Sandy is the wonderful woman who has mentored us with raw food, I’ve found her to be very knowledgeable with all things dog.

A few weeks back I noticed that Sampson had a spot on his paw, I shot Sandy an e-mail and said Sampson was licking at his paw and did she know hot to treat for hot spots.  She responded, wash it with apple cider vinegar and put some aloe on it.

When I went to pick up my order of dog food Sandy said, it’s not a hot spot it’s a lick granuloma, look it up.

I asked how do I treat it, and she said with Witch Hazel.

Here’s what it looked like on August 19th.

 

I meant to google it when I got home but then I couldn’t remember what it was, so I didn’t.  I tried different keywords, but unfortunately my dog’s licking his paw but it’s not a hot spot turned up nothing.

I finally remembered to shoot her an e-mail and asked her what it was.  Then I googled it.

My trusty ‘go to’ source Wickipedia’s explanation was terribly disturbing.

“Lick granuloma is a form of self-trauma in which animals, particularly dogs, continuously lick a small area of their body until it becomes raw and inflamed. The most common areas affected are the lower (distal) portions of the legs. The most common cause of lick granuloma appears to be psychological, related to stress, boredom or compulsiveness. It is often considered to be a form of canine obsessive-compulsive disorder.”

I was horrified, here’s what I took from that: My dog is exhibiting the canine equivalent of cutting himself.  🙁

Do they have psychologists for dogs?

I took a deep breath and did a bit more research.  Web MD had a different explanation.

“At one time, lick sores were thought to be psychogenic in origin and related to boredom and inactivity. It now appears that many cases are preceded by an itchy skin disease (such as canine atopy) that starts the lick cycle. Other possible initiating causes include demodectic mange, a bacterial or fungal infection, prior trauma, and underlying joint disease. The precipitating event focuses the dog’s attention on the area. The licking then becomes a habit that may be perpetuated by psychological events, so behavior may still be a factor.”

I’m pretty sure I can rule out demodectic mange and if he had prior trauma I would probably know about it.

I realize that Sampson and Delilah’s exercise routine has become fairly boring.  With the heat of summer I’ve eliminated any chance of a mid-day walk.  Our walks are either early morning (on the weekends) or early evening during the week.  That can be boring.

Because of Delilah’s reactivity as well as finances their daycare days have been cut.  Again BORING.

In case you haven’t noticed, I am a bit neurotic with my dogs. 🙂

Even with all of that, I’m hesitant to believe that Sampson’s licking is psychological.  This is what jumped out at me from the Web MD explanation.

“Other possible initiating causes include ….underlying joint disease.”

Sampson just turned eight, even with the weight he’s lost, he’s a big dog.  I worry that he has some underlying joint issue.

He’s not scheduled for his annual exam until October and I think it’s too long to wait, so I intend on calling up our vet tomorrow (too bad I didn’t have her cell phone number…) 🙂

In the meantime, I’ve been treating it twice a day with the Witch Hazel and encouraging him to leave it, anytime I catch him licking it.

I think it’s helping.  Here’s a picture of what it looks like today.

Have you ever heard of a lick granuloma?

P.S. Dear Wikipedia, you are no longer my go to source for dog related information.  Please don’t take it personally.  Thank you.