My dog keeps biting her leg until it bleeds. Why and what to do?

Poor Baby! Excessive biting or chewing at the paws, tail, or other parts of the body is most often caused by allergies, but could also be due to other skin problems such as a bacterial or fungal skin infection, fleas, or skin mites (mange). Treatment will depend on what the underlying problem is, so I would recommend taking her to the vet tomorrow for an exam. He/she can do some simple skin tests if needed to help diagnose the problem and get her started on appropriate medication to treat it. In the meantime, if she's making herself bleed, you may need to get an e-collar (plastic cone) for her to wear until you're able to see the vet. This will keep her from continuing to chew on herself and make the skin problem worse.

From what you are describing, it sounds like Shebah might have a lick granuloma. These occur when something irritates the skin causing your dog to lick repeatedly on the affected area. As they lick, the area becomes more and more irritated. The irritating and swelling then causes the dog to want to lick more. This is a painful and self-perpetuating process that will go on and on until stopped. The first thing that you will need to do is prevent Shebah from licking and biting. An e-collar or t-shirt will be required in order to accomplish this. I would also clip the hair around the affected area and clean it off with some chlorhexidine solution, which you can obtain at a pharmacy. Depending on the extent of the injury, Shebah may require antibiotics as well as topical steroids in order to control the itching. If things aren't starting to look better after following these instructions in a couple of days, she will need to see a veterinarian.

Unfortunately she may have an environmental or food allergy involved here. I would recommend taking her to a vet to get the skin looked at. If it is bleeding chances are she needs a good antibiotic and an strong medicated anti-histamine +/- steroid combination to help control the itch. Then comes the fun part, trying to figure out what she has an allergy to? This can be discussed with your vet in detail based on what things have changed in the home (bedding, shampoo's etc) and possibly even starting her on a food trial to rule out food allergies (I like to use Royal canin hypoallergenic hydrolyzed protein or Hill's Z/D for dogs- prescription foods). Only prescription products have been shown to be consistently effective for treating dogs with food allergies. Some dogs even have dust mite allergies of grass allergies (which are proved with skin allergy testing).

There are several conditions that can cause these symptoms. You'll want to try to keep the area as clean and dry as possible and prevent any licking. This will help prevent any secondary bacterial or yeast infection from forming. Be sure to visit your local Veterinarian and request a Skin scraping exam. This will allow your doctor to rule out any mites, mange, or fungal infection. Your doctor should be able to prescribe a treatment plan to clear this up pretty easily.

I agree, this area is likely itching a lot. You need to have Charlie seen by a vet for this in the morning. Tonight, put an Ecollar on him to keep him from licking it more. You can make one at home if you don't have one, and I will put a link below on how to make one. I hope this helps! http://dogsaholic.com/care/homemade-dog-cone.html

Place an e-collar (cone) on him to prevent further licking or chewing. This may be enough to allow for healing. Keep the area clean and dry. If it doesn't heal or if it grows or spreads, have Barnaby physically examined by your veterinarian. He may need antibiotics or further diagnostics, such as a fine needle aspirate or biopsy, if it is a lump or mass.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Toby! Possible causes for that severe of an itch are: scabies mite (exposure to foxes or other dogs that are itchy?), allergies or a skin infection. Even a few fleas can cause a severe flea allergy response. When a dog has a flea allergy it just takes one flea because they are allergic to the saliva of the flea. Since Toby is chewing herself raw she needs to see a Veterinarian. There are no at home drugs that will be sufficient to reliever her discomfort. After your Vet examines Toby they may want to do a skin scrape to check for scabies. Scabies is treated with ivermectin injections of topical Revolution. If she has a skin infection she could receive oral antibiotics and something to relieve her scratching, either prednisone or aopquel. She needs to be on year round flea prevention if a flea allergy is possible. I would recommend either Nexgard, Simparica, Bravecto or the Seresto collar. I hope this helps and I wish Toby a speedy recovery!