Based on information from Murphy 's owner, a veterinarian determined through blood tests (unclear if allergy test includes cat dander) and physical examination that Murphy is physically healthy. Despite that report, Murphy has a habit of licking his front legs obsessively after his meals or when he wants to fall asleep.
Murphy’s companions are his human and a cat named Nike who is like family to the dog. He has an active routine consisting of 2 runs daily to the beach, swimming, and playing with his ‘ballies’ which are his toy balls. He is home trained and can differentiate between different colors of balls.
His diet consists of Science Diet and a less expensive brand of dog food and he does not show any changes in behaviour eating either brand.
Due to excessive worrying on the same areas of his legs, a bacterial infection could be lurking beneath the surface of his skin. If a new veterinarian diagnoses this he would need to be put on a course of antibiotics for approximately 4 weeks or longer. An Elizabethan collar to prevent him from licking the area can assist in speeding up physical recovery. While on medication and wearing the collar, introducing behavioural training could help to condition him to stop licking unnecessarily, although this is not a guarantee of that. Applying bandages or socks to stop
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Physically Murphy has no issues but his behaviour is suggesting otherwise. His parents and siblings have no licking behavioral problems according to his owner. However, this does not negate the possibility that Murphy has the gene causing OCD seen in some purebred dogs including English Springer Spaniels. In Murphy’s case his parents could be carriers and with 2 carrier parents this will ensure that 25% of the litter will be affected. Acral lick dermatitis manifests itself in pups around 3 months of age to 1 year but testing is needed to determine this