Nibbling

[Jan/Billy]

Billy had a rough time a couple of months back with blocked anal glands. The discomfort cause him to lick his scrotum area which resulted in dermatitis. It took around 4 weeks for him to be completley better. The vet said as he cannot reach the anal glands he will lick the nearest area to try and make it better. This then can result in dermatitis  

 The past two-three weeks he has been nibbling and licking the base of his tail. i took him straight back to the vets as i suspected his anal glands may have been blocked again and he was nibbling his tail to ease the discomfort again. As it happens the glands were not full. The vet did a check for fleas and could not find any. He prescribed frontline just to be safe as he said it may be fleas causing him to nibble. I treated Billy with this, cleaned my house from top to to and washed his bedding at 90 degrees to kill any fleas. He has now started to nibble his paws    He is cutting his fur with his nibbling. He doesn't do it all the time just every now and then but his tail seams to be annoying him at times. We havent changed his food. Does anyone have any ideas of what can be causing him to do this???

[Sue H]

There is another topic or thread somewhere to do with carpet fresheners etc.  They have been known to cause irritations (on doggies' sit-upons and paws!).  My two have occasionally had gnawing sessions at their paws if they have been unwise enough to go rampaging around in beds of nettles ....

The nibbling and fussing is a vicious cycle and maybe putting socks on him for a while, taping them onto his arms, might work with the paw problem (if he is chewing at the socks, at least it is giving his paws time to come right).

Hope whatever it is resolves itself or is diagnosed and treatable soon !!

[Kim]

I would guess that this is still anal gland trouble  
Tail nibbling is a tell tale sign. Maybe giving him a raw bone will firm things up ?    

[Jan/Billy]

I would guess that this is still anal gland trouble 
Tail nibbling is a tell tale sign. Maybe giving him a raw bone will firm things up ? 

Thanks kim, thats what i suspect too    The vet wasn't convinced though  


I am a bit dumb when it comes to raw feeding. What kind of raw bone do i get? and where from? i presume butchers rather than supermarket, how often do i give it to him? The strange thing is that his anal gland problem suddenly occured last month, he never had it as a puppy.The vet said it was a result of a commercial diet, i asked him if there was anything i could do  to his diet he said there wasn't      

[Jan/Billy]

There is another topic or thread somewhere to do with carpet fresheners etc.  They have been known to cause irritations (on doggies' sit-upons and paws!).  My two have occasionally had gnawing sessions at their paws if they have been unwise enough to go rampaging around in beds of nettles ....

The nibbling and fussing is a vicious cycle and maybe putting socks on him for a while, taping them onto his arms, might work with the paw problem (if he is chewing at the socks, at least it is giving his paws time to come right).

Hope whatever it is resolves itself or is diagnosed and treatable soon !!

I ruled this one out because i never put anything on our carpets. I just hoover. I read that cockers are very sensitive to the perfume smell and they can smell it 100's time stronger than humans so i stopped using carpet freshner.

Nettles is possible but he nibles his tail the most.

[Kim]

I am a bit dumb when it comes to raw feeding. What kind of raw bone do i get?

I would try raw chicken wings, as a meal replacement 1st, readily available from the supermarket    

[Jan/Billy]

I am a bit dumb when it comes to raw feeding. What kind of raw bone do i get?

I would try raw chicken wings, as a meal replacement 1st, readily available from the supermarket  

How often do i feed him raw chicken wings? Is it safe?

[mick]

Kim,

Is chicken bones okay for a dog the only reason I ask is that my late father told me that dogs could choke on chicken bones as they tend to splinter and have sharp ends that could piece a dogs throat.

Any advise on the subject would be welcome

Regards.
Mick.

[Jan/Billy]

Kim,

Is chicken bones okay for a dog the only reason I ask is that my late father told me that dogs could choke on chicken bones as they tend to splinter and have sharp ends that could piece a dogs throat.

Any advise on the subject would be welcome

Regards.
Mick.

I might be wrong but i heard raw wings are ok, its the cooked ones that can be dangerous. But maybe i wrong.

I had heard that raw bones carry salmonella, thats my concern

[Mary]

Kim,

Is chicken bones okay for a dog the only reason I ask is that my late father told me that dogs could choke on chicken bones as they tend to splinter and have sharp ends that could piece a dogs throat.

Any advise on the subject would be welcome

Regards.
Mick.

I might be wrong but i heard raw wings are ok, its the cooked ones that can be dangerous. But maybe i wrong.

I had heard that raw bones carry salmonella, thats my concern

You are right Jan, it must be raw chicken bones and NOT cooked.

 

[suki1964]

Kim,

Is chicken bones okay for a dog the only reason I ask is that my late father told me that dogs could choke on chicken bones as they tend to splinter and have sharp ends that could piece a dogs throat.

Any advise on the subject would be welcome

Regards.
Mick.

I might be wrong but i heard raw wings are ok, its the cooked ones that can be dangerous. But maybe i wrong.

I had heard that raw bones carry salmonella, thats my concern

Raw chicken does carry salmonella.

As to how dangerous it is for dogs, well my experience has been no problems whatsoever. From what i understand dogs are far better at coping with those sort of bugs then we are.

However you are still at risk handling raw chicken. So do wash your hands and if you have toddlers crawling around the floor id suggest feeding them outside. Luckily Alfie has always taken his into the garden to eat. Penel feeds a raw diet to her dogs and I know she feeds them in the garden as well.

I would also say dont leave them on their own with bones and wings as they can choke if trying to swallow too big a piece.

As for Billy and his anal glands, my vet recommended more roughage - veg. So now alfie gets viggies with his burns, either raw (grated) or cooked, depending on whats around

[tracey]

Has he been wormed recently?
Just a thought as worms can make the bottom itchy and hook worms can cause irritation and lead to feet nibbling.


Tracey  

[Allison]

Just to add to your question re nibbling paws, I recently bought some thornit powder which is generally for the ears and mites.  The instructions said to sprinkle a little in a bag and to dip the dogs paws in, to help rid fleas & Mites etc. You can buy it online for about 6 quid.