Pup licking nasty habit

QMy three-year-old miniature poodle started licking her belly six months ago. It seemed to start after a visit to the groomer where she suffered a nick to one of her nipples. The belly is now stained a red colour and in spite of a trip to the vet and a course of steroids, she continues to lick.

A

The nipple injury may be a red herring. Normally small wounds heal rapidly and no longer cause irritation. The steroids should have given some respite, but the licking still continued after they stopped.

You also mentioned she has access to the garden and plenty of company all day, so she can’t be bored.

However the licking is undoubtedly excessive due to the reddish staining you describe, which is caused by chronic contact of saliva with the skin.

The next step is a repeat veterinary consultation as things are likely to have changed since your initial visit.

There are various temporary measures available to the vet to stop the licking and break the itch-lick cycle, in case, as you suggest, the licking has become a habit.

Your vet may want to try to establish if there is an underlying cause making the dog itchy.

This could be a bacterial or yeast infection, parasites or allergies.

Bacterial or yeast infections respond to veterinary-prescribed shampoos. Parasites are less likely but it makes sense to ensure your parasite treatment is up to date.

Allergies to food, pollens, or dust mites are common and would require investigation too.

Q

I have two rescue cats. They are fine but one sometimes immediately regurgitates his food after eating, especially first thing in the morning. Is he just greedy or does he need a visit to the vet?

A

This does sound like regurgitation, which needs to be differentiated from vomiting. Regurgitation is a passive process that normally occurs very soon after eating. Vomiting is much more active, and may be accompanied by nausea and drooling.

If the regurgitation is occurring only once or twice a month and the cat is otherwise well, eating normally and not losing weight, a visit to the vet may not be necessary initially.

Occasional regurgitation is usually not a serious concern. But if it is more frequent, than veterinary advice is always a good idea.

It would be useful to keep a diary to help your vet if you do need to visit.

Eating too fast can cause regurgitation. You don’t mention what his diet is, but if it is dry you could try feeding from a bowl with a larger surface area. Feeding the cats separately to eliminate competitiveness may help.

Sometimes regurgitation occurs if wet food is too cold, so warming it a little might be useful. Smaller portions of wet food fed more frequently would also be worth trying.

Frequent regurgitation, much more than twice a month, would need veterinary investigation to check for oesophageal foreign bodies or oesophageal disease. This could involve X-rays or looking down the oesophagus with an endoscope.