Q: We have a 12-year-old German shepherd female who started chewing on her tail! She sits on it between her back legs and chews until the hair is chewed off and it sometimes bleeds! Is she just bored? She has three Min-Pins (miniature pinschers) and a little terrier, so she shouldn’t be bored and we give her a lot of attention as she is “Queen Bee” at our place!
Dr. Nichol: Your big, elderly dog is not self-mutilating because she’s bored. She incessantly licks and chews her tail because it’s painful and possibly itchy. All that saliva, plus heat from her thighs, is the formula for a bacterial population explosion. Your girl’s attempts to heal her wound are causing it to worsen.
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