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Beagles/night time licking

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Expert: - 4/28/2003


Question
For the last couple of months, my beagle (blue tick) has been licking his penis and hind legs (inside) a lot.  He only does this at night.  We have taken him to the vet, he felt he had a bladder infection, he was on some pills for 2 months, he continue to lick like crazy.  Now he is on Benaryl, but he continues to lick at night.  It gets pretty bad some nights, his skin is pink.  Any help would be great.  By the way what is a blue tick beagle?  He is black and white and about 15 inches at the ahoulder.  We rescued him from the pound 3 years ago, boy what a bark.  Thanks for any help.
Bob Bruce

Answer
Hi Bob, thanks for writing to me. Has the vet determined if this is allergy related or is it stress related?

If it is allergy related has he mentioned giving him a cortisone shot? I have also found that Benadryl does not work as well as Atarax. In addition you might try putting him on (and keeping him on) DermCaps. It takes about four months to see a difference in the skin and fur but once it kicks in it is amazing. The best price I have found on it is through the website www.omahavaccine.com. All three of mine have allergy problems and have been on this since they were pups as well as the Atarax and we seldom have to do the cortisone shots because of these two medications. The DermCaps are not a prescription.

If this is nervous licking or related to stress the vet needs to think about possible medication to interrupt the cycle (ie: doggie Prozac) It might also be time to get a second opinion..... this is not normal behavior and it will eventually cause secondary infections from all the licking.

Best of luck!
Have4Paws

Beagles

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Have4Paws

Expertise

I am happy to answer BEAGLE BREED SPECIFIC behavioral questions. Please DO NOT ask CRATE TRAINING OR MEDICAL questions! I am not a vet nor an expert in the use of crates.

Experience

I currently have one beagle, a male age 5, an 12 month old Pit Bull, and a 8 year old min. poodle. I have had to let go of three of my dogs, 2 beagles and 1 whippet/rat terrier mix in the past 5 years, most recently my whippet mix. The two beagles lived to 15 and the whippet mix to 13.5, it has been hard to say goodbye to them. I have done rescue work on and off for years as well as fund-raising for the local animal shelter. I worked for a dog magazine in the past (Southern California Dog Magazine). Being a psychotherapist has encouraged me to do in depth studying of animal behavior as well. I have worked with many people to help curb undesirable behaviors in their dogs (or them!) or to form good behaviors. My life is devoted to and surrounded by my dogs........The picture you see here is Zeppelin but we also call him the "miracle dog". He was hit by a car April 2010 while out with the dog walker and had very serious injuries... 4 surgeries and $17,000 later my boy is whole again and back to loving life. He is so special to me and he weathered a lot of pain and trauma yet is still the sweet boy he always was! I also work to stop Breed Specific Legislation and help to get pit bulls adopted.

Organizations
HSUS, PETA, SPCA DONT SHOP...ADOPT!!

Publications
Dog Fancy

Education/Credentials
I am a Marriage and Family Therapist licensed in the state of CA and am also credentialed as a Certified Addiction Treatment Specialist

Awards and Honors
Honored by the Agoura Animal Shelter for my volunteer work.

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