Dog bites itself: causes & tips

5. Autoimmune diseases

At Autoimmune diseases the immune system attacks its own body without there being any good reason for it. They are mostly genetic, and in some cases the skin is also attacked. This is very unpleasant for the dog, which is why it often bites itself.

Well-known diseases to which this applies include: Pemphigus foliaceus (Antibodies destabilize the keratinocytes, causing blisters on the skin) and more systemic Lupus erythematosus.

These diseases often also affect people other organs, causing it to other symptoms such as fever or apathetic behavior. Fortunately, the disruptions occur rather rarely.

6. stress & nervousness

When a dog bites itself, it doesn't always have to do with dermatological diseases: If everything is fine with the skin, it is often an obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Stress or nervousness is usually responsible for this. This changes the hormone release, stress hormones such as cortisol or adrenaline are produced more, while “happiness hormones” such as serotonin fall behind.

Affected dogs often bite their paws, similar to nervous people who bite their nails. However, the problem can also become so severe that the animals bite themselves almost indiscriminately and exceed the limits of self-harm.

7. Joint problems

Due to genetic factors (including overbreeding), poor nutrition and ever-increasing average life expectancies, more and more dogs are suffering degenerative joint diseases. They usually occur in older animals, but occasionally four-legged friends in their “prime” are also affected.

Affected dogs often have restricted movement and suffer from severe pain. Since they sense that something is wrong but don't know the cause, they want to remedy the situation themselves. This is why dogs can often be seen biting their hindquarters, thighs, paws, legs or even hips.

8. boredom

An overload of stimuli can also be responsible for the behavior. When dogs are bored They often do very strange things: Some people start to be creative and use things that were not actually designed for that purpose as toys. Others become more destructive and, for example, destroy the furnishings of the home.

Occasionally they also start to bite each other. What is typical is that the four-legged friends try not to hurt themselves. If he has “witnesses”, the dog will, for example, constantly bite his tail.

Dogs are particularly affected by boredom physically and mentally underutilized for example, because they have to spend a lot of time alone and they don't get much exercise.

9. Dog wants to be noticed

Dogs are very intelligent and docile animals: even if they sometimes pretend not to want to hear you, they learn human reactions to their behavior very quickly.

Some animals also take advantage of this: They then deliberately behave strangely in order to attract the attention of their owners. In doing so, they rely on their own wealth of experience: For example, if you “mother” him a lot as soon as he hurts himself, he will remember it.

Then it can happen that he too even bites to get your attention. What is typical here is that the dog only does this when you are near him.

10. Attempt to remove foreign objects

Occasionally, biting is also productive: after all, dogs use their mouths not only for eating and attacking, but also as a hand. So when they use it, theirs are often motor skills asked.

This is especially the case when you get one Foreign body have captured. This happens comparatively often, especially paws and pads are damaged quickly thorns, stalks or wooden and Glass splinters drilled in.

This is very unpleasant for the dog and is also a common source of infection. The animals therefore try to remove the foreign body as best they can. It then seems to us as if they are nibbling or biting each other.

11. Changing teeth in puppies

Is your four-legged friend still very young? Then I would no big worries do when he bites himself every now and then as a puppy.

Dog children are very curious and like to try out what their mouths are capable of – they don't stop at themselves either. He also contributes to this Change of teeth at. This phase is quite unpleasant for him, for example small inflammations occur again and again during the breakthrough of the new teeth.

To alleviate this, they like to bite on other things like chew toys during this time. Sometimes they can also bite themselves.

12. Tumors

In some cases, however, it is also tumors that cause problems for the four-legged friend. Some tumors on the skin are benign, but there are also dangerous and malignant ulcers.

They act like a foreign body to the dog and are occasionally painful. The animals therefore try to remove them themselves, but they can also bite themselves in the process.

Neoplasms in the skin area are common and account for about a third of all abnormal tissue changes in dogs. Great caution is required here, because… Approximately 20 to 40 percent of all cases are malignant.

13. Hormonal diseases

And finally, sometimes they are pathological disorders of the hormonal balance, which cause the dog to bite itself.

• One Hypothyroidism For example, it often leads to very dry skin.
• At the Cushing's syndrome On the other hand, the body produces too much cortisol, the animals are not only more nervous and gain weight, but also have thinner and therefore weakened skin. It is more prone to injuries, which the dog sometimes tries to heal itself with bites.