Missing hair from his rear!

[Gabby]

My male Scottish terrier will not stop biting his butt, as funny as that sounds. He has lost most of the hair back there and I'm starting to worry. Is there anything I can do for him, or should I just take him to the vet?

[Matthew]

the ONLY vaccine required by law is rabies. All others are to be given at the owner's discretion. Re annual vaccination is shown to be pointless and harmful, once a vaccine is given the dog is protected for life.

[Barbara]

Matthew,
I have been buying Newman's Own and my dog really likes it. I feel like I am feeding her a better food because of you. However, she is still chewing her fur off. She has changed from chewing the fur on her thighs to chewing off the fur on her upper forearms. I really feel that this is a nervous habit, separation anxiety, or either "hey look at me" attitude. I am giving her Benadryl morning and night as the vet said, but I don't think it is helping her. I am still hesitant to put her on Tempril P. The vet would like for me to try it just to see if she would perhaps stop. He agrees with me though that her skin does not look irrated at all. I teach school, but my husband is at home with her during the day. She loves him and he loves her and spoils her too. But she continues to whine when I go in the morning and also when I return in the afternoon. I am so puzzled. I have had cats all my life and 4 other mini poodles during my life and none have ever done this. I am thinking of having the groomer to groom her short as I do have her fur groomed long right now. Maybe if her fur were short she would stop. I am wondering if I have left her furn too long and perhaps she is too hot. She looks like a big fluff ball. I really think I will have her fur cut short to see if perhaps she will not chew it. I live in Texas and actually we do not have much cold weather at all. What do you think about having her fur cut to a reasonable shortness instead of letting her be a little furball as she is now?

[Matthew]

Her biting could be caused by several things. If it was a food allergy, it may take months for whatever she was allergic to work itself out of her system, so results may not be immediate. I would give her another month or two and see how she does, if nothing happens I would try switching foods one more time. Great Life dog food is extremely good, they make a buffalo version that is grain and potato free, very few dogs are allergic to buffalo. I hope she makes progress but just keep and eye on her itching to see if it changes in any way.

[Beth]

I was reading your thread and Eukanubu is one of the best dog foods. A meat by-product may not essentially be bad for your pup. The by products in cheaper brands such as purina and old roy, yes that is not good for your dog for it is all fillers. The by-products in Eukanubu, are still from the chicken and not any other animal is used for there meat source. The chicken by-product in Eukanubu is good for them, a good way to get their protein. It comes from the chickens liver and lungs which carries a lot of protein, different from the protein in chicken meat but still essential in the dogs diet.
It could be a nervous habit, I used to put Listerine on my animals fatty tumors it doesn't hurt the dog, they lick it and they simply do not like the taste. You do not want this to become a compulsive habit. Mine has seperation anxiety in the form that he barks at a high pitch when I leave, or whines but has never destroyed any furniture, ripped up some napkins but nothing serious. I made him used to leaving by leaving him at short intervals, letting him know that I would come home and then longer, leaving him kong toys filled with treats. Try that

[Matthew]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9DTzDfYMxo&feature=related. You must watch that video, everything in that video which you will see, are the ingredients that make up meat by-products. By-products in any form are bad, do you think eukanuba uses the chicken you'd buy in giant eagle? Ofcourse not, they used chicken that has died from a variety of causes, that has been deembed unfit for human consumption. Only grain fed, free range, free of hormones and antibiotics should be fed. Why? Most chickens( and cows) are fed a cannibalistic like diet, chickens will eat other dead chickens, same with cows eating other dead cows. Remember the part about rendering plants, with euthanized dogs, cats, road kill and zoo animals, that is also shipped to farms that raise animals such as chickens and cows. Again, if you do the research you'll find the same information. Why do we see so many obese pets? Because the meat is filled with growth hormones which in turn makes the pets fat. It is not a habit at all, it's from the vaccines (which have been shown to cause chronic skin allergies, which my dog has) or from a food allergy.

[Jennifer Stewart]

I would take him to the vet as this sounds to me like mange and could be detrimental to the dog.

[shellie]

one of the things I would do is change the food you are feeding your dog. My lab was chewing himself, shedding like crazy and getting ear infections. I changed his food, and have not had a problem since. The ingredients dogs are most likly to be allergic to are corn our wheat. I feed solid gold. You should also take you dog to the Vet. They can give him somthing to relieve the itching.

[Alice]

My dog had a flea allergy and the vet prescribed a flea preventative pill to be taken monthly. I was amazed as I only found one flea when I bathed my dog yet it seems that one caused an itchy rash and thus hair loss from incessant chewing.

[shellie]

There are so many things that can cause a dog to chew it self. If you have recently installed new carpet, the stain guard may cause a problem. The dog food. a lot of dogs will react badly to food that have corn, corn gluten corn meal or any type of wheat. I would change the diet first. Very easy solution, My yellow lab had ear infections and chewed himself. I took him of of food that had any type of corn or wheat, and haven't had a problem. If you spray pesticides on your lawn or use fertilizers this may be a problem also.