# Pup is biting/pulling hair off herself!



## Swampcollie (Sep 6, 2007)

More than likely she's bored.


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## Buddy's mom forever (Jun 23, 2011)

I really don't know why River does that, just to welcome you to the forum and hope somebody could help.


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## Carmel (Feb 9, 2015)

I would give her a dose of Frontline or Vectra if you haven't done it in a while, just to rule out any parasites. My one Newf is really allergic to flea and tick bites, so I usually give him a dose in spring and fall of Vectra. Also (before) doing the Vectra or Frontline, wash the area she is chewing and rinse well. If after a treatment she still chews you may want to take her in for a skin scrape. Up here in Wisconsin we had mites going around the dog parks and that needs to be treated with shots of Ivermectin.


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## cgriffin (Nov 30, 2011)

I would already have taken her to the vet. What could also factor in is that she was recently spayed and her hormone levels are out of whack now.


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## goldlover68 (Jun 17, 2013)

I think you already know the possibilities: For me I would do the following;

1. Vet Check, allergies, skin problems, etc.

2. More exercise, if necessary get a pet walker on Angies List...

3. If none of these work, take her to a dog behaviorist...

Good Luck


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## Vhuynh2 (Feb 13, 2012)

When my older girl was a puppy she used to rip off the feathering on her forelegs. She got a lot of exercise but I think she was still bored. I diligently used bitter apple on legs until she stopped. it hasn't been a problem since.


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## PattyU (Aug 6, 2014)

My boy, Bodie, was biting at his tail also. It was probably a month or more ago that he took out a chunk of fur (he's 5+ months now). I asked our vet and he thought it was likely boredom (apparently food allergies are rather uncommon in young pups). He suggested increasing exercise (physical and mental) and watching to see if we could figure out Bodie's trigger (which we couldn't do because he never did it when we were around). Lastly, he suggested using hot sauce as a bite deterrent. We used bitter apple but Bodie became accustomed to the taste and it no longer worked. Our vet suggested getting the hottest hot sauce we could find and use that. Its what he does with his dogs. We did it with Bodie and he no longer bites his tail and his fur/feathers are growing back. As for exercise - we go on one longer walk with Bodie a day and two short walks. He also eats all his meals out of treat/food dispensing toys. This provides physical and mental stimulation. If you do catch your pup biting, try redirecting with training or something that will be more of a distraction than just trying to give a toy. I think Bodie started biting his tail because we took away rope toys a while back since he would systematically remove and eat the fringe ends. I think one day he realized he basically had a rope toy attached to him and decided to try it out. He's much better now. I don't use the hot sauce unless I know he's going to be in his crate for a longer period of time than he is accustomed too. Good luck!


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## luckykit63 (Mar 8, 2015)

hello river might be a very sensitive emotional dog. I have a female who is five years old now, and we actually went through the same thing with her.
We tried grain free food and made sure we did not over or under bathe her. We made sure to keep regular on her monthly flea treatment.
Even the vet could not find any fleas on her. There is a skin condition called ithytosis, that can be hereditary. Take her to the vet and have her checked for that. Our dog did not have the ithytosis either. Dogs can have allergies to certain flea medications also.
We started using Comfortis on our dog, it took a while but she quit itching, and her hair finally came back, it took several months. I would not wait too long to have a vet check her for allergies. Some of these can develope into lifelong problems.
Again a nervous dog or cat can start chewing and licking off their own hair till they are bald. Check when she seems stressed, and try to change what you can. As I said some pets are sensitive to upsets in the home or even small changes. Even if you move the furniture around some pets do not like change of any sort. Have you changed a dog shampoo or any new treats or foods. If there is nothing different maybe food or shampoo needs to be changed. Just like people sometimes even when you have used or eaten the same thing for years, all of a sudden you can get a negative or allergic reaction. Hope I helped a bit. Just watch her really close and even keep a little notebook about the times of day or situations when you notice her biting herself. This will also help your vet. Has she been with you someplace new for her? She could even be allergic to the dog shampoo that is used by a friend who has a dog that she has recently been around.
Good Luck.


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## Mom of Jake (Dec 5, 2010)

We had a female Golden (she's gone, now) who regularly pulled out her tail hair. We used to joke that she had a "stick tail" and it looked odd. She had plenty of exercise and was otherwise well-adjusted, but it just seemed like she hated her tail.

She DID have a thyroid problem,though, and had to take thyroid medicine every day; I don't know if that had anything to do with it.

(A few months after she died we got a Golden puppy who grew up to have the fullest, bushiest tail we've ever seen on a Golden. He doesn't touch it, but likes to wave it in the face of our other dog - a rescue Brittany mix - who grabs hold and gets dragged around; she often walks away with a mouthful of his tail hair)


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## SableHart (Dec 4, 2014)

I agree with checking with your vet. Per our vet 7 months is typically when Goldens can start developing allergies so that may be a possibility. My last golden seemed to have separation anxiety as a pup and would chew the fur off of her tail. It looked quite ridiculous with chunks of fur missing  I did my best to increase her exercise and give her more attention. Eventually she quit/grew out of it.


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