My dog has a persistent wound he keeps licking. Why won't it heal?

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Bogart. The only thing at home you can try is having him wear an E-collar. This will prevent any licking causing further damage from self trauma. It may allow the skin to heal. If this is unsuccessful though, he will need to see a veterinarian. The area could be a mass on his leg (benign or cancerous) or he could have what is known as a lick granuloma. I hope this information helps!

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.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Lucky. Since the wound is not healing, I am concerned that he actually has a mass. I would recommend seeing his veterinarian for a procedure known as a fine needle aspirate. The veterinarian will use a small needle to collect a sample of cells to evaluate under the microscope. There is a benign growth called a histiocytoma that is common in young dogs. Unfortunately, there is also an aggressive form of skin cancer known as a mast cell tumor. This second mass has the same outward appearance as the benign growth. For this reason, it must be evaluated microscopically. I hope this information helps!

Thanks for the question. If Admiral can wear a cone or e-collar, or a t-shirt to keep from licking the area it might have a chance to heal. As long as he keeps licking it, the healing will be slow. If it is not getting better in the next couple of days, he may need to go back in to see the vet for antibiotics. I hope it resolves quickly.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Chop. I recommend that he sees his veterinarian. I cannot tell from the picture if there is a mass or a wound on his leg. His veterinarian will examine him and may shave the surrounding hair to better evaluate the area. Based on these results, treatment can be started to help him feel better. He may need oral antibiotics for a wound or surgery to remove a mass. In the meantime, place an E-collar on him to prevent any further trauma. This will be more effective than wrapping it. I hope this information helps!

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to see that T is having this problem. A few things are possible here. I am assuming that the original wound never healed, only got better. If that's the case then I would suspect either a foreign body has entered the leg or an insect/spider/other has bitten him that started the entire problem. Puncture wounds can look very different over time so it may have been only one small puncture wound from the inciting event. I would advise taking T back to your veterinarian so they can recheck the wound and possibly rethink what is going on. (Assuming they saw it initially) after it first happened. They may want to culture the wound and run a sensitivity of the bugs that grow out of the culture to determine what antibiotics would be best. They may also advise some x-rays to determine if a foreign body has entered the leg although this can be of questionable value depending what the foreign body could be. Exploring the wound might be another option. All of these can be discussed with your veterinarian and I have made some assumptions here and could be wrong. I wish you the best of luck with T and I hope you get to the bottom of this very soon.

Poor Panda! Unfortunately the safest and most effective thing in this case is going to be the E-collar. Ask your vet for tips on sizing and securing it to Panda. In some cases, a little anti-anxiety medication or sedation for a day or two can really help him keep that cone on. If it is truly a small graze, it is likely to heal in the next couple days as long as he keeps away from it. I also recommend keeping him inside if at all possible for the next couple days.