RE: licking
Hi Andie, How old is Steamboat? Puppies and young dogs will lick the faces of the dominant bitch in the house as a mark of respect:-) They don't do this with the males. I have a "humble harry" bitch who is always trying to give me big sloppy kisses and she pulls a soft goofy face when doing this and wiggles her body. Rose T.
licking
Hey all - I have a behavior question. Not really trying to change or modify the behavior, I just wonder why. Steamboat just loves to lick my face. No one else's really. Just mine. He will lie in bed in the morning and snuggle up against me and lick and lick, and then during the day when I'm at my desk, sometimes he'll sit in front of me, and when I turn to face him, he will put his paws on my shoulders and pull me down as hard as he can so he can lick my cheeks. What is this behavior about? If it annoys me, I tell him to quit, and he does, but I just wonder why he does it, and why it seems to be only me. (No, I don't wear lotions or makeup or face creams, so I've eliminated those possibilities.) Andie and Tugboat (I don't stoop to that licking thing) and Steamboat (Man, mom, you taste just like chicken!) Wilmington, NC
Paw Licking
I do not think this is the case with your Berner, but just an FYI and something to watch for: We had a large German Shepherd that began licking and chewing on his feet. We thought diet at first. It turned out to be a neurological/spinal problem. The foot licking was the first symptom. Not trying to scare you, just want you to be aware. Good Luck! Linda and Teddy Franktown, Co _ Protect your PC - get McAfee.com VirusScan Online http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963
Re: Paw Licking
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RE: Paw Licking
Hi, German Shephards are known for having Spinal Muscular Atrophy. I knew of a top performance Golden Retreiver who licked her legs raw. It was a neurotic behaviour, she was so "overtrained" I doubt this bitch could toilet without being commanded. If a dog is licking the paws excessively the first thing to do is examine the feet closely and if there is a reddish brown colour or grease in between the toes then it is simply a fungal infection which is easily treated. Continual recurrence is general linked to food allergy but may also be contact allergy. It can also be advisable to check a dog's thyroid panel, Berners are generally on the low side of normal but quite often a diagnosis of hypothyroidism and subsequent supplementation can help with skin and coat issues. Another thing is to keep nails short because discomfort with long toenails turning can aggravate sensitive feet when walking on hard surfaces. Also be mindful of the surface your dog is exercising on, too much pounding the pavement can make the pads sore and the toe joints ache. Rose
Paw Licking
One of my berner boys age 17 months, started biting his paws when he was about 6 months. I thought it was the Frontline, but started experimenting, and eliminated Chicken and there has been a big improvement. I have learned to read all labels, because sometimes even a dog biscuit called Veggie, had chicken in it! Try a Lamb or Pork food and see what happens. I was lucky the first time around. Tailwags, Daisy, Chance and Oliver
Re: Paw Licking
Jenni I went thru this very same thing with Fulton, age 16 months several months ago. Watch for infection here. Fulton licked his paws so much that the front paws got infected neccessitating the need for strong anit biotics. Good Luck Esta Dalsass NJ
Paw Licking
ORIGINAL POST: I am wondering if anyone has thoughts on "paw licking".. My almost 2 year old Berner boy is licking his paws (the underside on and around the pads) most all of the time when he is laying down resting. At times he becomes lame from all of his licking (lame only to the point of limping a little). The licking is concentrated to mostly the front two paws but he has been caught once or twice licking his back paws. I took him to the vet and he prescribed a topical cream to which he quickly licked off. We do not use any chemicals on our lawn, so I have ruled this out . Any thoughts are appreciated and thank you in advance. Sincerely, Jenni Vetter and Guinness<< RESPONSE: Jenni, it is my understanding that paw licking is a symptom of a food allergy. I have a Berner friend here in Bozeman (Lindsey, are you still on this list?) who has been dealing with numerous food allergies in her girl for a couple of years now. Elimination diets are tricky, and tests were expensive -- she tested allergic to chicken, fish, eggs, wheat, and quite a number of other common things. After minimal success with prescription kibble diets, my friend recently put her on a raw food diet and she's doing great now. Even better, she's able to eat the foods she's supposed to be allergic to. Seems they react differently to the foods in raw versus cooked or processed form. Anyway, you may want to start exploring food allergies in dogs, how to go about identifying the cause(s), and appropriate diets. Good luck and give Guinness a big sloppy hug! Vicky Whitney in Bozeman, Montana _ Add photos to your e-mail with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail
Paw Licking
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Paw Licking
I am wondering if anyone has thoughts on "paw licking".. My almost 2 year old Berner boy is licking his paws (the underside on and around the pads) most all of the time when he is laying down resting. At times he becomes lame from all of his licking (lame only to the point of limping a little). The licking is concentrated to mostly the front two paws but he has been caught once or twice licking his back paws. I took him to the vet and he prescribed a topical cream to which he quickly licked off. We do not use any chemicals on our lawn, so I have ruled this out . Any thoughts are appreciated and thank you in advance. Sincerely, Jenni Vetter and, Guinness
Paw Licking
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Paw Licking
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Re: Licking and chewing paws
Mike: I have a 4 year old female berner that started doing the same thing as your dog about the same age. Allergy testing did not show any results and it is a suspected food allergy. She does best on Lamb and avoiding all other meats. Two things you can do include soaking the paws in a diluted solution of Nolvasan solution. Some folks have had positive results with soaking in diluted vinegar. If it gets really bad with my girl she does respond well to the medication hdroxyzine. Some vets do not carry this anymore because the company increased the price but I get mine with a prescription from my vet from drugstore.com at a reasonable price. (For my dog other medicines did not work including benadryl) In the worst phase she required prednisone but that was only because she tore her pad. That is not a medication to be used lightly because of horrible side effects. If you have a food allergy going you will need to start a food elimination diet. I know of no accurate test for food allergies although there is promise of one in the future. Hope this helps and see what your vet thinks. Mark Mohapp [EMAIL PROTECTED] Lake Geneva, WI Chloe age 5 1/2 Mora age 4 - Original Message - From: "Mike Alexander" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, January 11, 2003 9:57 PM Subject: Re: Licking and chewing paws > > Can anyone help with the following? My 13 month old Berner Boy licks and > > gently chews on his front paws. The skin between the "toes" appears red > and > > sore. I tried putting a bit of Vaseline in there to no avail. Is there > > anyting topical anyone suggest to stop this? > > Could be an allergy. My older non-berner, Bart, is allergic to ragweed, and > the symptoms sound the same. He will lick his paws until they are raw if I > let him (I don't). Bart's allergies are seasonal (late summer to late fall). > I have pretty good success by giving him fatty acid supplements starting in > June, and antihistamine when the allergy effects begin to show (talk to your > vet about appropriate doses). During really bad years, he goes onto Vanectyl > P tablets, but this is best avoided if possible, since it contains a steroid > and is not good for the liver. It also increases his drinking and urination. > > ...Mike >
Foot licking (was Re: BERNER-L digest 4216)
In a message dated 1/11/2003 10:02:41 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > Can anyone help with the following? My 13 month old Berner Boy licks and > gently chews on his front paws. The skin between the "toes" appears red and > sore. I tried putting a bit of Vaseline in there to no avail. Is there > anyting topical anyone suggest to stop this? The best way to deal with this is to get at the cause as superficial treatments will only provide temporary relief, at best. Foot licking/chewing is almost always due to one of 3 things. The most common is an allergy to one or more items. The trigger can be either food or environmental (from chemicals in the carpet to mold spores in the air). Close observation is necessary to identify allergens... If the problem comes and goes seasonally, it's likely environmental. If it's there at a steady rate year round, food is a more likely suspect. If you haven't seen a pattern to the problem, the first thing I'd do is an elimination diet (working with my vet). An elimination diet is NOT switching to another brand or type of dog food. Unless you get very lucky, you'll spend a lot of time and learn absolutely nothing about what triggers boy's foot licking. Kibble has far to many ingredients that overlap across the various protein sources to give you an effective view of whether this is a food allergy or not. Your vet (or you, if you feed homemade) will provide a true elmination diet that uses a protein source your dog hasn't had previously and minimal other ingredients. Your dog will eat this food, and ONLY this food (use it for treats as well as meals) for 6 weeks. At that point, you should have a good idea of whether food's the culprit or not. If it is, you'll continue on the elimination diet but slowly add in different food items, one at a time...wait awhile after each one...and learn what triggers a reaction and what doesn't. Keep a log through all of this...you'll find it very helpful in keeping you on track when you have the date and food item in front of you in writing. Keeps in check the natural tendancy to rush things which is the biggest pitfall of this process. If this is due to a non-seasonal environmetal allergen, it's harder to pin down...but again, observation is key. Keep in mind that dogs can be allergic to stuff they're treated with 'routinely' such as HeartGard, Frontline, don't don't foget to consider those things...eliminate if possible or try a totally different product if not. The second cause of foot licking is behavioral. Some dogs will develop obsessive behaviors out of boredom or stress. Evaluate your dog's life from his perspective. Does he get enough exercise for an active teenager? Does he get mental as well as physical exercise? Is an instinctively social animal living in virtual isolation? The third cause, actually the one I'd check first if this were limited to one paw...is damage to the paw. Is there a splinter, cut, abscess, growth, or fungus affecting the toes, pads, nail beds? Hope this helps, let us know how you make out. -Sherri Venditti
Re: Licking and chewing paws
> Can anyone help with the following? My 13 month old Berner Boy licks and > gently chews on his front paws. The skin between the "toes" appears red and > sore. I tried putting a bit of Vaseline in there to no avail. Is there > anyting topical anyone suggest to stop this? Could be an allergy. My older non-berner, Bart, is allergic to ragweed, and the symptoms sound the same. He will lick his paws until they are raw if I let him (I don't). Bart's allergies are seasonal (late summer to late fall). I have pretty good success by giving him fatty acid supplements starting in June, and antihistamine when the allergy effects begin to show (talk to your vet about appropriate doses). During really bad years, he goes onto Vanectyl P tablets, but this is best avoided if possible, since it contains a steroid and is not good for the liver. It also increases his drinking and urination. ...Mike
