So I came home late last night and I didn't notice but today I did, Kaiju has a red bump on his leg. It is a distinctive bump, has anyone seen this? Do you think it could be a bite?
@lindsayt--hmm...that sounds right. I was gone all day from 6am-11pm when he got this. Also, Kaiju has been obsessed with licking lately, especially with licking kilbun's wounds. I have to keep them separated.
Just a thought, but does Kaiju have or ever had rear dew claws? That looks almost in the same spot as where Miyu's are, so if he does then maybe they got caught on something or infected.
Looks a lot like Bowpi's lick granuloma, which is STILL there after over a year now!
I think in Bowpi's case it might have started as a bug bite, but turned into a hardened thing as she was worrying that specific spot a lot during allergy season.
We had it checked by the vet and got a round of Betagen, but it didn't change.
Bowpi's bump never got bigger or infected, and she only bothers it occasionally, so we've just let it go... If you find something that makes it go away, I wanna know.
Have you seen him lick the lesion/lump? It doesn't appear to have much salivary stain in the photograph. Another possibility is a histiocytoma, particularly if Kaiju is a young dog. A quick fine needle aspirate at the clinic should be helpful.
Sage has been healing up from a persistent lick granuloma he was nagging at on his wrist. Eventually, we put him on a course of prozac for a month and he has left it alone- despite the extra stress/excitement of a new puppy coming home. His Lick Spot is dry and healed and he never bothers it now, so we've begun drawing down the prozac. Lick granulomas can be very tough to break.
Only you know best how Kaiju feels. We tried a lot of other stuff before we went to prozac, also Sage has had experience with SSRIs and responds well to them. He is
Sage had a sore wrist about a year ago, and would lick, which started the open sore, then when he was anxious he'd pick at the spot and open it up, again, and again, and again... well after the original injury was long gone. So to break the anxious lick cycle (which at this point was completely compulsive/behavioral) we tried prozac and he was able to leave the spot alone long enough for it to heal. We had previously tried wrapping it, spraying it, telling him to knock it off, etc. and he'd seem better for a short time but just as it began to heal, he'd just be in an idle moment and licklicklicklicklick.... alongside this behavior (while not on prozac) he was doing very well in all other areas of his life, barking less, coming when called more, thinking before reacting, so it need not be a systemic depression to require a little help, when all other measures arent working.
To be clear, I'm not saying "Go out and get this," what I mean is "If you try everything and the licking and granuloma persists so that it comes to it, don't be afraid or ashamed to consider this." it is helpful to know that others have been there and come out ok.
thank you for your advice. I will definitely keep it in mind as Kaiju does the same thing as Sage in terms of licking it (it closed up/healed; then he went at it again). i dont want him to be on the cone forever. (that is the only way i could get him to stop licking when I am not actively engaging him, usually). It's weird, it comes and goes.
when i went to the vet at long last for the prozac, his medical records indicated he had been working that same lick spot for a year. because it comes & goes I had lsot track. I hope Kaiju can leave it alone long enough to heal! These are tough to resolve though.
Bowpi has had her spot for over a year. =( She is furtive and sensitive though. We seldom see her licking it, and when we do, all you have to do is snap your fingers lightly and she'll stop... and whimper lightly, and furrow her wrinkled Basenji forehead as if you had just called her the WORST NAME IN THE WORLD. So I'm not about to use doggy Prozac on her, but I may just have to resort to coning her or something to keep her from touching herself while we apply another round of topical treatment...
@wrylybrindle--thanks I will have to look into that. Kaiju is like Sage, when he hears me say stop, he licks even more furiously because he knows I am going to coming over and stop or cone him.
@ttddinh Nope, it's still there. Still the same size. We tried some OTC creams just to try and make it slightly less crusty, but didn't seem to do any good. I still catch her giving it an occasional nibble, but it really seems to bother me more than her, so we're just letting it go... I'll try to take a picture later. How's Kaiju's looking?
Same thing. It is not getting bigger, but it scabbed over then I noticed he started licking it again! I think it's because i left for the weekend to go on an interview... He does not like to be apart from me
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I think in Bowpi's case it might have started as a bug bite, but turned into a hardened thing as she was worrying that specific spot a lot during allergy season.
We had it checked by the vet and got a round of Betagen, but it didn't change.
Bowpi's bump never got bigger or infected, and she only bothers it occasionally, so we've just let it go... If you find something that makes it go away, I wanna know.
Sage had a sore wrist about a year ago, and would lick, which started the open sore, then when he was anxious he'd pick at the spot and open it up, again, and again, and again... well after the original injury was long gone. So to break the anxious lick cycle (which at this point was completely compulsive/behavioral) we tried prozac and he was able to leave the spot alone long enough for it to heal. We had previously tried wrapping it, spraying it, telling him to knock it off, etc. and he'd seem better for a short time but just as it began to heal, he'd just be in an idle moment and licklicklicklicklick.... alongside this behavior (while not on prozac) he was doing very well in all other areas of his life, barking less, coming when called more, thinking before reacting, so it need not be a systemic depression to require a little help, when all other measures arent working.
To be clear, I'm not saying "Go out and get this," what I mean is "If you try everything and the licking and granuloma persists so that it comes to it, don't be afraid or ashamed to consider this." it is helpful to know that others have been there and come out ok.