dog obesively chewing paws and legs

[quackers2]

black lab almost 8 years old. constantly chews her paws and legs. started out with one paw now three. so bad that they are bleeding. have seen many vets. used many things chinese herbs was the latest useless.changed foods. many kinds of pills predisine, ceplelex ect. please help iam at my witts end.

[unhappychick]

I dont know why your dog does this, but I would try and distract her with other things, ie, lots of walks and maybe some huge bones so she can chew them and not her legs, another tip, is have some little treats at the ready and when she does it, distract her by throwing one....my dog is terrified of fireworks and I found this helped distract him...good luck!

[woofgang]

maybe a tranquiliser is the answer?

[woofgang]

sorry that sounded flippant, I meant that if there is no infection, allergy or parasite cause then maybe your dog does it for psychological reasons and a med to calm him might help. I used to know a chap whose springer licked obsessively whenever the grandchildren visited..licked hid flank completely raw. They got it healed up and he had a small dose of tranquiliser which helped no end

[weecalf]

Get one of those lampshade things from the vet she will not be able to reach affected areas until they heal up.Had to do that myself looks cruel but the sores can become realy serious if not looked ater .Hope you get it sorted

[ruthann58]

have you tried piriton antihistemine

[Noweia]

Could be an allergy/atopy. Often the only sign of itchiness is a dog chewing its feet. Ask to see a veterinary skin specialist and they'll be able to explain the diagnoses and treatments.

Be warned that itchy skin can be incredibly difficult to diagnose and can take a couple of months.

Prednisolone is a steroid and should break the itching cycle. Cephalexin/Ceporex is an antibiotic that works well for skin infections - which your dog will likely have if the skin is badly damaged. To properly work on skin, the course needs to be continued for 3-5 weeks, even if the infection clears up before then. The Chinese herbs work in some cases but not others.

[terambulan]

Look here at previously answered question:

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Animals-and-Nat ure/Pets/Question582578.html