Nail Biter???? - Page 1

I'm having problems with my male chewwing on his front nails periodically.  It first started after a trip to the river this spring and I found what looked like a hot spot around the base of his nail up onto his toe.  I treated it and it went away.  Since then he has skinned a few toes several times while playing outside.  He likes to do slides, in the neighborhood of 10-15 foot slides, while playing.  Now its almost like its becoming a learned behavior as I can find nothing wrong other than the obsessive licking/chewwing behavior.  He's been to the vet and has a clean bill on health.  Nothing below the surface, which was what I was worried about.  I had something simular in another GSD and all it took was some training to get her to stop.  I have tried some over the counter bitter chew stop spray. He seems to actually LIKE it!  He's not left alone, so I don't think its boardom.  Any thoughts? 

It's possible he's sprained or even fractured a few of the toes, and may have some arthritis in them.  Would be worth doing an x-ray of one of his feet, and see whether there's anything to that...if there is, you may need to put him on a pain reliever when it's bothering him.

His foot was x-rayed just to be safe.  Nothing.  We had him on a course of antibiotics and pain reliever.

In regard to the bitter spray, what the directions do not tell you is that in order for the spray to work at optimal level, you have to first spray it directly on the dog's tongue. They get such displeasure from this (most of them anyway) that when applied to a body part, they tend not to lick. Usually, if applied to an object or a body part without doing the aversion spray first, most dogs will lick through the spray as it actually is diminished once it hits the target.

Hmm.  Well, if there was no sign of any bone damage, the next things that come to mind would be, in no particular order:

--fungal infection
--peripheral neuropathy due to nerve damage/impingement
--autoimmune issue (some conditions seen in the breed can result in malformation, sloughing, peeling and so forth of the nails, and inflammation of the nail bed)
--behavioral (self-medicating, facilitating endorphin release to relieve stress, boredom, anxiety, fear, etc.)
--allergic response (food, inhalents, enviromental agents)

Not an all-inclusive list, just off the top of my head.

It's late.. I've had a couple of refreshing beverages and I'm not as keen as usual but to reinforce on what Hexe wrote to you GSD's and Rottie's both are prone to an autoimmune issue that cases the underside of the nail to have a crack in it. Basically it is hollow from the tip to the base of the paw in a "V" .. I told my vet he was on crack when he gave me Omega 3-6 fish oil pills to treat it. It was gone in 3 months.

The 2nd issue and I can't remember the name is a bad deal. IIRC, there is a white pasty discharge around the nail and if a certain treatment did not resolve it there was a possible requirement to remove the nail. I've read about it on this forum so a surch here or on google will find it.

The 3rd issue is that either your dog may have damaged it and he is trying to lick it to heal it up or possibly his/her nails are just too long and it bothers him/her. I've seen it with indoor dogs a lot. Give them a trim and see what happens.

Another thing is that there is a enzyme in their saliva that makes their fur turn red. If he is getting any redding/browning on his paws he is really spending some time on it and there is a issue somewhere.

@bcrawford
It's late.. I've had a couple of refreshing beverages and I'm not as keen as usual but to reinforce on what Hexe wrote to you GSD's and Rottie's both are prone to an autoimmune issue that cases the underside of the nail to have a crack in it. Basically it is hollow from the tip to the base of the paw in a "V" .. I told my vet he was on crack when he gave me Omega 3-6 fish oil pills to treat it. It was gone in 3 months.



I was reading on Facebook a couple of weeks ago about an agility border collie who was diagnosed with this autoimmune issue, only difference I can remember is that the topside of the nail got crusty where it went in to the toe as if it had been bleeding which may well be if the dog is landing on it from doing agility jumps.

EDIT: Just found the FB page and it could be an autoimmune disease definitely, do a search on Google for CIMBA and SLO both have in depth information you need.

I have a 5 year old GSD that is biting her nails too.  She typically displays atopy this time of year (but has no hot spots YET).  She is also scratching a bit more than usual.  She shows no cracks in her nails and no hot spots on her feet and no discharge etc.  Nails are cut regularly. 

Because the hot spots have not appeared (YET) and she is scratching more than usual and biting her nails (sounds like she has a chew toy!), I have put her on Benedryl.  She gest 4 benedryl tablets in the morning and another 4 at night.  She has been on the benedryl for 4 days and is chewing and scratching much less.  I was surprised at this as I have used benedryl in the past with no success (but I always try it!). 

I am not sure if the reason is the benedryl is working OR if the reason is that the benedryl makes her sleepy so she doesn't chew/Scratch as much.