A very long story short but my Auntie has just rescued a Sealyham Terrier (through a rescue centre). It had been left alone for 12 hours at a time and the dog had started to bite away his own fur.

My Auntie has had a wealth of experience with dogs but not with Sealyham Terriers. She is currently researching them on the net but any extra info would be appreciated.

Thank you

there could be a number of causes for the dog gnawing at itself.

it could have an allergy (to grass, to fleas whatever) a hormonal problem (my dog is losing a bit of his fur on his rear end his bald-patch does lok comical!) or it could be mange or ringworm, all of which could cause an itching/ irritatiion.

it could be nerves, or boredom (A friends dobe used to sit sucking on her own foot, whic looked quite peculiar!)

the person best placed to say what it is, is the vet, they can rule out allergies or hormone problems, and give you tips to help "occupy" the dog and reduce its anxiety if it's separation anxiety/ stress after the abuse it suffered.

So glad the terrier has now got a loving, caring forever home with your auntie.

I cant offer you any experience on the breed other than grooming needs (I am a dog groomer) Sealyham's need extensive grooming and should be professionally groomed every 6-8weeks. It would be a good idea to get your dog used to being combed through at home, as you will need to give him a good comb through every day inbetween professional grooming.

If he looks like he has been done before, I have included a pic of a recently groomed Sealyham then he should be used to the procedure. Make it part of your every day routine to comb him and check inbetween his pads for lumps of dried mud as these can irritate him it will also help him when it comes to going to the vets/groomer for examination purposes. Sealyhams also have hair in the ears which needs to be plucked, if left it can lead to problems and ear infections, your groomer or vet can do this for you.

Anal Glands can also be a cause of chewing the hair, particularly around the back end and feet, again your groomer or vet will do this for you.

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h11/feebagem/250px-SealyhamTerrier2.jpg

Good luck with him they are lovely dogs but typical terriers and strongwilled. We would love to see pics by the way.:love:

Maybe if it has regularly been left for so long the problem is stress or boredom, but exhausting the other potential problems might be a good idea as well.

If the dog is being left for 12 hours that is a incredibly long time to be left alone!! Even as a one off that is a bit extreme. Ideally you shouldn't be leaving your dog for more than 5 hours without a break i know we work and some of us have to leave our dogs a bit longer than this but 12 hours is to long.
The dog could have become stressed by the length of time, panicking about toileting or it may have seperation anxiety only exacerbated by how long it is left.
Not trying to sound condescending or judgemental but my opinnion.

As Gemima said it could be a grooming issue or a skin issue that needs treatment.

I know nothing about the particular breed though sorry.