Depressed Dog?

[Jackass]

Hi,

My dog is about 6 years old, mongrel terrior and something else (not sure exactly, got him from the pound ) and he is the happiest go lucky creature in the world. Will sell soul for food and knows every begging trick in the book. He's my best buddy and everyone who meets him instantly falls in love with him.

Anyway, the past few months, he's gotten more lethargic...I can still get a good fight out of him and he'll play too, but just general behaviour around the house is a lot less lively. (Also underperforming in his job of ensuring to alert us if any birds land on the grass in the back garden or if somebody is walking by our house.)

So we were a little concerned but everything else seemed ok, until a couple of months ago he stared "chewing" his own paw. At first it went unnoticed as he often nibbled at his foot/nails a little bit like any dog, but then he started to break skin and the more we tried to stop him, the more obsessed he has gotten with it.

We took him to the vet and we were told this is possibly down to lonliness or boredom. So we were given a spray to put on it and more excerise. (he's walked about every second day...) So we increased the walks and gave him more attention, but any moment he had to himself, he was at the paw again until he got it red raw...

Very concerned, we brought him back to the vet, where it was bandaged up and left for a few weeks and when it came off, there was still a mark but it had healed nicely and fur had grown back..

But, again, he continued at it and it's gotten quite bad again, he has a lump on it and now it is all he does...we have a lampshade on his head for the last while, but take it off to let him out in the garden and have his dinner and what not but he goes straight at the paw again!!

It's killing me as I hate giving out to him for it, I hate giving him the lampshade treatment, but also, we were advised by the vet that this wound could (somehow) become cancer and life threatening if continued!!

What can I do????

My parents are dead set against getting another dog...they love him to bits but they don't think they could cope.

I've considered just getting one anyway and know in time they'll learn to love the new dog (they didn't want a dog at all till I showed up with this fella, now he's my mothers feckin child!! :pac:)

I'm just worried and I don't want my dog to be EVEN MORE miserable by being denied his new favourite hobbie of eating his own flesh whilst compounding his problems with a lampshape on his head (you could pick up sky movies with this thing) and I just think, while knowing he's loved to bits, is miserable and it's just getting worse...

What can I do?

Thanks for reading my long rant.

MsFifers

Did your vet do any allergy tests? My intensive research (google ) would indicate that an allergy to mites is the most common cause of that problem in dogs. Also - undiagnosed yeast infections can be a common cause.

Is he showing any other signs of irritation/itching?

From your post it seems the vet leapt to the "bored" conclusion without doing any physical tests first - but maybe that inference isn't correct?

Anyway - can you provide more info on exactly how much stimulation your doggie is getting? A lot of dogs need 2 walks a day, morning and evening, and some play time also. Maybe you could try teaching him some tricks & obedience stuff - wear him out a bit, so that he'll be calmer when he is resting.

Sigma Force

Every second day wouldn't be enough for most dogs anyway he needs more walks but also contact a dog behavourist as this is more of an emotional issue than medical. Unless he has mites or something.

kerrysgold

It'd be great to get him a companion, congrats on getting a dog from the pound in the first place! It could help, he'd have another dog to play with and that would keep him occupied?

You should also try and walk him every day for at least 45 mins, the majority of dogs need at least this much a day.

Also, what is he fed on? He could have an allergy to the food causing him to itch maybe..... in any case, a natural food is best.

BlackCat2008

I seen on a vet program once that a dog had got some grass seed stuck between his toes and it borrowed it's way under the skin causing him to try and eat his own foot. The vet did some exploratory surgery and found the grass seed had made it's way up into the skin and removed it. The dog was fine after that. (remember the grass darts we would throw at each other for a mess as kids) it could be one of those. Worth asking your vet about.

If he can rule that out try a different flea drop every month to see if it's some kind of mite.Or start to remove certain foods or blankets he eats and uses one by one keeping note and see if anything changes. I had to stop using shake n'vac when may dog started getting rashes from it. Some carpets can also irritate them or washing powders. If not and I hate to say the words speak to your vet about maybe having the leg removed better with three than a life of itching.

Sorry to hear the poor lads plight.

luckat

Did a quick google on 'dog paw chewing' and found this:

http://www.oes.org/page2/3514~paw_chewing.html

suggesting allergies might be the problem.

I have been known to gnaw my own nails to the quick when suffering from bad hay fever. Sympathies.