dog nibbles, bites on his legs?

[makka619]

Does this mean anything? Should I be worried?


My dog has always licked his legs, and nibbled a bit.. but he seems to be more intense chewing on his legs. He hasn't chewed through his skin or anything.


I have looked in the spots he chews, but I can't see anything there.


I did a search and similar situation says it could be fleas, and frontline would be good for that. What else should I do?

 

[smkie]

my dogs do that and since i am allergic to dog spit i am forever telling them to knock it off. IT could be allergy, it could be boredom that causes a granularloma (sp?) or something like that to develop where the tissue is thick and hairless, and gets raw. But as long as you are not seeing any signs...fleas leave little black specks, usually prefer the base of the tail, the genital area, the belly where there isn't so much hair to climb through. THey usually hang out together too, if you find one you got a hundred trust me. You would see red spots, and dried blood if you looked closely. A lot of people use frontline, i don't like the idea of putting something like that on my dog so we bath often and i use borax in the home and haven't had fleas for decades.
IF you see no sgns of irritation i wouldn't worry about it.
IT could be the taste of whatever treat was there when they were chewing on it earlier. I think that is why my Mary does that.

 

[makka619]

thanks tons smkie.

i figure it must be annoying him. he does do it when he is sitting still the most. but he is doing it a lot lately out of no where. like if we are playing in the yard or walking he can suddenly stop, twist his body and bite vigourously at a spot on his leg.

it's not just his front legs that his biting he is really twisting his body to get at his back legs and tail too. so something is really bugging him

thanks for the tip on fleas. I check him every day for ticks as there are a few around at the moment. And the other night i noticed a bunch of black dots under his armpit. I looked for ages but couldn't work out what it was. They are just really tiny dots, almost looks singed. Sounds like you described... all in the one area. I didn't see any blood spots though. Just had another look and had to rub hard just to get one off.

Well I am going to have to go and find some good flea treatment today, and give him a good bath. The stuff i'm using at the moment obviouly isn't working.


I'll have a search. But does a good flea wash get rid of them instantly? Is there anything else I can get that works instantly to get rid of them?

oh and i will use borax when mopping etc. i am just thinking - can i spray the yard with a borax soloution? would that do anything? Or is it to dangerous for the animals, even if i kept them out of the yard for a day or so after i spray?

 

[bubbatd]

If you dot the black specks with a Qtip of alcohol , flea dirt will turn bloody .

 

[makka619]

hi bubbatb, sorry if this is silly... but what type of alcohol do i use?