10 Reasons Your Dog is Licking Her Private Area Excessively
If your dog is licking her private area constantly, you may be wondering what is going on and what you can do to make her feel better.
Dogs do not start licking their private areas on a whim.
If your female dog is licking her private area constantly out of the blue, most likely she has a good reason to do this.
The problem with letting your dog keep on licking, is that this will further aggravate the area.
This excessive licking can cause increased irritation, localized swelling and redness, which will cause your dog to want to lick even more.
Soon, a vicious cycle establishes, making it a difficult habit to interrupt. Left untreated, the area may even turn raw.
Tackling your female dog's excessive crotch licking requires going to the root of the problem. There are several potential causes that may cause a dog to lick her private area constantly.
It may take putting on your investigative hat to find out the underlying problem, but your best bet is to see your vet for proper diagnosis and treatment.
Discover several causes for dogs licking their private areas constantly.
1. Your Dog is Coming Into Heat
If your dog is intact, meaning that she is not spayed and capable of having puppies, you may have to consider whether she may be coming into heat.
Some female dogs become fastidious cleaners when they are in heat, and will clean up their discharge repeatedly.
This sometimes makes recognizing whether the dog is in heat or not challenging at times.
Inspecting the area for local swelling and a bloody or straw-colored discharge can give you a hint on whether she is coming into heat or is in heat already.
The moment your dog turns around to lick, take a look if there is presence of discharge from the private area.
If it's difficult to tell, you can get a white paper towel and gently blot the area and inspect whether these is discharge and if so, its color.
How often do female dogs go into heat? Intact females go into heat on average every 6 months, with small breeds even going into heat as often as 3 to 4 times a year, while larger dogs may go into heat every 8 to 12 months.
2. A Possible Sign of Pyometra
If you own an intact female dog who went recently in heat, and she is licking her private area constantly, consider that this may be a sign of a potentially life threatening condition known as pyometra.
Pyometra in female dogs, is an infection of the womb that often causes a discharge which the dog may readily try to clean up.
The discharge is yellow-green to pink or red-tinged, thick and odoriferous (giving off a smell). Such discharge may often be recognized by dog owners as it accumulates on the skin or hair under the dog's tail or on bedding and furniture where the dog has recently laid, explains veterinarian Dr. Ivana.
Other signs of pyometra include fever, loss of appetite, vomiting.
See your vet at once if your intact female dog has discharge shortly after a heat cycle. If your dog is spayed (not intact), there are several other possibilities listed below.
3. A Urinary Tract Infection
UTIs in dogs can trigger licking.
One of the most common causes of a dog licking her private area constantly is a urinary tract infection.
Affected dogs tend to lick their private area often because their urethra is irritated and burns.
On top of excessive licking of the private area, dogs with a urinary tract infection may ask to be taken out more frequently.
Once out, affected dogs may have difficulty urinating, trying to pee and squatting repeatedly only to produce a couple of drops or maybe producing nothing at all.
Sometimes, the affected dog may have accidents around the house. There may also be presence of blood in the urine which gives the dog's urine a pinkish tint.
Diagnosis is obtained by submitting a urine sample to the vet. The urine sample is best if taken first thing in the morning and kept refrigerated in a sterile container if the vet is not seen right away.
The sample needs to be as fresh as possible.
If it's not possible to get a sample, the vet may get one by cystocentesis, a procedure where the vet inserts a needle into the bladder to collect a urine sample directly.
Treatment for a urinary tract infection consists of antibiotics. Left untreated, urinary tract infections may progress into a more serious kidney infection.
Increasing water intake can be helpful as it helps flush bad bacteria out of the bladder.
Stones can also cause excess licking.
4. Presence of Stones
Sometimes, if your dog is licking her private area constantly, the culprit may be the presence of urinary crystals or stones.
There are different types of bladder stones in dogs.
The presence of crystals in the urine can be particularly annoying to the dog as they may feel like shards of glass being passed through the urinary tract.
Affected dogs lick their private area excessively or may scoot as a result of the irritation and pain.
Diagnosis can be obtained through a urinalysis and X-rays so to check presence of stones in the bladder.
Once again, it's important that the urine sample is as fresh as possible. A urine sample that is allowed to sit for too long tends to be alkaline and can produce false positives for crystal formation, explains veterinarian Dr. Altman.
5. Local Skin Inflammation
If your dog is licking her private area constantly, you may want to inspect the area for any signs of problems. Your dog may have skin inflammation due to dermatitis or even an infection in the area.
Vaginitis, is also quite common in spayed female dogs considering that estrogen has a protective role, and spayed female dogs lack this hormone, explains veterinarian Dr. Jamie.
Affected dogs will lick the area and there may be presence of a yellow or greenish discharge along with the redness.
Sometimes, it may go away on its own, but antibiotics may be needed if there are any signs of worsening. Preventing excess licking of the area is important so to allow the area to heal. An Elizabethan collar may be necessary.
Allergies may also cause excessive itching and licking in affected dogs and associated inflammation, however, typically you'll also see excessive feet licking and redness under the dog's arm pits or on the belly, explains veterinarian Dr. Perry.
Contact dermatitis can sometimes affect the area if your dog sits on a rug or on grass that has been recently treated with a rug cleaner or lawn chemical.
6. Skin Fold Pyoderma
If your dog has a skin fold in the area, this may lead to annoying recurrent pyodermas (bacterial infections of the skin with the formation of annoying lesions and pustules).
Look for any local swelling and redness. The infections take place because the skin folds retain moisture allowing bacteria and yeast to grow. This can be seen with frequency in female dogs with whose private area is recessed into a fold.
If the area appears irritated or raw, your vet can take a swab and check for presence of bacteria, white cells, or abnormal epithelial cells.
Treatment may involve oral antibiotics or oral antifungal medications depending on whether the infection is due to bacteria or yeast.
In the long term, a corrective surgery where the excess fold of tissue is removed may be needed to prevent recurrence of infections.
7. Dribbling of Urine
If your dog is lying down and suddenly turns around to lick her private area, it could your dog is dribbling urine.
The trickle of urine on the dog's fur may tickle or the sensation of wetness may annoy the dog enough to trigger an immediate need to lick the area.
At a closer inspection you may notice the fur around the private area being wet and perhaps other wet areas on the bedding.
If you gently blot the area with a white paper towel, you may notice that the leaked fluid is indeed urine from its yellowish or transparent in color. There may be other spots left on the bedding.
Affected dogs often will also typically dribble some urine after urinating.
Urine scalding is sometimes a possibility when the area remains in contact with the urine for prolonged periods of time.
Older spayed females are the poster child for urinary incontinence.
Urinary incontinence in these dogs occurs because of relaxation of the urethral sphincter.
Treatment typically consists of the drug Proin (phenylropanolamine) or alternative female hormones.
8. Trauma to the Area
Any type of trauma to the area can be a cause for licking.
Some dogs may get accidentally cut after a grooming session and the dog may feel compelled to lick.
Sometimes, a bug bite may be to blame causing local irritation and worsening of the situations through licking.
9. Trapped Foreign Bodies
Sometimes foreign bodies such as thorns or foxtails may embed in the area causing dogs to lick excessively in an attempt to remove them.
This can become particularly common in female dogs who have a lot of hair nearby their private areas.
10 Presence of a Tumor
If your dog keeps licking the area and you notice there's a bump that you never saw before, consider that this may a be a tumor.
Although not very common, tumors may impact this area, especially in older dogs.
There are variety of types of tumors that can take place including squamous cell carcinomas, mast cell tumors, fibrosarcomas, epitheliomas, sebaceous gland adenomas, TVT or plasma cell tumors.
If a tumor is suspected, the vet can perform a quick needle biopsy to get a preliminary idea of what kind of cells are present.
If a tumor is confirmed, then the next step is often removal through freezing, cautery, or surgery.
Why is My Dog's Private Area Turning Rusty?
If your dog keeps licking her private area excessively, with time, you'll start noticing the effect of "salivary staining."
Salivary staining occurs when a dog's saliva, which contains pigments from their diet, comes into contact with the dog's fur. The pigments in the saliva end up discoloring the fur, which becomes particularly visibly in light-colored dogs.
How to Stop Your Dog From Licking Her Private Area
Of course, the only sure way to stop your dog from licking her private area for good is to have the underlying cause addressed.
In the meanwhile, if you are concerned your dog will turn her private area raw from all the licking, you can place a T shirt on your dog by sliding her back legs through the sleeves and then tying a knot along her back so to keep it in place, suggests veterinarian Dr. Peter.
Alternatively, you can have your dog wear an Elizabethan collar.
Photo Credits:
- Joel Mills - Own work, Picture of Struvite (magnesium ammonium phosphate) stones removed from a dog's urinary bladder. CC BY-SA 3.0
Disclaimer: this article is not meant to be used as a substitute for professional veterinary advice or behavioral advice. If your dog is acting sick or aggressive please consult with a qualified professional for proper diagnosis and treatment.
