biting his leg raw

[luvmysgt2003]

Help!! We just adopted a 6 month old rottie from a woman down the road. She told us she hated to get rid of him, but had to due to her other dog and this one competing for dominance. Ok, so we have had him about 4 days, and the 4 days we have had him, he is constantly biting and licking just above the elbow section of his rear legs. His left leg is far worse as he has an icky looking patch of just skin....his right hind leg is starting to look just as bad and he has a small patch on his left hind quarter that he is starting to bite and lick at. Why is he doing this? We thought maybe he had fleas, so we flea dipped him, we put a flea collar on him, and we bombed the house. Yet he continues to do this....I've tried giving him benedryl to stop the itch, but that doesn't seem to be helping at all. What can I do to stop him from doing this, or to make it stop itching all together????

Also, the woman said she had to clean out his ears every 2-3 weeks. They have black specks and ickys in both of them....we got some drops to clean them out, hopefully they will do the trick...but if they don't, any suggestions???

[rotts and roses]

Welcome to the forum :)
Take your dog to the vet.
Get him all checked out and make sure he is current on all his shots. Your vet would be the best person to address all these issues. Congrats on your new boy.

[damp]

Seems like your pup needs a vet check... the sooner the better.

[luvmysgt2003]

hmm...i forgot to mention, i took him to the vet he's been seeing 2 days ago....all the vet told me was "oh yes, I know him...he's got all his shot, (he showed me records), and this boy is very healthy. You won't have any problems with him". I told the vet he's scratching and what not, and all he said was it was stress to the new home.....I'm thinking about taking him to a new vet..

thanks :)

[damp]

Originally posted by luvmysgt2003
I'm thinking about taking him to a new vet..

Yes... that would be my next suggestion!

[Carolina]

Originally posted by damp
Yes... that would be my next suggestion!

Mine too.. he needs to have a full checkup, he may be allergic to something in your house (like food, carpet, etc).

[luvmysgt2003]

It definately isn't carpet, lol...We live in post housing (Army), and there's no carpet in our place....

We kept him on the same food almost, she was feeding him puppy chow for large breeds, (she was driving an hour and a half away to get it also, we live in a small town, can you tel??). All we could find here was puppy chow growth essentials formula....i never thought about the food.....i'm going to take him to the post vet clinic and see what they say, they have been really good with my min pin i have....

thanks for all the suggestions!! keep them comin if you have them!! :)

[excellrott]

As soon as you are able, change his food (There are plenty of suggestions on this site, I use Innova) and get him in classes. You will then be on your way to having a world class companion.
Welcome :D

[fbkeays]

He may have had fleas and that is the reason he started to bite and scratch. But once he started to irratate his skin, he is licking and biting because for a few seconds it sooths it. It is now a vicious cycle. You need to break the cycle. You need to stop him from licking the sore spots. If you can bandage the sores, that would be the easiest.
Good luck,

[luvmysgt2003]

That makes sense also...ok, i'll try bandaging his area up and see what happens...I read somewhere today that aloe vera gel applied right to the sore spot could help too, but isn't that harmful to him if he goes back and licks it??

[Wookie'sMom]

I know that aloe gel (pure stuff) is not harmful to humans, in fact it is very good for humans, lots of fiber or something silly like that...I wouldn't think that it would be bad for dogs, but you never know. Maybe you could just bandage it with some antibiotic ointment or somthing like that. He shouldn't be able to lick with a bandage on anyway...

[Sue]

It could be a reaction to the stress of a new environment. Or he may have an OCD. Our lab bitch licks everything.....her legs, her feet, her bed, the carpet. And sometimes she does it to the point of giving herself lick granulomas....ugly raw sores. It may well be allergies, but could also be something besides a physical condition in its root.

[Judi W]

Find a new vet. A dog that is trying to chew his leg off is not fine and dandy even if it did get its shots. There is more to good health than getting immunizations. All this did not start and get to that level in 4 days. I suspect the vet did not want to create a problem with his existing client and so he basically lied to you "this boy is very healthy"........... of course this boy is not very healthy! Whether it is fleas or allergies (sounds like fleas to me) it needs attention.

[Rocky's_mom]

Get a different vet.

Food, there is a lot of helpful hints on here about different food. I use Canidae. We haven't had it very long. (4th day today) but I love everything that is in it. You can order it off it the internet too. I live in a small town, and the only place I can get Canidae is 2 and a half hours away! :ekk: But, it's worth it for my darlin!

[alex221]

I agree, you need to find a new vet. My Alex developed a hot spot in just about that exact place after his surgery. I couldn't bear to put that hard plastic E collar back on him, so I invested in a soft e-collar. Once he couldn't get to the area anymore, it dried up and healed within a few days. I think it's better to let the wound dry, then to keep it moist with aloe or neosporin. JMO.


Lisa