Why does my dog keep licking her arm? Is it an allergy or infection?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
My dog is a Shi Bu Inu mixed with Pomeranian and she keeps licking her arm. Why does she lick her arm constantly
2 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on June 16th, 2017
She probably licks the arm because of an infection or an allergy, if she continues doing that you will eventually see a change in color in that area as well as loss of fur, if this happens you will need to take her to the vet in order to get it treated.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
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Published on March 5th, 2020
Excessive licking may be due to boredom, anxiety/stress, pain, allergies or infection. Place an e-collar (cone) on her to prevent licking and have her physically examined by your veterinarian to diagnose and treat the underlying cause. Any treatment will depend on the diagnosis. https://www.petcoach.co/article/why-does-my-dog-keep-licking-himself/
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Health & Wellbeing
Why does Molly llick her arm at least 75% of the day
Excessive licking may be due to boredom, anxiety/stress, pain, allergies or infection. Place an e-collar (cone) on her to prevent licking and have her physically examined by your veterinarian to diagnose and treat the underlying cause. Any treatment will depend on the diagnosis. https://www.petcoach.co/article/why-does-my-dog-keep-licking-himself/
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Our mixed breed dog Sammie is almost 16 years old. Going back to the first few years of her life, she has licked her arm between her elbow and her wrist. In reading a couple of articles on this website, licking of the arm and feet is attributed to al
If it is always the same exact spot and she licks mostly at night before bed or when she is nervous then yes it may be behavioral. If she licks on all feet and both arms then it could still be allergies. Dogs can have allergies all their life. You could try 25mg Benadryl twice a day but she may need something stronger like a steroid or apoquel to help control the itching which would need to be prescribed by your vet. Also, if you haven't tried a food trial, consider trying a low allergen diet like natural balance limited ingredient diet venison and sweet potato. A true food trial needs to be done for a minimum of 8-12 weeks to rule out food allergy. Finally, of between her toes are really red or goopy, she may need antibiotics or an anti-fungal to help. I hope this helps!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
What does it mean if my dogs nail quick are lighter pink than normal and she keeps liking her front paws?
The quick color does not mean anything, her licking her paws could mean she is suffering from an allergy or from an infection, in such a case i would recommend taking her to your vet in order to get it checked.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My dog has been itching/biting her arm for about a year. We moved into a new house with a yard w/various plants/bushes and rescued a new dog from Mexico, she is white and gets rashes / itches a lot too but not like my dogs arm. Recently went on meds,
Dogs often get these hot spots (aka acral lick granulomas) for a few different reasons, but it seems like this may be due to allergies. Harley may be over-licking the area because it's sore, or it has an infection. In fact, these types of lesions tend to develop infections in the skin despite the cause. It could also be somewhat of a habit she developed. I think it's best to consult with your vet about this, because they will know more about her case and can ensure that she gets the necessary treatment. You can also do a few things at home to help treat for infection and keep her from licking too much. Here are my recommendations: 1) Clip the hair around the area and expose all of the sore skin. 2) Wash/spray the area with just cool, clean water (no soap or other antiseptics) for at least 5 minutes at a time. Do this at least twice a day. 3) Bandage the wound with gauze and apply an over-the-counter antibacterial cream (i.e Neosporin) to the wound. Keeping it covered and
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My dog licks and chews her foot i was cleaning and found a light colored scabe or something (it looked like a magett but its winter time) cleaned it with peroxide anf put neodoprin on it is there anything else i can do. She is a 10 yr old lab sherpa
If she is licking and chewing her paw than she could have allergies or an infection. You could soak her paw in a warm Epsom salt solution and see if that helps. Otherwise, she should be examined by your vet for treatment. She may need an antibiotic and anti-histamine to treat.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My dogs feet are like a red orange color and he keeps licking them. Is it some kind of irritation?
The change of color could be as a result of constant licking. This could be due to an allergy, fleas, an infection or mites. If it's been a while already it is recommended to have it checked by a vet in order to rule out parasites first, then a treatment for allergy or infection can be started.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Dolly, Pomeranian dog, 9 years 4 months, has a brown colored skin lesion on right hind leg, there is hair loss. She is not allowing to touch that area and is licking it. Not able to notice any discharge. Please tell the reason for this and treatment.
Dolly has a lick granuloma. The staining you are seeing around it is from her saliva. Often times dogs lick a particular area due to underlying pain (ie: arthritis in the joint). Sometimes it can be that something irritated the skin which started the licking and the subsequent reaction. No way to tell just by looking at it. Here is a good article about this issue: https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/lick-granuloma-in-dogs I recommend you get her to the vet for some treatment. Usually steroids and antibiotics are needed to clear this up. Also, she will need to wear a cone to stop the licking. No matter what you treat her with it will not get better if she continues to lick it. Hope this helps. Best wishes!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Training & Behavior
My dog keeps licking her genitalia area it’s turning red and she also chews on her paws and nails
Hi, and thanks for your question. This could be due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment, then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My dog is constantly licking her paws/feet/legs and pillows/couches. Her fur is pinkish and I've read online that this can mean something but don't exactly know what. Help?
The pink discoloraction of the fur is usually a result of saliva staining from chronic licking. Often, there is an underlying reason for them to be licking themselves such as food or environmental allergies or an infection of the skin. Sometimes dogs can lick though even when there is no underlying disease in the skin causing them to be itchy. This compulsive licking could sometimes be referred to inanimate objects like couches. Ideally, I would have Molly's skin evaluated by a veterinarian to rule out any underlying disease/infection. Best of luck.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
I first noticed Moose's licking when he hurt his leg a year ago. He started out licking that paw/leg, then he healed but he still licked and the licking moved to both paws/legs. A little while later I found out he was allergic to his food so I figure
This is probably due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment, then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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