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Remy won't eat her food and gnawing

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1.3K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  LadyDi  
#1 ·
So I have a few things that are concerning me about my 16monthish female.. first off she won't eat her food no more. Shes been on raw meat for four months, and she loves/loved it, she would gobble in down in no time... and now she won't eat barely any of it. She has been gnawing/licking her feet lately and have looked kind of dry.. and she also has these dry hairless spots on her. and lastly she went into heat at 12-13 months.. and her nips have been fairly large since and when squeezed a milky substance comes out. She is not fixed but I'm nearly certain she isn't pregnant. amidst all this she is in her normal high spirits very energetic and playful... what is going on?
 
#2 ·
Has she been to the vet for a check up?

The licking, chewing, and bare spots sound like they could be an allergic reaction to something.

The engorged teats and milk production suggest that she's going through a false pregnancy (if you are 100% certain she didn't get accidentally bred).
 
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#3 ·
Itching and foot-chewing tends to be a sign of environmental allergies, and you will get bare spots if she has been scratching a lot or if her skin has become inflamed or infected. Have you noticed whether her symptoms are worse after she has been outside?

Nipples do become larger and more noticeable after a dog goes through her first heat. She’s growing up.

But the production of milk is unusual. I think you ought to take her to the vet--tough for us to tell you anything without seeing her.
 
#4 ·
If you go and talk to a specialist in canine reproduction they will tell you that every female ALWAYS goes through a false pregnancy after every heat season. So the enlarged nipples and milk production aren't particularly unusual--not all bitches produce milk during a false pregnancy but many do. And some bitches simply have more florid symptoms going through a false pregnancy than others do.

Take her to a vet if there is any possibility that she may have been bred during her heat without you knowing. Otherwise, ignore it.

The licking and bare spots sound like an environmental allergy as Melbrod and Rosemary have already said.

About the eating--I don't know--I don't feed raw so I'd only be guessing but usually for kibble fed bitches going through a false pregnancy you might reduce the quantity of food and add parsley (raw or dry) to reduce some of the symptoms of the false pregnancy--but that works best (according to the breeders I know who do this) if you start the parsley when the bitch comes in season and continue all the way through the false pregnancy.

If she starts collecting toys as if they were "babies" take them away from her--it only prolongs the symptoms.

PS A lot of bitches go through a period after a real or imagined pregnancy when their coat may look poor (dry and thin) this is a result of changing hormones and is normal. It will come back.
 
#5 ·
I have not been to the vets in 4 months and at that time doctor said everything was looking great. The spots just started occurring, mostly on her one hind leg. and gnawing for a week before that roughly. I don't believe it is worse after being outside or anything like that. I guess I will try to get her into a vet as soon as possible.
 
#6 ·
Some dogs decide a spot is itchy or irritated and start licking or scratching at it. Irritation....licking.....more irritation....more licking.....more irritation............The cycle continues and the dog can end up with a lick granuloma--the dog has an obsession with licking it and the wound heals very slowly even if the dog is kept from licking.

It is very hard to break the habit and change that kind of behavior. If you see ANY sign that she is starting that kind of behavior, treatment soon to help you get a handle on it would be good.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Hoss recently built up granulation tissue on the outside of his left rear hock. Determined later was from sliding down the wall as he would lay down.Yeah ....Hoss gave himself a darn rug burn from the repetitions of sliding that leg tissue against the carpet.

Had to have surgery because and under this "granulation tissue" his hair follicles were continuing to do their job so the area became quite inflamed.

Tough place for him to have any sutures so easy for him to reach ...so lick...lick...lick..... was happening.....recovery cone on his neck did not work because of his long legs...he could still get to the wound........so had to take a full week off from work so I could "STARE" at the dog 24/7 to prevent the licking habit from starting. He was quite sneaky at trying to get a lick if given the opportunity......But in the long run the licking prevention was worth it...all healed now ..no licking issues.

Figure out what the issue is ...if your pup is licking......something is going on.