Expert: Dr. Louis N. Gotthelf - 4/13/2005

Question
Cheemo is a very large 8 yr old white sheppard. He's been licking the top of one of his hind paws raw for the past few years. The affected area has never spread to any other part of his body.

My aunt Jacquie is his owner (I dog sit and have him often) and she's taken him to the local vet a number of times in the past 2 years. Different oitments from the vet have been tried but not worked. The vet was unable to provide a diagnosis. The vet also put one of those "cones" on Cheemo to try to prevent him from licking the affected area, but the dog somehow managed to get at the area anyway.

An elderly aunt made Cheemo a salve (we're North American Indians) and it did work, but he went back to licking the area raw after we stopped using the salve (which is now all gone and difficult to get more of).

All we've been doing lately is frequently spraying the affected area with sea salt water in order to try to prevent infection from setting in.

What could be causing the problem and how do we treat (cure) it?

Any information/suggestions would be appreciated. Anxiously awaiting your reply.

Mandy & Jacquie & Cheemo

Answer
This sounds like a lick granuloma.  It is an area that gets scarred up due to the constant trauma.  I have tried all kinds of potions and lotions on these with no help.  I have covered them, injected them and anesthetized them.  I have found that using a laser to remove these lesions is the only thing that gets them healed.

The problem is that it feels so good to the dog to lick and bite the area.  There is a release of endorphins that keeps him coming back for more.  We call that an obsessive-compulsive disease.  Some vets have even advocated using Prozac for these.