# Biting at Back Legs



## Ronin2016 (Feb 18, 2016)

Hi again. Sorry I know my questions are getting annoying! But Ronin (6 months old now) has been biting at his back legs a lot lately. He is treated for fleas and ticks, and I brushed him really well, per the vets instructions, took a piece of paper towel and put it under him and brushed him, and looked for the little black specks to suggest fecal matter from fleas, but nothing. I did it all weekend, and each time nothing. He isn't walking weird, and not whimpering as if in pain. At a loss as to what it could be. Allergies? His skin looks normal to me, nothing in his fun, but not an expert so not sure what else to be looking for. He is shedding a lot, but that's all over, and it's mostly his puppy coat I think. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

I also believe he may have allergies or a cold, because he keeps rubbing at his eyes too and he now has some white goop coming out of his eyes. I clean it, and have called the vet, but waiting to hear back from them. At first, it was just sleep that was stuck and had gotten hard, but not so much now. Otherwise he's acting normally.


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

A lot of dogs react to the fleas saliva and have can have major itching issues from it.

This is a homeopathic that I and others have used with great success: Bug Bites?HomeoPets natural relief of bug bites for pets

Homeopathic's are administered in a “clean mouth” (no food or liquids 30 minutes before or 30 minutes after). Gently pull lip opened and drop in the liquid, being careful not to touch the dropper to the mouth as this would "foul" the bottle. The liquid is absorbed into the mucous membrane of the mouth, allowing it to absorb directly into the system, which is the quickest route!

This is an herbal type spray to go along with the above: DermaDog+-HomeoPet herbal spray for skin allergies and irritations


You can also use Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar from a health food store (NOT GNC) can help with itching. Raw Organic Apple Cider Vinegar has anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties. You will know it is organic because you will see “The Mother” (which contains the medicinal properties) floating around in the bottle. It can be used internally (to aide in digestion) and externally (for itching). Make a 50/50 mix of the the Organic ACV with purified water (not city tap water) and put into a sterilized spray bottle. Spray itching areas and rub in. This will sting eyes, or burn opened sores so use caution.

Moms


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I would give him a benadryl and see if that helps. 1mg per pound.


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## Ronin2016 (Feb 18, 2016)

Jax08 said:


> I would give him a benadryl and see if that helps. 1mg per pound.


This may be a stupid question haha, but do you give that in pill or liquid form?


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Wait!!!! 

1 mg per pound!!!! **** this med has my brain fried!!!! Each pill is 25mg so as a puppy he probably only needs (1) 25mg pill.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

My first thought would be food allergies. Especially with the goop coming from his eyes.


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## Ronin2016 (Feb 18, 2016)

Castlemaid said:


> My first thought would be food allergies. Especially with the goop coming from his eyes.


The vet said that it may be that. We have him on raw food, lamb and chicken. The lamb is new. I may need to switch him to something else, but they told me to just watch him for 24-48 hours and give him a good bath to make sure it's not fleas.


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## Ronin2016 (Feb 18, 2016)

Update: Between the vet, myself and his trainer, we have pretty much figured that the reason for all the scratching and biting is seasonal allergies and that he is shedding his coat. We're just going to watch him and see how he does in the next month or so, but that is the conclusion we have come to. We're not ruling out food allergies, but based on what I have shown the vet, she doesn't feel that that is his problem. I have begun brushing him twice a day now instead of his normal once a day, and that seems to be helping a bit, and this week I'm hoping to give him a bath or have him in at the groomers to see if that will help as well.


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## Jupiter_0203 (May 5, 2016)

Ronin2016 said:


> Hi again. Sorry I know my questions are getting annoying! But Ronin (6 months old now) has been biting at his back legs a lot lately. He is treated for fleas and ticks, and I brushed him really well, per the vets instructions, took a piece of paper towel and put it under him and brushed him, and looked for the little black specks to suggest fecal matter from fleas, but nothing. I did it all weekend, and each time nothing. He isn't walking weird, and not whimpering as if in pain. At a loss as to what it could be. Allergies? His skin looks normal to me, nothing in his fun, but not an expert so not sure what else to be looking for. He is shedding a lot, but that's all over, and it's mostly his puppy coat I think. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
> 
> I also believe he may have allergies or a cold, because he keeps rubbing at his eyes too and he now has some white goop coming out of his eyes. I clean it, and have called the vet, but waiting to hear back from them. At first, it was just sleep that was stuck and had gotten hard, but not so much now. Otherwise he's acting normally.


Ronin_2016: My 13 week old Sheppard mix puppy was also biting her legs, tail etc and I thought that she was reacting to dry skin, which turned out right when we were at the groomers. I see you are in Canada and it's cold there. If you have the crate near a heat vent, please move it away. Also coconut oil will help a lot, trust me. I gave her a coconut oil rub and then slowly added small amounts of coconut oil, like 1/2 tsp to her puppy food. I repeat the body rub every 2 days once. I see that it has helped her a lot and she quit biting herself. Hope this helps.


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

Do you uses fertilizers and chemicals on your lawn. May be a posdible reaction,


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## Ronin2016 (Feb 18, 2016)

Jupiter_0203 said:


> Ronin_2016: My 13 week old Sheppard mix puppy was also biting her legs, tail etc and I thought that she was reacting to dry skin, which turned out right when we were at the groomers. I see you are in Canada and it's cold there. If you have the crate near a heat vent, please move it away. Also coconut oil will help a lot, trust me. I gave her a coconut oil rub and then slowly added small amounts of coconut oil, like 1/2 tsp to her puppy food. I repeat the body rub every 2 days once. I see that it has helped her a lot and she quit biting herself. Hope this helps.


His crate is by a heater, but I have no where else to move it to because our house has oil heat which means heaters everywhere and it's a small house with a large crate. However, the heat has been off for over a month too and before he never had any problems. I will try the coconut oil idea though, that may help too.


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## Ronin2016 (Feb 18, 2016)

Jenny720 said:


> Do you uses fertilizers and chemicals on your lawn. May be a posdible reaction,


My husband did in out backyard spray some stuff, but he was kept out of the backyard for over a month and only just went back in yesterday. It could be that. I should add that my husband sprayed it without my knowledge but thankfully Ronin didn't go in the backyard before I found out. We kept him out front. I didn't think of it before. I'm not sure what to do about it now though. I would think that over a month later the stuff would be gone, but I'm not an expert on it that's for sure.


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

I would think a month later it would safe unless your dog is super sensitive to it. Oatmeal shampoo and spray to sooothe the skin. Did you give the Benadryl? Try to keep out of back yard if you possible- to see if is what is causing the problem. Could be one of many things or a combination of things.


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## Ronin2016 (Feb 18, 2016)

Jenny720 said:


> I would think a month later it would safe unless your dog is super sensitive to it. Oatmeal shampoo and spray to sooothe the skin. Did you give the Benadryl? Try to keep out of back yard if you possible- to see if is what is causing the problem. Could be one of many things or a combination of things.


The vet told me not to give him any because he had diarrhea the other day for some reason again and wanted me to wait until that cleared up just in case. That will be my next step. No diarrhea today, but it can sometimes come back within a few days so I'm just going to hold off for now. I'll keep him out of the back yard for now and see what happens.


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

Ronin2016 said:


> Jenny720 said:
> 
> 
> > I would think a month later it would safe unless your dog is super sensitive to it. Oatmeal shampoo and spray to sooothe the skin. Did you give the Benadryl? Try to keep out of back yard if you possible- to see if is what is causing the problem. Could be one of many things or a combination of things.
> ...


I hope you get to figure out what is bothering your boy I know allergies are a pain and the pollen is dropping all over here like crazy! Keep us posted!


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## Ronin2016 (Feb 18, 2016)

Jenny720 said:


> I hope you get to figure out what is bothering your boy I know allergies are a pain and the pollen is dropping all over here like crazy! Keep us posted!


Thanks I will! I had his trainer look him over today when he went to daycare just to see if she saw anything I didn't, but she saw nothing. She said that sometimes dogs outgrow it and I'm hoping that's the case. tonight when I get home I'm going to give him a really good brushing too to see if that will help him out a bit. At night in his crate he's fine. Any little noise wakes me up and he's always asleep if I wake up, no scratching or biting. Just when we gets up and goes outside to pee and poop in the morning. We live in a neighborhood where everyone loves to have large gardens with big flowers too so I kind of fear that this is also causing part of the problem. He never comes in contact with the flowers, but pollen floats, so you never know.


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