persephone Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 I agree- putting an ointment on the area will only make him want to lick more to remove the 'foreign' substance If you find he has reactions onj lips etc...try what I used to do with mitch... wash his feet/bum/ears in malaseb or similar every couple of days... this stops bacteria being transferred from one to the other, and used to cut down the irritations markedly!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hopenfox Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 About a year ago Fox started licking regularly under his tail for no apparent reason. His anal glands were fine. Our vet suggested it was most likely a food allergy, causing irritation in the bowel, hence the anal licking to try and soothe the itchiness inside. I removed all but one variety of his meats (he's fed raw prey model) with the intention of keeping to the one meat for two weeks, then adding another for two weeks, and so on till we found the food that made him itchy. I started with chicken only and quickly discovered it was the culprit; his licking got worse and worse in that fortnight, and when I then changed to completely lamb, we were both delighted when the itching/licking stopped completely within a few days! The licking has totally stopped now with chicken off the menu. Maybe you could try an elimination diet too? He may be allergic to one of the ingredients in the dry food... hopenfox. Well we went to the vet and the vet couldn't find anything wrong.She said the area did look a bit red but she thinks this was only because of him licking. The anal glands were fine. She thinks its most likely an allergy which is causing itching (he gets this on his feet and lips sometimes too) and this is why he's licking. Also since he's been licking his bum, he hasn't licked his feet, so he may have transferred his anxiety from feet to bum! Just going to keep a eye on it and tell him to stop when he does it, like we do with his feet. He hasn't tried to do it at all since ive been home though so fingers crossed he might be over it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 While being unusual for larger breeds, it is not impossible to have an anal gland problem. Why do you feel it is unusual for larger breeds? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagsalot Posted February 13, 2009 Author Share Posted February 13, 2009 Well I haven't seen him lick once since our trip to the vet. Maybe he didn't like the vet looking at his bum so thought he should stop doing it :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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