When a greyhound licks, check out what he is licking because he is telling you something.
Arthritis
When a greyhound starts licking his feet and legs, there’s a good possibility it is arthritis. The pain from eroding joints and cartilage, and lack of synovial fluid can cause pain, just like with you. Joint supplements – glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM and Vitamin C – can help. Given daily, at the correct dose of 1500 mgs per supplement, they can help prevent and fix arthritic situations.
Allergies
Allergies cause itching. Itching can cause a hound to lick. There are two ways to get allergies. Environmental or Food. There’s a comprehensive article on Greyhound Gang’s site, under LEARN, MEDICAL, Allergies.
In summary, food allergies are not uncommon in greyhounds. Sign which point to food allergies are diarrhea, itching, licking, shedding, pink skin and eyes. White dogs seem to be more prone to allergies.
Raw feeding can fix food allergies. It’s the processed foods, with grains, who are usually the culprits.
Environmental allergies are less common, but can happen. Allergy tests are seldom conclusive. But figuring out what might have changed in the dog’s environment – a new couch, rug, pesticides on the lawn, a new laundry detergent – can all be culprits.
Greyhound Gang has successfully treated allergy issues with:
– Raw feeding
– Natural allergy herbal pills
– Yucca Intensive for anti –inflammatory
– Vitamin C
– Mega Pet Vitamins
Nail Jam
Greyhounds, because of their running and fast turns, can jam their toes. You’ll see some dried blood where the nail bed goes into the toe. Let them lick, though not obsessively. You can clean with some diluted betadyne, but usually the hound will take care of this.
Fractured Toe
Again, greyhounds because of their running and fast turns can fracture toes. They will usually limp initially, and lick the hurt area. If I catch the fracture right away, I will ice on and off for 24 – 48 hours. And keep them on leash. I will also give Yucca – a natural anti-inflammatory.
Eventually, that fracture will calcify and you’ll see a bigger bump on the top of one toe versus another. If you look at your greyhound’s toes right now, and compare the size of the top of them, you’ll see if your hound fractured a toe before he came to you.
On-going care involves joint supplements , and I use homeopathy too.
Sometimes one of these fractured toes needs to be amputated if the hound continually limps and worries at it. Hounds do just fine without one of their toes, and it’s not a complicated or expensive surgery.
Bottom line – When a greyhound licks, check out what he is licking because he is telling you something .