was 6 months old/ 1 year old I do not feel it is a health issue with her being 5 and can run and go on long walks. Only time she whines is when she gets demanding to go on a walk so I do not think pain. I do not think OCD due to she was on two anti-depressents that did nothing.
Was it something environmental like they Vet's think it is, but with it going on for 5 years now and her not coming out of the licking after the first deep frost and healing up and being fine until the next fall is she just now this way? Where licking and causing injury to herself is a compulsion she is wired to do? Like it is normal for her to do this?
Like I said if anyone has had any success with something I would love to know due to I do not want her living her life in a E-Collar or to be wrapped up just to tear through them or lick above or below. Plus, with Fall approaching is she going to go at the other 2 paws/legs like she has always done?