Leg Lick Granuloma in Dog

[FjordBCRF]

My 10 year old mini Aussie has licked herself raw on her right foreleg. Upon googling, this seems to be a granuloma from licking. I have seen her lick the leg over the years and would tell her to stop which she would and she never got to the place of an open sore. It’s about an inch long below her knee.

She is definitely on the neurotic side and always has been. Obsessive about playing fetch. Partner and I both work from home so she is out and about the house pretty much all day and is walked regularly. We also have a second dog so she has a dog buddy. It is very rare these days that Partner and I spend much time out of the house together and the only time they are not with us is overnight. Partner has allergies so them sleeping in the bedroom is not an option. They sleep downstairs on their beds, no crates. I am wondering if she has started licking overnight? We’re not seeing her do it very often.

Any thoughts on where to start? We haven’t been to the vet yet about it, just noticed it yesterday. I am afraid if I wrap it she’s going to just tear it off immediately. Do they sleep well enough in the cones/cloud collars? That could be something we do for overnight. Meds? She might definitely be a candidate for that or something like CBD.

Edit - she’s and big dog are lying next to me in the office right now and I just busted her licking it.

[chestnutmarebeware]

Think of it like cribbing in a horse. Or stall walking. Or weaving.

Most vets and behaviorists now believe that there is a strong anxiety and/or OCD element to lick granulomas, and that treatment usually involves short-term steroids to reduce the inflammation, plus meds to address the psychological issues.

The old treatments of covering it, or coating it with a bad-tasting substance never worked, and thankfully most vets are willing to prescribe the medications needed to support the dog’s anxiety and reduce or eliminate the behavior.

Good luck! I dealt with this issue years ago in my senior shelter-dumped lab mix, before a lot of the current research was done, and nothing worked. Even then, it seemed obvious to me that it was a self-soothing behavior and I finally gave up trying to stop it. I wish I’d known about the medications that could have helped her feel better.

[FjordBCRF]

Really good analogy. I very much got the self soothing impression when I noticed her doing it in the past.

I have NO question that OCD is a component; she has always had that tendency and there is also NO question that anxiety is in play either. When my first dog passed, I wanted to wait a bit before getting a second again…and she went absolutely nuts if she was left alone without him. She is always on alert if we aren’t all in the same room and will whine if one of us goes outside to the yard.

It sounds like a call into the vet is likely in order to see if there is any medication that could help with psychological side of things. She did let me wrap it and is leaving that alone so far today. Ill do that as long as it continues to be accepted and hope it will give the sore some time to heal in the meantime.

[mommy_peanut]

It can often start off as a pain response, but then turn into a bad habit (the licking).
One of our previous dogs ended up with one.
Started as a response to arthritis in his leg.
I took him to our vet for the lick granuloma, that is when we found the arthritis. Started him on anti-inflammatories & pain meds, which made him feel better.
Didn’t stop the licking completely, but it did help a great deal.

[Displaced_Yankee]

My dog has had two lick granulomas.

One was shortly after we rescued her, while everyone was still adjusting to the new life. She still has a scar from it. My vet treated it with anxiety meds it cleared up. She is the anxious type, so we had to adjust our routines and lifestyles. More walks, interactive games, good strong chews, etc.

Several years later she got a scratch on her hind leg (like 0.5" by .25"). The second it looked like she had been licking I called the vet. Another quick round of anxiety meds kept her off of it long enough for it to close up. I did put the teensy-est bit of triple antibiotic ointment on it. Not enough for her to notice and lick it off, but enough to help it close quickly.

Anxiety meds are your friend! (FWIW: we had zero luck with various CBD options)

[FjordBCRF]

Small update on this. She’s been good with vet wrap over the wound and it’s about all healed up now. Called the vet and they recommended giving benedryl a try so we will see if that helps.

As an aside; both dogs went in for the annual check ups earlier in the year, my hound mix had some teeth removed over the summer…all scheduled ahead of time. Yesterday on the phone with the vet, they said they are no longer doing scheduling…just day of appointments? This is the first I’ve heard of operating that way…it’s this becoming more of a norm?

[chestnutmarebeware]

Glad she’s doing better!

I moved to my current vet specifically because they didn’t offer appointments at all, it was just first-come, first-served (unless someone came in with an emergency). I love it. I know not to come on a Monday or Friday if I can help it, because those are the busy times, but I rarely have to wait more than a half hour to get seen. At my previous vet, I usually had to wait longer than that WITH an appointment.

This month, my vet office announced that they’re going to start taking appointments for people who want to make them, but thankfully they’re keeping the walk-in option, too.

[FjordBCRF]

Me too! I was shocked she didn’t fuss with the vet wrap, glad to know I have that option for now. Fingers crossed the Benadryl helps if it is something itchy, or just makes her a little drowsy on the anxiety side. If that works, that is a pretty easy fix.

It sounds like it could be a good thing! I know for a while they were scheduling appts way, way out which doesn’t help for something that isn’t great, but isn’t an emergency.