# Chewing Hair Off On One Leg



## LJSquishy (Feb 27, 2008)

About a month ago, I noticed that London had started to chew off part of the hair on her leg, but I (and my Vet) thought it might be from her ripping off snowballs from her legs after pottying outside.

It seems like it's getting worse, as the entire front of her leg (except the foot area) has been chewed short now. She also seems to scratch a lot on her left side only (the same side as the chewed leg), and there is a small bald spot now from it. Her leg nor her bald spot look red or irritated at all.

Does this sound like allergies or boredom? She is currently on Solid Gold Hundchen Flocken Puppy Lamb. London has separation anxiety from me, but I will see her chewing or scratching while she's with me. I do have to take her to get her Rabies shot in the next week or so, and will ask the vet about this, but I'd like some input from you all if you've experienced this before.

Here are photos of what it looks like...please excuse her messy hair; it's easier to see the spots before I brush her and she gets fluffy!

How much does allergy testing cost for dogs?

Thanks in advance for all your help!


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## casa verde maltese (Apr 7, 2007)

my guess - allergies.


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## CrystalAndZoe (Jul 11, 2006)

I read somewhere and can't remember now where...maybe here on SM lol...that there are a number of Malts who have chewed the hair really short of completely off on the front leg and it being linked to a blood draw or needle stick in that area. Can't remember the reasoning behind it but I found it very interesting. But since your baby is also chewing on her side I doubt that would be the reason. It could be behavioral or allergies.


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## LJSquishy (Feb 27, 2008)

She had her usual puppy shots a month ago, but it had started a little before then, as I showed it to my vet at that time.

I have an appointment for London on Monday at 9am.


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## DenaBear07 (Aug 7, 2007)

Hi LJ! I am a tech assistant at a vet and we do see stuff like this. It may be skin allergies (you can give her childrens benadryl, but please call your vet for dosing...I think I give my maltese about .2 cc). However, I am hesitant to say it sounds like allergies because she has only been chewing on one spot. Sometimes dogs get a form of mange caused by demodex mites. Don't worry, it's not a big deal and can be easily cured. Take your pup to the vet and they'll most likely do a skin scraping. The area is numbed a little and a razor blade is used (very carefully) to scrape some skin off and then put under the microscope to look for the demodex. No worries, most dogs dont even realize they're being scraped! Afterwards a little ointment is put on. Good luck!


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## Julie718 (Feb 17, 2006)

Tango's two front legs look just like that. He is been treated for allergies. We have tried Benadryl and it didn't work. He is on his second food trial to rule out food allergies. The food trial is over the end of May and I can pretty much guarantee it is not going to clear up. Then most likely, I will have to have Tango skin tested because we have tried so many things and nothing has helped my little man.


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