My dog has a sore on her hind leg that she licks. I keep an e-collar on her, but as soon as I take it off, she sits down, turns around and licks the sore. I can deter her with, "Leave it," but as soon as my back is turned she's licking again. It has almost healed several times, but stays scabbed over most of the time. I've gotten several meds from my vet to heal the fungal/bacterial infections she eventually developed. but I cannot get the wound to heal. Any 'clicker' suggestions? Thanks, gporter70122
hm
It sounds to me as if you have only gotten treatment for the secondary infections, that always crops up with obsessive licking.
The e-collar and the "leave it" is also just a way to remove the symptoms (=licking) without treating the primary problem.
So: first you have to figure out *why* the dog is licking... it can be allergy, it can be an underlying painful condition
(e.g. I once saw a dog like that who had once had a fracture in that place, which had been treated correctly and healed well, but in the dogs old age it started to ache, and the dog started to lick... add a mild painkiller and heureka..problem solved)
it could also be anxiety related problem (in which case the e collar will only make the problem worse imho) (and anti anxiety medication may be needed for the initial stages at least)
- I think you need to contact your vet again, or even better - a vet specializing in behaviour, to get a full evaluation, get the secondary infection treated again, but at the same time get the primary condition found and treated.
Take it seriously, this can escalate into a very serious problem!
best of luck
Christina
It's been said that you can order a lab, and you can ask a golden, but you must negotiate with a chesapeake
T-Touches
Hiya, I've been thinking about this for a while, and hoping someone with more experience would answer you, but then I remembered Linda Tellington-Jones book, "Getting in Touch with Your Dog". I bought it after reading about it Pamela Dennisons books "The IDIOTS guide to Positive Dog Training" and "Bringing light to Shadow". I have only used touches for calming dogs, but I looked at the book this morning and found lots of references to speeding up healing.
Its effectively gentle massage, and if your doing it on an open wound then you place a cloth over the wound and do the t-touches through it. You can use the clicker to get the dog used to being touched or massaged in sensitive areas. I'm sure there is a website, and I think you would be looking for the Bear T-Touch and the Tiger T-Touch. Hope that helps.