In this brief veterinary consultation, a pet owner reports that her dog persistently licks her feet and hip without chewing, suspecting a stomach upset. Dr. Conor Brady explains that the licking may stem from mild itchiness caused by environmental allergens such as pollen, house dust, or dust mites. He suggests evaluating food allergies through elimination trials, removing common proteins like wheat, beef, and chicken, and introducing novel proteins (duck, venison, rabbit, pork) for a few weeks to diagnose and potentially treat the issue. The owner then raises the possibility of displacement behavior, likening it to thumb‑sucking in children, and notes that chronic licking can be a coping mechanism for pain, such as arthritis, leading to lick granulomas. Dr. Brady acknowledges that joint pain or arthritis could drive the behavior, emphasizing that both dermatologic and orthopedic factors should be considered.
