| Stress Relief and Lick Granuloma |
Paw chewing and skin problems can be caused by emotional stress.
Stress increases blood levels of cortisol, which raises blood pressure, heart rate and prepares your dog for the fight or flight response. Over time, stress can disrupt normal functioning of your dog’s immune system, either allowing normal levels of bacteria to get out of control, or causing your dog’s body to over-react to normal irritants, causing an allergic response. In effect, your dog’s immune system has turned on itself. This same feedback loop is believed to be related to dozens of other disorders such as eczema, asthma, arthritis, heart disease, even tartar build up on your dog’s teeth.
Emotional stress may cause your dog to deal with nervousness or depression by exhibiting a number of behavioral responses, including obsessive licking or paw chewing. A major component to any treatment program must include eliminating or decreasing stress, and finding other ways for your dog to expend energy and lower his cortisol levels.
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Train your dog. She needs intellectual stimulation and she was genetically selected to want to please you. Your dog will do anything for you and feel good about herself for learning more ways to make you happy, or earn her a hug or a treat.
Teaching her how she can help you around the house, be a better dog, or performing tricks will improve your dog’s self esteem and keep her busy. You aren’t doing your dog a favor by letting her lie around the house all day and night. A dog was meant to have a job, so give her one. She’ll love you for it.
Make sure your dog knows you are returning when you leave. Many dogs will whine and want to come with you when you leave. The main issue here is that they are worried when you will be coming back. Don’t yell at them to “get back” when you leave or sneak out when they aren’t looking. Tell them goodbye and hug them. Let them know you are coming back and they will be less concerned when you leave. They will also be less worried when you’re gone and be less likely to lick or chew their feet.
Turn the television or stereo on for them to listen to while you are gone. Music or television reduces a dog’s stress level when you are gone because they can’t hear all the mysterious noises coming from outside. They already feel a little bit nervous when you are gone. Give them something to listen to. Turn on the Animal Channel.
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Get plenty of soft toys and play catch. They can chew on the toys when you’re gone and you can play fetch with them when you’re home.
Make sure your dog knows you are the pack leader. A dog feels more stress if he thinks he has the responsibility for the protection of the pack, in this case, your family. If you are in charge, your dog will be able to relax because he doesn’t feel like he’s guarding the house all the time. When you’re home, your dog should be able to feel like you have things under control and will let him know if you need his help. If your dog ever snarls at you, urinates on your carpet, or won’t listen to you commands, then he thinks he’s in charge. That adds stress to his life. Teaching your dog who is in charge is mostly accomplished by training. If your dog isn’t trained you aren’t doing either of you a favor. Take the time to train you dog and you will end up with a better roommate. It’s well worth it for both of you.
When you get home, make a big deal about seeing your dog. Take time out to play with her, pet her and hug her. If you have to take your work clothes off first so you don’t get dog hair on you, change clothes and get down on the floor and get physical. To your dog, you’ve been gone a long, boring time, and she missed you. Make sure you let her know you feel the same way. Try to look at everything you do from your dog’s perspective. By learning all you can about dog behavior and why they do things, you will be better able to figure out why your dog is chewing and you will have more success at stopping the problem.
If you have children, make sure they are treating your dog gently and with respect. Often, without meaning to, kids can cause a dog emotional or physical stress. Some breeds don’t do well with children. Know your dog and educate your children as well. Your kids can be a dog’s greatest source of happiness, but they can also be a source of stress and unhappiness. Just keep an eye on things and make sure your dog isn’t having to put up with your kid’s behavior. This is rarely a problem, but if can be, especially in the smaller breeds.
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Exercise your dog any way you can. Play with him. Pay a kid to play with him. Take him to the dog park. Take him with you in the car, (just make sure he is wearing a seat belt). Walk around the block. Take him hiking or to the pet store. Let him explore new things and go different places. A dog is curious and they need exercise to be healthy and happy. By a ball launcher. Play fetch.
The better you train your dog, the more places you will be able to take him, and the more socialized he will be. Exercise stimulates your dog and relieves boredom. It also makes your dog happier, and less likely to lick or chew. It also raises serotonin and endorphin levels, and “burns up” cortisol manufactured by his adrenal glands.
When bed time rolls around, your dog should be “dog tired.”
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Remember your dog has emotions and nearly all of them are centered around you and your family. You’re his pack, he’s depending on you to support him and let him know you care. Also remember he’s not a human, he’s a dog. Get a book or two on his breed, or if he’s a mutt, as close as you can get. Buy another few books about dog training and behavior in general. A book about your particular dog’s breed will give you considerable insight into why he does things and how he thinks.
Chronic or obsessive dog paw licking can be a challenging problem. Investing some time in educating yourself will help you solve her problem and yours, but more importantly, it will make your life and your dog’s more fulfilling and considerably easier. You have to live with your dog and its behavior. You can help you dog fulfill her potential as a companion, helper, well-behaved, well adjusted member of your family and household. If you’re dog is happy, your life will be easier, less expensive, and filled with more joy because of it. Your dog is your best friend. He or she would do anything for you. Return the favor and your relationship will be more rewarding than you ever thought possible.
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| Results of Self-Inflicted Obsessive Compulsive Licking and Chewing |
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In a large number of dogs, nothing seems to work. These cases require tough decisions and aggressive intervention. Often a combination of treatments can help alleviate the symptoms, but some treatments are either on-going or have serious possible side-effects.
As an owner, work closely with your vet to decide just how serious the problem is and know that continuous use of steroids and antibiotics can have serious consequences. Paw licking, however, has serious consequences as well, so you may have to decide between what’s bad and what’s worse.
One theory is that excessive licking raises endorphin levels in dogs and the dog can become chemically addicted to licking. If your dog ignores you, or especially food, and nothing you do can interrupt his compulsive licking, it is highly likely he is addicted. Attempting to correct this addiction can seem nearly impossible and must be approached with a variety of drugs and behavioral strategies.
To help with the licking addiction, many vets advocate using antidepressants, and have had some success, but if the behavioral causes of the obsessive licking isn’t addressed, it will come back when the antidepressants are stopped.
We don't agree with using antidepressants because we can't talk to our dogs. They can't tell us if they are experiencing the common side effects of antidepressants including: headache, nausea, anxiety, insomnia, the list is almost endless.
In many cases, the benefit percentage is low and the possible mental anguish to the dog is unknown.
There is conflicting evidence that antidepressants work, and without the ability to talk to our dogs, we could be making things worse.
In cases of lick granuloma, surgery can sometimes be necessary. Laser surgery has become a common method of removing granulomas because recovery time is shorter. Don't hesitate to ask for pain medication for your dog, just make sure you don't use it any longer than necessary. Many pain medications are fantastic in the short term, but if your dog becomes addicted and is then suddenly cut off, they can't tell you they are experiencing withdrawal, so keep that in mind and DO YOUR RESEARCH on any drug your vet gives your dog.
We highly advocate pain medication. You would never want your dog to suffer pain when your vet has a variety of pain medications to use. Just make sure you know how to use it and follow your vet's instructions closely. Make sure one person is designated to give your dogs medication so there's no double dosing or missed doses.
All vets are doing their best, but there are different views on the medical approaches to this problem. Your dog is depending on you to make informed decisions.
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In a large number of dogs, nothing seems to work. These cases require tough decisions and aggressive intervention. Often a combination of treatments can help alleviate the symptoms, but some treatments are either on-going or have serious possible side-effects.
As an owner, work closely with your vet to decide just how serious the problem is and know that continuous use of steroids and antibiotics can have serious consequences. Paw licking, however, has serious consequences as well, so you may have to decide between what’s bad and what’s worse.
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This site is sponsored by
DermaPaw Skin and Paw Treatment
and Stay-Put Socks
www.DermaPaw.com
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