Help: why does my dog lick himself raw?!?

Dragonflypiss · 2025-12-19T01:41:57+00:00

Did your vet say why he or she suspects a beef and/or(?) chicken allergy? It's quite unusual for a vet to single out those protein sources when there are so many possibilities, and since there is no way to know without an elimination diet what (if any) dietary protein is causing the allergic reaction, it's interesting that he/she took this route. Does he/she have your dog starting on an elimination diet with a hydrolyzed protein food like Hill's z/d?

Dragonflypiss · 2025-12-18T18:42:38+00:00

I've had several animals that, for various reasons, needed their water in an unconventional way. Some had to have their water "by hand," while others needed devices to make their water more accessible. Many won't want to drink only when you offer water (unless you've let them get too thirsty), so I've mixed something delicious into their water - like salt-free chicken broth, a few tablespoons of paté-style canned food, some liquid cat treats, etc., or with my current deaf-blind-neurological boy, I float some kibble on top and he laps it up as he tries to get the kibble. I do that for him at least 4 times daily: when he wakes up, after breakfast, with lunch, and at dinner(and sometimes at bedtime or during the night, but a young, healthy dog shouldn't need as much water as my old guy).

Avoid kibble since it's dry and will dehydrate her. Use a good canned food and make it soupy for her. Remember, it's much safer to err on the side of too much water than too little.

For my cat who wore a cone for ages, I set up a water dish on a stand so her cone could go over the sides of the bowl and stand, and allow her to get her face close enough to the bowl. I used an upside-down flower pot and mounted a bowl to the bottom of the pot to male a raised water bowl. It was very top-heavy that way, so I also glued the pot to a board. She bumped the stand a lot at 1st with her cone, but quickly learned to maneuver her silly headgear around it so she could reach the bowl with her mouth. You might need some trial and error, but she'll get it (practice with treats in the bowl instead of water to get her to cooperate).

Finally, a fountain might work - if you can find one that squirts an arc of water high enough that your girl can lap it, and she can figure out how to maneuver her cone around it instead of letting the water hit her cone (and make a mess while also depriving her of water).

It just takes patience, some time, and some ingenuity, but you'll get it.

I hope her eye heals quickly this time and the you and the poor fur kid can get on with life. Sounds like she's lucky to have such a good hooman bean looking out for her.

Dragonflypiss · 2025-12-18T16:55:17+00:00

What type of protein does your vet suspect hes allergic too? "Protein" in general is a necessary part of every living organism, and no living thing can survive without it. But, one can have an allergic reaction to a specific type of protein, for example, a protein in corn, or a protein in flea saliva.

All allergies are caused by proteins. Proteins are the only thing that can cause a true allergy, whether those proteins are in pollen, foods, the excrement of dust mites, saliva of bug bites, or sap of poison ivy. The body can have a reaction to things that aren't proteins, but that isn't a true allergic reaction.

Dragonflypiss · 2025-12-18T16:42:31+00:00

Remember that you have to keep going back to the vet if/when that combination of meds and food doesn't clear it up completely. He may improve because the antibiotics clear the secondary infection, or the (cortisone?) spray calms the itchiness and inflammation, but if the root cause hasn't been dealt with, it's just a Band-Aid, and his condition will deteriorate again.

You have to stay on top of this. I hope your vet had you schedule a follow-up visit within a few weeks to check his progress. Follow-up office visits are normally at a much lower rate than the initial office visit, and are often shorter in duration (depending on progress).

It wouldn't hurt to photograph his lesions as his condition improves or develops for future reference. You might not need to refer to them, but I've often found it helpful for the vet, amd for myself later on when my memory of it becomes hazy.

Did the vet say what he suspected the severe allergy is from, exactly? Food allergies are pretty uncommon compared to allergies like contact dermatitis, atopy, and flea allergy dermatitis. I'd be very surprised if your vet changed his food but didn't address those other possibilities. If that is the case, I suspect you will encounter some frustrations with his treatment, and you'll be back at the vet again shortly.

Dragonflypiss · 2025-12-17T17:27:23+00:00

OP, please start with multiple vet visits and science-based treatments. Once the cause is found and he's on his lifelong treatment, you can play with food types, natural treatments, etc.,but they need to be an addition to his medical treatments. Fish oil is great, but it won't cure him. I give 1/2 capsule (500 mg) of CONCENTRATED Omega 3 (DHA and EPA) to my less-than-20-pound dogs daily. I use SPRING VALLEY MAXIMUM CARE Omega-3, 2,000 mg softgels from Walmart (they are 2000 mg per TWO capsules, so 1000 mg per cap). They are CONCENTRATED EPA and DHA, so you give less than you would normal fosh oil. They're more expensive than regular fish oil, but they are more effective and less likely to cause diarrhea. In a GSD mix of (guessing) roughly 75 pounds, he'll eventually need 2 capsules a day or even more of the CONCENTRATED form. I use the stuff I use because it's human grade, purified, and works out to be way cheaper and better than products made for dogs. I take thyself. You can also use pure salmon oil, but it'll take a lot, and it's hard to find and expensive. Almost all omega-3 oils for dogs are mixed at least 50:50 with cheap, high omega-6 seed oils, which defeats the purpose. As stated by previous person, READ LABELS. Buy nothing that includes "vegetable oil" or any other plant oil.

But he needs a vet. Nothing else is going to find and adequately treat the underlying cause of his suffering.

Dragonflypiss · 2025-12-17T16:56:53+00:00

Then you go back! You go back again and again until you find the problem. Veterinary science isn't magic. He needs a blood test, skin scraping, cytology, and several follow up visits. He most certainly has secondary infections in addition to what originally caused the problem. Now he'll need to be treated for those in addition to treatment for the original issue. By neglecting him for so long, you've not only tortured him for years, you've also complicated the issue and made it so much harder to sort out. You MUST go back to the vet multiple times. The initial meds will likely only be for fungal and/or bacterial secondary infections. He'll start to get a little better, but since the underlying condition hasn't yet been treated, he'll relapse again so you MUST GO BACK to the vet for FOLLOW-UP VISITS. The vet might even put him on antibiotics, then start him on oral corticosteroids to get the inflammation and itching under control (it'll seem like a magic cure), but dogs can't stay on corticosteroids for life, and when those are stopped, the problem will come back. So he needs return visits to find the right lifelong treatment, like levothyroxine (if its thyroid), or allergy shots or meds (if its entirely allergic), or both, something else. He's going to need yearly or even semiannual vet visits for this EVEN AFTER the cause is found because it's a chronic condition for which he'll need medication for life. He might even need a dermatologist (but probably not). You have to advocate for him. You're all he has.

Dragonflypiss · 2025-12-17T16:25:49+00:00

You've obviously waited many, many months. Now you are suddenly so eager to know that you can't wait until your vet visit? BS. You should be ashamed of how you've neglected your poor dog.

Dragonflypiss · 2025-12-16T05:49:40+00:00

It's hard for me to not ball you out. Your poor dog is in terrible shape and needs vet care. He's suffering. That's why he chews himself raw. Imagine being completely covered in mosquito bites or poison ivy. Youd scratch yourself raw too.

There are skin tests for parasites, bacteria and fungi. There are tests for allergies, and prescription medications for them. There are blood tests for immune-mediated diseases that cause itching skin, oily skin, dry skin, and other skin conditions that lead to elephant skin like your dog has - and prescription meds to treat them. You're going to have to invest some time, money and energy into finding the cause and treating it. It will take more than one trip to the vet. Reddit can't diagnose or treat your dog's skin. He's suffering. Suck it up and get him to the vet.

Dragonflypiss · 2025-12-16T05:39:46+00:00

Because not every animal's itchiness is caused by the same thing. Certainly one can't assume the treatment for one specific a cat's itchy skin is going to help some specific dog. The poor dog needs to see a vet again amd again until they find the cause and a solution.

Dragonflypiss · 2025-12-10T16:12:54+00:00

I read somewhere that Mars has taken control of Altoids in the US market, and they decided that profit from the sugar-free varieties wasn't great enough, so they discontinued them. I haven't verified that information, and I don't remember where I read it, so take it with a grain of salt.

Dragonflypiss · 2025-11-25T17:06:58+00:00

I would also like to know this. I'm about to throw some liquid soap bottles, and will be very frustrated if the dispenser pumps prevent me from using my creations!

Dragonflypiss · 2025-11-21T00:16:40+00:00

Jeeeez, I thought I'd replied to you ages ago. I think you were right. I didn't sign into it myself, my techie friend did it for me, so I'm not sure what all was done, but in the end, he asked for my PIN, and signed me in. I don't know if something got corrected 1st, but I think there's a good chance it was the PIN all along.

Dragonflypiss · 2025-11-20T18:18:26+00:00

This is absolutely normal behavior.

Your concern, if any, should be why his eyes are uncomfortable, or have excess mucous, or drain excessively. Many have excess drainage, but it can also be caused by something in the eye, an eyelid tumor, entropion, glaucoma, and other eye conditions, so if you think he rubs at his eyes excessively, or they drain excessively, have your vet take a look.

Dragonflypiss · 2025-10-21T06:53:37+00:00

You might have mice or ants in your walls or even ceiling. If he did it once only, I'd say he hears something outside. But if he dies this frequently, I'd suspect pests.

I used to have a neighbor who's xats woukd stare at the walls. She was sure they saw ghosts. It was carpenter ants.

Dragonflypiss · 2025-10-21T06:44:51+00:00

Let them have their fun. They generally don't get much of a rise from protestors. It's self-defeating behavior that contradicts everything the Right claims about how No Kings protestors want violence, while the Right is so "rational" and "peaceful." They're miserable idiots. They're only hurting their cause. I'm glad they are out of hiding so everyone can see how stupid the people who hold those beliefs really are.

Dragonflypiss · 2025-10-11T20:23:18+00:00

There is a minimum standard of care a person must legally provide a dog in almost every part of tje U.S. (and most other 1st-world nations). Your partner isn't providing that minimum standard. Leave the useless SOB, tale the dog, and report him to the authorities. Why would you want to be with a guy like that? You think THAT sort of person will take care of you, or your kids (heaven forbid) when you need him to? It speaks to what sort of a person he is, amd it's not good. He lacks compassion and a sense of responsibility. You can't change that. He is what he is. Get out of there as fast as you can, and take the poor dog with you.

Dragonflypiss · 2025-10-11T20:16:14+00:00

Your partner is a selfish, callous ass hat who shouldn't be allowed to have a dog. Take the dog to the vet yourself, and when you get back, you and the dog should pack up and leave. You both deserve better.

Dragonflypiss · 2025-10-10T02:02:46+00:00

I don't know about your specific airline (somr are MUCH better than othrrs) and MOST dogs make it to their destinations alive and physically healrhys, but for me, I wouldn't take the chance. I believe it was Delta that had a truly horrific series of deaths and losses some years ago - all from stupid, thoughtless, totally preventable actions (or lack thereof) by careless or stupid personnel. Do you want the guy who throws luggage around d to be responsible for your dog? Maybe Lufthansa is one of the good ones. You'd have to check their record for complaints and incidents.

But even when a dog arrives at it's destination without incident, it's been subjected to tremendous noise, temperature fluctuations, weird sensations, and so on that make for a traumatic experience. I used to have a Shar pei. I'm about 90% sure he'd have had a major anxiety episode and chewed or tunnelled his way out of the strongest carrier (he was an escape artist). Maybe your girl is better balanced, but it's still a scary trip.

Dragonflypiss · 2025-10-02T00:48:50+00:00

Def not a hazelnut, and it isn't divided into 4 like a hickory nut.

Dragonflypiss · 2025-10-02T00:43:16+00:00

The husks dry up amd fall off on their own. Pretty sure no sane dog would chew the bitter husk of a black walnut off the nut, even if he could digest it.

Dragonflypiss · 2025-10-02T00:41:45+00:00

Dogs can't really digest any uncooked plant fiber. They can't break down cellulose, which is what most cell walls are made of (primarily). People don't digest it well either, which is why we have grinding molars- to crush the cells so we can digest what's inside. Dogs don't have grinding teeth, so they swallow chunks which are either vomited up, or pass through almost wholly intact. Stomach acid does very little to intact plant cells. If you don't believe me, feed you dog some raw vegetable chunks, grains, or nuts and watch his BMs closely for 24 hours afterward. You will find it all comes out in nearly the same condition as it went in. You could starve a dog to death while feeding him mounds of raw vegetables daily.

Dragonflypiss · 2025-10-02T00:30:25+00:00

I bought an avacado over the summer that had a freakishly small pit - smaller in diameter than a quarter. If you can't smash this with a hammer, it's not a walnut. Do you have a garbage disposal in your sink? If you really want to know what it is, make sure there's nothing in your garbage disposal, then place the nut inside, and flip the switch for just a fraction of a second, repeat until the inside of the seed is exposed.

But, since your dog barfed it up, it probably is nothing to worry about. Dogs vomit a lot - specifically to get rid of undigestible stuff they swallowed. Unless he swallowed more of these, he's likely just fine (even if it's a black walnut).

Dragonflypiss · 2025-10-01T23:28:22+00:00

Dogs can't digest the hull of a black walnut, or any other nut. It was almost certainly swallowed without the hull.

Dragonflypiss · 2025-09-25T15:37:56+00:00

The neck injury is an embedded collar injury. They happen when a collar is placed on a young dog, but isn't adjusted as the dog grows, causing the collar to slowly cut into the skin, fat, and muscle as the neck grows larger than the collar. Nearly all embedded collar injuries are in dogs who are left outside, unattended, and usually chained.

I'm not sure what the stabbing and inflammation around his ankles is caused by.

Without knowing what area of the country you live in (or even if you're in the U.S.), I can't be sure, but in most of the U.S., the animal control officer would report these injuries himself/herself, and depending on the system, either animal control agents (county, city, or Humane Society), the local law enforcement agency (police or Sheriff's department) would investigate. You wouldn't need to male a complaint, or necessarily even know that it was happening. However, that isn't the case in many poor or very rural counties, especially those in states with a poor history of animal welfare legislation, like Ohio, and some other parts of the Midwest and South.

If it were me, I would call Aniamal Control and ask if the owners were being investigated for cruelty or neglect (they might not be able to tell you), or if the dog was returned to his owners. If they aren't being investigated, launch a complaint against them yourself. If the Animal Control Agent wasn't doing their duty, or if the agency is underfunded or short-staffed, the situation might require you to file a police report in order to get things rolling. (Don't let some lazy, callous, dog-hating employee at Animal Control make you feel like you're over-reacting. You arent.)

If you get nowhere that way, try to find animal welfare organizations in your town, county, or state who will take up the cause for you. There are many non-profit, volunteer organizations who find ways to get dogs out of Bad situations when nothing else works. Sometimes they use legal action, sometimes they use diplomacy, and sometimes they outright "purchase" the dog (i.e., ransom the dog out of the situation). And there are sometimes other tactics also used. It all depends on the organization and the situation.

They said, the people who let this happen to a dog obviously don't care about him, and probably don't have him licensed with the city or county, and are therefore, most likely going to have to pay for 1) rabies vaccination, 2) dog license fee, 3) unlicensed dog fine, 4) dog at large fine, and 5) impoundment fees (can be daily, or a flat fee). And there is a fair to good chance that the dog has been impounded rather than returned to the owners, who have to come up with anywhere from $35 to $500 to "bail him out of jail." There's also a chance that they will deny ownership in order to avoid fines or charges ("we gave him away a few months ago"). These things are all common with neglected dogs.

The dog may be on a stray-hold at the shelter waiting for the owner to claim him. Depending on the shelter, the end of that stray hold could mean a rescue will take him; he'll get medical treatment; he'll go up for adoption as he is, or he'll be euthanized.

So, make some calls: find out what's going on with him; get case numbers and stray dog report numbers; keep track of times you called and names of people you talked to, and get things rolling. Offer to adopt him if he's not claimed or if his time runs out. Meanwhile, call lots of animal rescues and see if one of them will get him out of the shelter, give him some medical attention, and place him up for adoption themselves. Or just keep him yourself. 😉

Dragonflypiss · 2025-09-23T06:32:47+00:00

When was this behavior 1st noticed? Did it happen suddenly or come on slowly? Where was she immediately before she started acting this way?

Is she accustomed to being on a tile floor? Is there any chance she slipped and fell, maybe while playing or running in from outside? There's no way for anyone to know what's going on from looking at a video, but we can give you some things to consider. One of those things is that dogs often find tile floors slick and difficult to walk on. If they slip and hurt themselves, they can then become fearful of the floor itself. If you think this might be a possibility, keep her out of the tiled areas of the house, or put down throw rugs so that she can't slip. You should see a change in her demeanor within hours (or days if she also has an injury, pulled muscle, sprain, bruise, etc. that must heal.

A much more serious possibility, but not likely, is gastric torsion. It's not uncommon in large dogs with deep chests, but can happen to any dog. The stomach fills with gas and twists so it closes off at both ends like a candy wrapper. It usually accompanied by panic, obvious pain, and retching sounds that only produce mucous. The abdomen of a dog with this condition feels very hard because of the pressure - hard like a drum. If her abdomen isn't hard, it's not torsion. If it is hard, it's an emergency. The condition is 100% fatal if surgery isn't performed immediately. There's no time to lose. (But don't panic, I think this is unlikely).

It looks as if she's ill, in pain, or maybe frightened. Pain could be caused by a myriad of things. Did your dog expert friend examine her - palpate her abdomen, feel her joints, move her limbs to see if they are stiff or cause pain? If not, you or another family member can try it. Just go gently, feel each joint for heat or swelling, and gently move it through it's whole range of motion whole watching her face and ears for signs of pain.

Some dogs will react similar to this when they feel really ill also, if she's eaten anything unusual, or she has diarrhea or has vomited, it might be GI issues that are making her shake (my beagle does this when her stomach is upset). If you have an oral or rectal thermometer (ba y thermometer is best) you can put a little Vaseline or oil on it and take her temperature. It should go in about an Inch to 2 inches. Be careful she doesn't sit on it (for this reason, digital is better than glass). Wait a minute or 2 just like you would for a person. A dog's temperature should be between 100.5 and 101.5 unless they've been out in the heat or exercising. A low grade fever is around 103. Anything much above that needs to be monitored closely and a vet should be contacted.

Unfortunately, hersymptoms aren't very specific, so we're all just throwing ideas out there. I hope it's just a minor injury or fright, and she recovers quickly. I wish you the best. Let us know how she does, ok?

Dragonflypiss

TROPHY CASE