Question:

I have a Japanese Spitz and my problem is he has licked all of the hair off his bottom. Being a fully white dog, the hair where he licks has turned pink. He has been given steroids from the vet, and while this works for a while I don’t want to keep giving him steroids plus it’s expensive. We have now taken all beef from his diet and he now eats a fish dried food and sardines. Do you have any other suggestions?

ANSWER:

I am not completely convinced that it is a food allergy problem – normally there would be other signs of allergens and licking is usually an all over behavior, not specific to localized area. Other signs of food allergies would be itchy, gunky ears, scratching, flaky skin and sometimes weepy eyes.

Localized licking is more of a stress-induced behavior much like feather plucking in birds. Why does the change in food help? Some foods are considered ‘hot’ – they cause odd symptoms in pets that are sensitive to the high levels of protein and/or fat. It doesn’t mean they can’t eat the ingredients in smaller quantities, just that the particular formulation they are on contains too much of something that does not agree with them.

Think of it like caffeine in humans – some people can drink several pots of coffee a day and suffer no ill effects. Whereas many of us have one cup and spend the rest of the day dealing with the jitters and bouncing off the walls. Is it an allergy? No, they are just more sensitive then others for whatever reason and need to limit their intake accordingly.

Stress-induced licking is very common in high-energy dogs like Japanese Spitz – boredom can even play a part in this habit. Does he suffer from other anxiety driven behaviors such as separation anxiety, destructive behaviors, tail chasing or barking for the sake of barking? If so, talk to your vet about seeing an animal behaviorist or anti-anxiety drugs to see if this helps the problem. Usually for cases such as his, a combination of drug therapy while working on correcting his behaviors as well as exercising him well each day so he is too tired to be nervous works best over the long haul.

If you are undecided on whether it is food allergies or not, talk to a veterinary dermatologist about your dog and whether they feel it is an allergy or some other problem causing the licking. If they feel it is allergy based, they can test for what he is allergic to giving you a better idea of what it is that is bothering him and enabling you to tailor his diet accordingly.

The one thing I would have your vet check is that his anal glands are okay. Often dogs with rear end baldness and licking patterns have impacted or uncomfortably full anal glands that need to be expressed regularly. If you have ever noticed an awful odor from his derriere or seen him ‘scooting’ (dragging his bottom on the ground), these could be indictors that he has some anal gland issues.

The discoloration of the fur is common with any type of licking habit so it is not a concern – once the licking stops, the fur will go back to its natural white in time. You could try putting him in a buster or Elizabethan collar to stop him from licking but it if is a nervous problem, the buster collar could aggravate the situation. Another idea would be to put him in a long T-shirt that covers his butt (tie up with ends loosely so that he does not step on them). This at least makes the licking more difficult.

Lastly, the very process of the fur growing back itches. Try using Emla or Lanocaine cream to remove the itch from the area, allowing the fur to grow past the itchy stage without the disruption of teeth.