We have a sweet old dog, nearly 12, who is driving us crazy with his licking. He has always had spells where he would lick and lick on his paws. Someone suggested it might be allergies. He doesn't lick them bare or anything like that, but he does make big wet spots on whatever he is lying on. Lately, in the last couple of months, he has taken to licking the insides of our shoes with the same loving attention. Could this be caused by a nutritional deficiency, boredom, allergies...? Old Max is an inside dog and always has been. There may be no connection, but we recently switched him to a lamb and rice dog food. A dog breeder told us it might help reduce the gas that had become a real stinker of a problem. It worked beautifully for that. Any ideas on the licking? Thanks

-- Nina in E TX (nchick4997@aol.com), February 14, 2001

Answers

Prozac will help .All kidding aside what brand of food are you using .I would think it is bordom or his mental state is going down hill .Every watch Grandma do something silly for hours ?

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), February 14, 2001.

Nina, our collie mix started licking like that when we had him on a lamb & rice dog food - and it was a good quality one. He also had an unnatural red tint to his fur. We switched to a turkey & rice dog food and the licking problem stopped and the red tint eventually went away. I don't remember who told me that many dogs are allergic to lamb meat. We use VF (veterinary formula) brand turkey & rice dog food. We get it at the local feed store here in IL and I think it is made in this area. But maybe you can find something similar in your area. Good luck!

-- Jean (schiszik@tbcnet.com), February 14, 2001.

Nina,

If its occasional and assuming you dont salt any portion of your property, its an allergy. The vet recommends Benedryl capsules during his flare ups.

-- William in WI (gnarledmaw@lycos.com), February 14, 2001.

On the contrary lamb , chicken are what vets switch to for food allergys .Depending on the brand it may still contain corn , meat by products including beef .Very few brand on the market are strict lamb and rice .You need to read your labels .Also be aware Vets are not always the best ones to ask about this .Talk to breeders who have breeds that tend to have allergys .Linalaic {sorry spelling} is a key ingredient for healthy skin and goats ,its what in linatone {Sp} you want a food with high levels of this .Let me know what brand and a ingredients label and we can talk .E-mail me if you would like.

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), February 14, 2001.

Our Yorkies both licked their paws as they got older. I think it gave them comfort, though it drove us nuts listening to it by the hour. Yes, and the wet spots on the floor were gross to step in bare foot. We never switched food, so I think it was a mental thing for them. I truthfully think it was part of the aging process.

-- Ardie from WI (a6203@hotmail.com), February 14, 2001.

Sound like you may have to choose what bothers you the most -- the lickin or fartin.

-- Lynn Goltz (lynngoltz@aol.com), February 14, 2001.

My old dog licks her paws more now than she did when she was young -- the answer to that particular one is arthritis in her toes and 'wrist' joints. My vet illustrated by gently rotating them so that I could feel the ends of the bone grating on each other. I put her on joint supplements to help out with that.

As far as gas goes, my dog hadn't had a problem (even tho she's 16 and theoretically should be worse now) since I took her off of commercial diets entirely and put her onto home cooked ones with raw meat and vegetables.

I'm not at all sure about the shoe thing, but all my dogs have had a 'foot thing' all their lives (licking bare feet). I think it has to do with the scent of feet being uniquely yours. My old dog gets a lot of comfort from having an article of the human pack's to sleep with -- sweater, jacket, socks, whatever. It may be that the dog is just feeling insecure about getting weaker with old age and wanting to be close to the protection of his pack.

-- Julie Froelich (firefly1@nnex.net), February 14, 2001.

I do not have the answer, my 11 year old chihuahua does the some thing, licks me, shoes, his feet, same red tint to feet. And he does have the gas problem also.

-- Deborah in E Tx (theant00@yahoo.com), February 14, 2001.

he raw diet is the BARF diet .There is a book out on it .

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), February 14, 2001.

There is stuff at pet stores called Bitter Apple that you can spray on what you don't want your dog to lick. It taste awful (believe me, I accidentally tasted it once) Spray some directly in his mouth so he knows he will not like it, then spray on his paws to stop the habit. Give him something else to chew on so he doesn't start any bad habits.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), February 14, 2001.

Not all lamb/rice dog food is created equal. There are more and more brands of it coming out all the time, almost like a fad. I think that many brands are cheating on the ingredients. I'll second the earlier post about corn. It's not good in dog food. For years, we fed Solid Gold brand dog food. It's also called Hunden Flocken. Manufactured in California. It's a very high quality herbal, natural dog food. They use USDA choice grade lamb and rice, plus a long list of herbs and veggies like blueberries, chamomile, etc. All ingredients are human grade. It's one of the most expensive foods, but our dogs ate one third less than other "premium" dog foods. Less useless fillers, less dog poop. My only complaint is with their marketing. We were dealers for awhile, but it was too hard to get inventory. We have switched to the AVO brand. It is similar in quality and formulation. We are feeding five dogs on this and they all have healthy coats and no licking.

-- Skip Walton (sundaycreek@gnrac.net), February 14, 2001.

My Chow did the same thing and we started applying clove oil to his feet and it has stopped.

Stephanie

-- stephanie johnson (s.tephj10@verizon.net), February 14, 2001.

Licking paws and the inside of your shoes? It sounds like a craving for salt to me. Why not buy him a little rabbit mineral wheel to see if that helps him, if it does, get him a larger horse one.

-- Laura (gsend@hotmail.com), February 15, 2001.

I would not give a dog a salt lick .It can cause the same problems as it does in people .

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), February 15, 2001.

Your dog's licking may very well be due to allergies to something in the environment (ie. molds or chemicals in your carpeting if you have any. It also could be due to food allergies (hence his farting). Many dogs have an abnormal gut bacterial population profile that prevents proper digestion and can lead to leaky gut syndrome that can allow larger protein molecules to transfer into his bloodstream and result in allergies developing. Simply adding some yogurt to the diet can often reduce the odorous gas and foul breath problems. If the licking continues I would try an elimination diet to see what he is allergic to and I would try a months course of Lactobacillus gg to try tonormalize the gut bacteria profile. If all else fails there are prescription diets available to help with this problem.

-- Sandra Nelson (Magin@MnCom.Net), February 15, 2001.

Sandra's input is excellent -- it also jogged my brain a bit to also recall that when my mother was using a harsh chemical floor cleaner on the hard floors, both the dogs started licking their feet -- chemical reaction from that crud. I insisted that she use an environmentally friendly cleaner instead and knock it off with the ammonia, which is also very irritating. Dogs don't have socks and slippers to protect them from whatever you put on your carpets and flooring, so it's right on the dog's skin.

-- Julie Froelich (firefly1@nnex.net), February 15, 2001.

just a thought, why would anyone name a diet BARF. that would not encourage me to eat it or feed it to my animals.

-- amber (ambrosia75_@hotmail.com), February 17, 2001.

BARF is an anacronym for Bones And Raw Food, or Bones and Appropriate Raw Food. It's not a packaged product, so they're not trying to 'sell'. Most the people out there who are feeding on the BaRF principle are folks who think outside the box anyway -- and the bag, and the can, and the cellophane pre-wrapped Burger Patty o' Death, folks who think that canines were meant to eat real food instead of the '4-D' (Dead, Diseased, Down, and Dying meat sources) principal of commercial dog foods.

Also because the author is Australian, and I think he just got a kick out of it.

-- Julie Froelich (firefly1@nnex.net), February 17, 2001.

Our Rottie, who is nine, did the same thing. Almost drove me nuts with her constant licking of paws, rear end, etc. She was so bad at times I would have to ban her to the bathroom at the other end of the house so we could sleep. She was examined by the vet when I got her and passed a vet check, blood work was fine, no worms, etc. So I started turning her out of the house more, guess what? She stopped the licking. I didn't change her dog food, or buy expensive skin treatments or anything. Just let her go outside more. Now when she comes in, she lays quietly or follows me from room to room, but no more licking! I think she was bored to tears being inside most of the time. She also was a Kennel K-9 dog, and had worn her teeth down from biting her wire before I bought her. Now she doesnt'lick, but will throw a fit and pull out the kitchen garbage if I leave her unattended for too long. Oh well, another project to work on!

-- Cindy (colawson@mindspring.com), February 17, 2001.

Well what do wild dogs eat ? Do they cook there food first ?What did they eat before they where domesticated by man or there was fancy high priced food on the market ? Just food for thought.

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), February 17, 2001.