licking constantly

[ellenelmore]

Why does my Bosten Terrier (4 yrs. old) start licking himself, paws - privates, and continue for what seems like 10-15 minutes? I have had him since he was 5 weeks old and he has always done this. Sometimes he does this after going to the bathroom and sometimes for no apparent reason at all. He does this several times a day. It is very loud and annoying. Is something wrong? Is there anything I can do?

[lonewolf07]

It appears the shih tzu does not have a fungal infection but the vet did some cultures just to make sure.

April - I don't blame you for not wanting to take your dog to a shrink.  I can't believe there are such things, even for dogs who are cross-dressers  = )

Txsilver - do you have to shave or cut the hair on the dog's feet before using the spray?  Do they like the taste and try to lick it off?

Still trying to adjust to brushing the big dogs teeth at night.  They have their own toothbrushes and toothpaste.  The Siberian loves the taste of the toothpaste.  Whatever happened to milkbone or dentibone?

[txsilver]

My mother and MIL have dogs that lick their paws raw.  The vets do not find anything wrong with them.  Willing to try anything, we heard of a concoction on the news that surprisingly really seems to work.  
In a spray bottle combine equal parts water, baby oil and mouthwash (listerine or scope - we use mint flavor), shake it up and spray on the dogs paws about 1x per week.  Both dogs paws are healing nicely.

[April2]

My dog licks his legs, feet and privates constantly too. I was told it can be a nervous or compulsive habit. I am NOT taking my dog to a shrink, lol. Since he's gotten older though, just in this last year, his hair has become discolored around his mouth, eyes and the areas he licks. The vet said it's the saliva. Being that he's white it looks gross after awhile and I can't scrub it off. He's about to get shaved down pretty soon! :) I do that once or twice a year. He looks a little funny but I figure he's cooler and it helps with him getting stuff in his hair.
For those of you who want to see what he looks like I posted a picture of him now on my profile.

[lonewolf07]

I won't mention your name to him (the dog)  LOL.  His feet don't smell that bad but if it isn't a fungus infection, I don't want to have to take him to a dog shrink for behavior problems.  A shih tzu with "issues".  Isn't it enough that he dresses up as Snow White?

[ChitChatNine]

Mine does it when she is in pain ... and then looks up at the ceiling and tries to lick her nose .. in her case, it is when her dry eyes are bothering her ....

But I've heard about other dogs doing it all the time for no real reason.

C~

[Jaybay]

LOL!  Don't tell him my name!  :-)  Use your nose to check his feet.  Seriously, you can usually smell fungus, or yeast anyway, if it's cooking in there.  Our old dog Chica got fungus foot every summer in her last few years.  My husband always tied her up in knots trying to get the Dermachlor rubbed into her pads, so I banned him from foot duty.  (Smart guy, huh?  Just like wrecking the delicates load of the laundry on purpose...)

What worked with Chica was to go at her feet as if she were a horse.  I'd let her stand, run one hand down a leg and gently push her balance off.  She'd give me her foot and let me squirt the liquid in and rub in her toes. Bless her little heart.  Once I started doing it that way she was a perfect angel about it.  I think the only difference is that I "asked" and had some patience while Hubby "demanded" instant results.  Men!  ;-)

[lonewolf07]

Our shih tzu does the same thing - licks his feet until the hair has become discolored.  A fungal infection never occurred to me - just thought it was a behavior thing.  He's going to be mad that I came to the dog forum and saw this post because now he has to go to the vet ....   = )

[babsiboo2u]

my schnauzer used to do a lot of feet licking until I found out from the vet that the dog was allergic to grass, vet said lots of dogs have grass allergies, he put the dog on prednizone and it fixed him right up, my Bostons do not have the grass allergies, thankfully!

[chihuahuagrandma]

That kinda sounds normal, my 5 chihuahuas spend a great deal of time w/ the licking thing,,,at night, especially when its time to go to sleep, they start licking their paws, and the boys cleaned their special parts, and they can go and go, I have to tell stop, its annoying b/c they wait till nite nite sleep time...
And, they also especially in the hot months, love to tongue bathe me, and yes its annoying, they can spend 15 or so minuites just on my feet, one loves my arms and neck, they are licking the salt off your skin, I also have a parrot, and when I stick my arm in the change food, hes wanting a lick off my arm, I thought man, I must always be sticky salt, but if I take shower, they all comes running to lick the legs and feets of clean shower water, and I think they think I am special!!!! or should I say, they are marking their territory, shes mine, b/c they lick each other too as a sign or pure affection!!! Oh yea, and, have you ever smelled dog feet? Smell like fritos chips, smell em', you'll see, thats why they lick, and keep inbetween those toes clean...

[Jaybay]

Hi and welcome!  It sounds like a fungal infection to me.  I had a dog who did the same thing with her feet.  Fungus is itchy and irritating, so the dog keeps licking the area, which makes it even more of an ideal enviornment to keep the infection doing. Dogs with thick hairy toes tend to get these things more often - it's kind of like a doggy athlete's foot.  Sometimes you'll notice their feet are smellier than usual - it's a really sour kind of smell.

The good news is that these things are easily treated.  Have your vet confirm what is wrong first.  You don't want to use something that will make it worse.  I've had great luck with Dermachlor, which is an anti-fungal and antibiotic liquid you can get from your vet.  Dogs don't like the taste either, so the licking isn't a problem.  Give your vet a call.  You'll both be more comfortable.  :-)