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Lick Granulomas

Smokeycat

Well-Known Member
Does anyone have tips on how to treat lick granulomas? More precisely how to stop them licking?
Kryten has been diagnosed with them on his hind feet. We believe they likely started from a bacterial skin infection. They had been popping up all over his body but his hind feet were the only ones that he could lick. We had been stopping him when we saw/heard him licking but obviously he was still licking obsessively when we aren't around. Right now the primary goal is to stop the licking so that we can use an internal antibiotic to fight the infection from the inside. The vet won't proscribe antibiotics while he is still licking since the wounds went heal and we don't want a resistant bacterial infection setting in.
His neck is too large for the largest cone the vet has, there might be one size larger that they could order in, so he currently has leg warmers on (socks with the toes cut off) you block direct access to the foot.
 

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Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
Poor boy. I'm going to suggest taking a look on Etsy for someone that will make you a custom cone. I know there are people that make them. They may not offer one ready-made, so I'd contact a few sellers and see if anyone can help you.
 

Smokeycat

Well-Known Member
So far the socks and the bitter spray seem to be working. The socks do slide down so they need to get repositioned frequently but his legs have been dry every time.
 

DennasMom

Well-Known Member
Yea! for Bitter YUCK! LOL.

If you do need a cone, check out "comfy cone" or the blow-up collars, see if those might work?

And, if the spots are low enough on the feet, booties from "alldogboots-dot-com" might be an option, too. The "meshies" come in XXL sizes that actually fit mastiff sized feet!
 

Smokeycat

Well-Known Member
Yea! for Bitter YUCK! LOL.

If you do need a cone, check out "comfy cone" or the blow-up collars, see if those might work?

And, if the spots are low enough on the feet, booties from "alldogboots-dot-com" might be an option, too. The "meshies" come in XXL sizes that actually fit mastiff sized feet!

Unfortunately most of the cone alternatives say not for use with lower limb as many can still reach. I know that some dogs can reach a neuter incision with an inflatable on (Jiggers). The main problem I've found is that Kryten's dimension make getting anything commercial to fit problematic. When I tried boots a couple of years ago his legs were too thick for the ones that fit his paws and the ones that fit his paws were way too loose on his legs.
My little monster has the height of a little mastiff and the weight of a big one. He makes seemingly simply concepts difficult, like putting a cone on him.
 

Smokeycat

Well-Known Member
GRRRRR. Stupid biology, how can it be beneficial to make healing wounds itchy? He will completely leave his legs alone for a couple of days and then when unsupervised will get the covering material off, no matter how it has been applied, and lick it raw again. The only explanation we can come up with is it gets itchy and they he does what he can to relieve the itch.
I did find his old cone, which is the same size as the one we tried on at the vet so I'm going to see if I can get it to fit somehow and if I can he will have to wear it again despite none of us wanting that. Other than the destruction of his bandages every couple of days he has been great to treat, but then he always is.
 

Smokeycat

Well-Known Member
You know your dog is too big when....
You have to add 4" to the neck of the largest cone available so that it will go around his neck without choking him.
I don't think he's too happy.
I've never had luck tying cones on but his collar is too wide for the loops, I might need to buy a belt that will fit.
 

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Sheila Braund

Well-Known Member
Kryten poor puppy.... I wonder if the inner tube would work better.....his such a big boy you may have to get one off a tractor..... I wonder if Benadryl would help?
 

Smokeycat

Well-Known Member
There really isn't an alternative to the cone for lower hind leg reach prevention. By using the cone when we can't watch him I think we've got the wounds he made healing enough that we can start the antibiotics on Monday.
 

Smokeycat

Well-Known Member
I don't know why it still surprises me how much more medicine a mastiff requires over a similarly sized person but it still can. His antibiotics are 1.5x that of the human dose for 3x the duration. Good thing he is easy to pull since it is 6 pills a day for 21 days, 2 of which are going to be with a pet sitter.
 

Smokeycat

Well-Known Member
If you look on the left side you can see where he has managed to break the cone. He really doesn't make getting him health easier.
 

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