night time licking

Question
For the last couple of months, my beagle (blue tick) has been licking his penis and hind legs (inside) a lot.  He only does this at night.  We have taken him to the vet, he felt he had a bladder infection, he was on some pills for 2 months, he continue to lick like crazy.  Now he is on Benaryl, but he continues to lick at night.  It gets pretty bad some nights, his skin is pink.  Any help would be great.  By the way what is a blue tick beagle?  He is black and white and about 15 inches at the ahoulder.  We rescued him from the pound 3 years ago, boy what a bark.  Thanks for any help.
Bob Bruce

Answer
Hi Bob, thanks for writing to me. Has the vet determined if this is allergy related or is it stress related?

If it is allergy related has he mentioned giving him a cortisone shot? I have also found that Benadryl does not work as well as Atarax. In addition you might try putting him on (and keeping him on) DermCaps. It takes about four months to see a difference in the skin and fur but once it kicks in it is amazing. The best price I have found on it is through the website www.omahavaccine.com. All three of mine have allergy problems and have been on this since they were pups as well as the Atarax and we seldom have to do the cortisone shots because of these two medications. The DermCaps are not a prescription.

If this is nervous licking or related to stress the vet needs to think about possible medication to interrupt the cycle (ie: doggie Prozac) It might also be time to get a second opinion..... this is not normal behavior and it will eventually cause secondary infections from all the licking.

Best of luck!
Have4Paws