My poor Nikolai. If its not one thing its another. He has this tumor on his leg, I'll try to post some pictures later. Does anyone have experience with this? We have been to the vet, and everything came back normal. But he has bitten it so bad, it bleeds. I've been doing my best to keep it clean, and make it so he can't itch it, but I can't always be there and he can get his foot around the cone. She says they will go away within 3 months if he doesn't itch and bite at it. Infection rates with this can be high, but I  do not want it to be surgically removed because of his seizures. Any advice to get him to stop biting or tips to help it heal faster, would be a life saver!

Currently, I am just putting antibiotic ointment on it, and then covering up the spot and spraying around it with bitter apple spray but it doesn't always help.

My vet made it seem like no big deal, and she knew he was chewing it but google kind of makes me think other wise, and I'm kind of freaking out!

i really know nothing about tumors or anything like this. But for itchy spots, i've found that putting a cold, wet towel on it helps relieve some of the itchiness.

Thanks, I'll try that tonight. Its just such a pain to see him itching, and it stresses me out cause surgery just can't be an option for us right now.

I also ordered some Nupro, and I'm hoping that will help build his immune system and get it healing a little bit faster.

For stuff like this I've found keeping it dry to be the best way to deal with it. So, wash with warm water and a mild soap, blow dry with a cool blow dryer and then put gold bond, baby powder, or straight corn silk on it (gold bond is better for itching). If it says moist, that's just going to be a breeding ground for infection. If you feel like you have to bandage it, I would probably still use the gold bond, but take a thin panty liner, put the powder on it, wrap it around the tumor (absorbent side toward the tumor), and then cover it with whatever tape you were using on the bandage. You could still spray the bitter apple on it, and not worry about it seeping through the panty liner. The gold bond helps with itching. Is he on seizure meds? You can also give benedryl to help with the itching, but I'm not sure if he would be able to take that if he is on other meds.

I've asked our neurologist about Benadryl in the past (Shadow likes to eat bees, smh), and he said it's not an issue with the seizure meds. Just remember that everything you're giving him has a sedating effect, so he's probably going to be more affected by that than normally. For Benadryl, the dosing is 1mg per lb of weight, so he can probably take 2 of the 25mg pills.

Thanks Meredith and Jen. He is actually not currently on his seizure meds. We were waiting for his next one, and so far so good, he has not had another. I might try to give him some of the Benadryl for it, and I need to go to the store today to get some better wrap for it. It wouldn't have even been an issue had he not bit it raw. I'll grab some of the gold bond, and see if that will help as well. Do you think that would hurt on an open wound?

Google just freaked me out cause it said some dogs have died if these get infected. I just can't believe my vet was so calm about it. I mean Nikolai goes hiking, and everything. I just wish she had mentioned what to do better.

If it's open, I'd start with something more gentle and get johnson & johnson baby powder. They make a natural variety that has cornsilk instead of talc. Once it scabs up, the gold bond will be fine, but I don't think I'd want to put talc on an open wound. When it scabs, it will really start to itch and the gold bond will help with that. I used it Dizzy's hot spot and it was fine, but the open part was pretty small, smaller than a dime size.

Does he like vinegar? Lots of dogs hate vinegar so you could try a vinegar spray instead of the bitter apple. Just spray it on the vetwrap and see what happens. Worst case scenario is that you help it heal a little more with the vinegar

I've never tried vinegar with him, so I'm not sure if he would like it or not want to chew it. Can it just be regular apple cider vinegar or does it have to be with mother in it?

Regular would be fine, I'm sure.

can you just put a cone on him when your not there to watch him? thats the only added advice i have.

Poor boy hope he can leave it alone to heal!

We've tried the cone, but that little guy can get his leg around it. I'm going to see if there is a longer one at the store than what we currently have at least for when he is in his crate for the day.

Its just crazy, he was the healthiest dog till he hit 2 and now everything is going wrong.

Well vinegar definitely does not work, as I'm watching him chew on it from work right now.  This thing is driving me crazy. He leaves it alone while its taped when we are at home, but I can't leave it taped while he is in his crate cause he will try to eat the tape off. The cone still doesn't work, and I don't know what will make him leave it alone. It is driving me crazy cause in no way can we have it surgically removed.

Can they put a cast on it that has an opening? So that you can air it out when home?

I don't know, its such a weird spot where it is located. I'm actually going to get some pictures tonight and see if anyone has some ideas.

I would love to see some pictures!

Its just getting worse and worse. Don't know how to handle it exactly. I tried to get pictures as clear as I could but the hair doesn't make it easy!

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What kind of cone are you using that he can get around it?

Just the plastic ones from the vet. I think I'm going to try to get a better one at Petco today but they look to the same size. I'm going to bring it to the store though and see if they are an inch or so longer. I was debating on one of those plastic blow up ones that can go around his neck, but I would think that might be easier?

i asked about the rings around the neck for sierras leg and they said it would not work on the husky because they are so flexible. would you say its about 2" in size? i really would look at just having it removed, i know you are worried about the seizures but it does not look like you can keep him away from it long enough for it to heal.

Yeah, I've emailed the vet these pictures and I'm going to see what she has to say. It just sucks that its something that could go away on its own, but that he just won't leave it to let that happen.