A dog that constantly licks, chews and scratches is a common problem. The dog may do the behavior without hurting its skin or may cause serious skin damage leading to infections and wounds. Determining the cause of the chewing is important. Trying different methods to stop chewing may be necessary if a specific cause is not found.
Things You'll Need
- Hypoallergenic floor and carpeting cleaners (optional)
- Pet safe yard treatment (optional)
- Chew toys (optional)
- Collar and leash (optional)
Instructions
Contact your veterinarian and take your dog in for an examination. Your veterinarian can look for injuries or foreign objects that may cause pain and result in stress licking or chewing. According to PetsWebMD, the most common causes of itching are allergies, boredom, stress, dry skin, hormone problems, parasites and pain. Once your veterinarian has helped determine the cause of the chewing, you can begin working on stopping the behavior.
Eliminate parasites by giving worm, flea, mange or mite medicine prescribed by your veterinarian. If your dog has fleas or mites, you may need to treat your home, yard and dog bedding to prevent re-infestation.
Decrease or eliminate contact allergies from carpet or floor cleaners by switching to other products or all-natural cleaners and thoroughly rinsing or vacuuming residual cleaners. Natural yard treatments that are rated safe for pets may help. Prevent your dog from going into treated areas until thoroughly dried or keep an area untreated for the dog.
Put your dog on an elimination diet to determine the ingredients your dog is allergic to. Blood tests help evaluate possible allergens but give false positives; therefore, the elimination diet is generally preferred. Switch your dog to a different protein such as fish or venison with a limited carbohydrate source such as potato, rice or sweet potato. The dog remains on the diet until symptoms are gone, usually two weeks to two months. If no relief is seen, the issue is probably not food allergies. If improvement is seen, slowly add in one ingredient at a time to determine which ingredients cause a reaction. PetWebMD says that beef and wheat are two common problems, so those should be added first and second.
Treat medical issues such as dry skin, hot spots, infections and hormonal imbalances with veterinary-prescribed medications such as antibiotics, antihistamines, cortisone, thyroid pills and fatty-acid supplements.
Determine what behavioral issues are contributing to compulsive chewing. Author and trainer Kathy Diamond Davis writes that fear, anxiety and boredom can cause self-mutilating behaviors in dogs. Davis recommends exercise and more socialization. She also recommends keeping your dog near and redirecting chewing on its skin by giving appropriate toy to chew on. Your veterinarian may also prescribe anti-anxiety medications such as Prozac.