Dogs who constantly lick/nibble at themselves.....

[_Acolyte_]

Does anyone have one? And does it drive you mad too? Flick is still nibbling and licking at her coat constantly, it is driving me mad

It cant be fleas or Islay and I would have them too by now

- although Frontline is on order and will be delivered tomorrow!

She has no sore patches or anything like that so dont think it is an allergy or any physical problem - it almost seems to be a habit thing?

 

[unitedkatey]

Yep i have a dog who does it all the time.
It started for him as a nervous, anxious response and now it has just become a habit and something he seems to enjoy doing.
Im trying to break his habit by giving him something else to do everytime i think he is going to have enough time to start licking.
So far a frozen kong has worked well.

 

[_Acolyte_]

Ah ha, good idea

I have a Kong, but will need to find something to occupy Islay at the same time I think

I just throw something like a newspaper at Flick to make her stop

- not the most positive response I know

 

[kirstyhen]

Otto chews his paws, it drives me bonkers

Our old Springer did the same thing.

Apparently it can be down to boredom, but he has no reason to be bored

 

[CAYLA]

Mine lick themselves, it's just normal grooming and preening, aslong as there is no missing patches of hair or signs of skin irritation....my old whippey x grey licks herself on a morning when she wakes.....I just grip at her, and stay STOP LICKING, she knows what it means, and stops straight away

A sign of nervousness, can be related to licking, but they tend to lick the same areas, causing a tell tale sign,(redness, stained fur, or worn down hair areas, or lick their lips or mouth area.

 

[CracklinRosie]

Our old Samoyed used to chew his knees, vet said it was a nervousness thing. He came from a broken home and soon stopped once he felt secure. I think we used to put something on them to deter him but can't remember what, sorry, it was 19 years ago!

 

[Vikki89]

one of our dogs chews his paw til its gets very red and sore then he will let it heal and do it again. have been to vets, they have seen it a few times and aren't worried about it. not sure why he does it.

 

[unitedkatey]

Of course it is totally normal for a dog to lick and clean but when it is obessive that isnt normal.

It of course can be bordom and my kong idea should help that to but it also becomes a habit for some dogs after they have done it out of nervousness.

Just a note my boy also did it when he was overly excited. He knew that jumping at people was not allowed in our house so when someone came in the house he would say a quick hello and take to his bed and lick until he had calmed down.

 

[FinnishLapphund]

Besides medical conditions/itch (and normal grooming) it can be psychological reasons for it and if it's the later, then often just as Rubysurfer describes, it begins because of one reason and continues out of habit.

Since my bitches are not spayed, twice a year for a week or three there is quite some cleaning going on and sometimes I just feel like

but without the anger.
Well actually maybe not just sometimes, it does usually affect my mentality negatively to listen to such sounds for long periods of times, say five to ten minutes. I mean come on, it doesn't make it easier when you know they are cleaning their rump with their tongue...

Big sympathy with finding the sound of licking dog disturbing/annoying.

 

[CAYLA]

LMAO....snap...I have the same condition......I canot stand these types of noises for more than a few seconds....I need silence

hence, why my dogs are familiar, with the STOP LICKING command

 

[Sprout]

Licking/nibbling can be stress or boredom related, but my old Collie licked her front legs continuously when her arthritis got bad.
Some breeds are known for licking - Dobermans often suffer from "flank licking".

 

[Jennypenny]

My Lurcher x is always lciking him self. He is like a cat, he just likes to keep clean which I don't mind. My other dog is the oppisite, and I have to keep putting her in the bath. Bless em

 

[_Acolyte_]

[ QUOTE ]
LMAO....snap...I have the same condition......I canot stand these types of noises for more than a few seconds....I need silence

hence, why my dogs are familiar, with the STOP LICKING command

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone, it is really useful

Hopefully my Frontline will arrive today so I can do them 'just in case' but other than that I will instigate the 'stop licking' training that Cala suggests

It just drives me absolutely barmy for some reason

 

[Bossdog]

Gah, my old girl Meg does this and it drives...me...BONKERS!!!!! She makes this horrible guttaral sound deep in her throat (sounds like she's under water). She has always done it (she was 11 when we got her) and it's mainly her paws and between her back legs, the noise is insane. She seems to njoy it though, definatly not a stress/nervous thing, just a habit she's got into and at her age, I let her away with it!!

 

[vanessahook]

My St Bernard started licking his front legs when he was about 8 years old, really obessively until all the fur had turned pink which didn't look very nice.
He was then diagnosed with heart failure and started on drugs and the licking stopped over night, he must have been worried about the way he was feelig i suppose.