I have a Akita/GSD mix the has developed a Lick Granuloma on his RR leg.  We have tried topical sprays, antibiotics and an e-collar and he always goes back to it.  According to the vet, the next step is something called "cool laser" treatment.  Does anyone have experience treating this type thing with the "cool laser" treatment or can you offer any advice for treating it?

thanks

Lick Granulomas typically are an obsessive behavior of the dog.  They lay down and lick the same spot repeatedly which causes irriation and the sore.  I have had very little luck treating these with any therapy.  The cold laser is a cool toy but really of little use for anything in my opinion.  I have gotten them to heal by drugging the dog heavily for an extended period.  As soon as you stop medicating the animal it returns to the behavior and creates the wound again.

E-collar?

Let me give you an actual testimonial for cold laser therapy; it works.  It is not an end all/be all therapy and it wont treat every condition under the sun by waving a magic wand around but i have seen improvement in 80-90% of my patients (dogs) that use it.  I have used it on multiple horses for wound healing and it has certainly increased the speed of heeling.  I have minimal experience in using it on lick granulomas but i have had a few clients that have had good success with it.  The difficult part is that it usually requires multiple visits/treatments initially and this can be costly and hard on a persons schedule with work, family, etc.  I would inquire more about the laser but know that there is science behind it and it is a highly effective tool for multiple ailments.

Cschelk2 DVM

This was our solution for this kind of thing on our old dog Gus:





These were made out of dollar store little kid suspenders and knee socks. The "short sleeve" side was just to keep the tension on the suspenders.

A couple of months of wearing it and his leg was healed up nicely without any surgery. It was really bad as he would endlessly lick and chew on it. All he had after the suspenders and socks was a bare patch of skin which eventually grew hair back on it. When he died a couple of years later, his legs both looked identical to each other and had totally normal hair on them. We had them his back end once too for a couple of weeks when he had stitches to keep him from licking. He wasn't all that dedicated to licking the stitches so them falling off constantly only a minor issue. We solved that eventually by putting the front suspenders back on, putting the new ones around his "waist" and connecting them with leather straps. I don't have a pic of him in that outfit.