My friend has a 9 month old chow, she has been chewing her front legs till they are raw, she has tried the lampshade but she gets very smelly down her bib, she has tried eucalyptus and olbas oil to no affect. She has been told it is to do with her adult coat coming through, can anyone give any advise on what will make life a little bit easier for honey and her mum, also how long does it take for the adult coat to come through. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Regards Chick

Does she do it all day, or only at specific times? If this is the case it could be linked to an intolerance in her diet......

Haven't heard adult coat coming through giving such problems - I agree, it's more likely she is allergic to something in her diet. If it were my dog, I would try a natural diet free from wheat, gluten, etc - Naturediet would be good. Or it could be an allergy to something else, like grass/pollen, but I would rule out the food being a problem first.

Has she been thoroughly checked out for parasites, harvest mites are rife just now and they often concentrate on the legs. Being visible only as tiny red dots they are particularly hard to spot on dark coloured dogs.

Hi,

Have you thought it might be a contact allergy as well as or instead of a diet allergy. It could also be related to pain or stress. Some dogs will chew themselves to releive stress because chewing releases endorphines into the brain and makes them feel better.

Chewing themselves because of pain is not unknown, if they can't reach the area causing pain, they will focus on a different area and chew to take their mind off the original problem.

We have this problem with one of our beardies, she has an ongoing neck and spine problem after being attacked by a Rottie about 4 years ago and she regularly visits a chiropractor to keep a check on her alignment. We know when she has become mis-aligned again or is having a problem, because she starts chewing the tops or her front legs, this stops after treatment.

Good luck

manda
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