High Risk Tail Chewing
Question:
We have a 12 year old German Shepherd female who started chewing on her tail! She sits on it between her back legs and chews until the hair is chewed off and it sometimes bleeds! Is she just bored? She has 3 Min-Pins and a little terrier so she shouldn’t be bored and we give her a lot of attention as she is ‘Queen Bee’ at our place!
Dr. Nichol:
Your big elderly dog is not self-mutilating because she’s bored. She incessantly licks and chews her tail because it’s painful and possibly itchy. All that saliva plus heat from her thighs is a formula for a bacterial population explosion. Your girl’s attempts to heal her wound are causing it to worsen.
Aging big dogs are more prone to painful arthritis than their pint-sized compadres. And if your German shepherd is like many spayed females of a certain age she may also be leaking urine. Add this misery to our high temperatures and you have a dog with a “hot spot” already underway.
It gets worse. Flies can be attracted to the sticky discharge oozing from the surface of your dog’s angry skin. Fly eggs pupate into maggots. This is more than disgusting; the rapid destruction of tissue and deep infection will quickly debilitate a canine senior. Even with thorough treatment and powerful antibiotics not every maggot case survives.
Avoid do-it-yourself treatments. Pain relievers meant for humans, like ibuprofen, acetaminophen (Tylenol), Aleve, or even aspirin can put a dog at risk. Your veterinarian helps pets like yours often. They know what to do.
Besides getting your dog immediate medical attention for her skin and her joint pain she needs to be screened for early dementia. Similar to Alzheimer’s disease of humans, canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome can trigger multiple behavior changes including repetitive licking. Visit my website (Drjeffnichol.com) and click the Consultations tab. Then click Individual Consultations and download the one page Senior Pet Behavior Questionnaire. If your dog has even 2 or 3 of the symptoms listed, she could improve with treatment.
For help with behavior problems, you can sign-up for a Zoom Group Conference on my website, drjeffnichol.com.
Dr. Jeff Nichol is a residency-trained veterinary behaviorist. He provides consultations in-person and in groups by Zoom (drjeffnichol.com). Each week he shares a blog and a video to help bring out the best in pets and their people. Sign up at no charge at drjeffnichol.com. Email pet behavior or physical questions to or by US Post to 4000 Montgomery Blvd. NE, Albuq, NM 87109.
