Very strange issue

[LaurenBay]

Hi guys, so any advice or tips would be really appreciated. My husband is at the end of his tether to to be honest I am getting there too.

I have a 9 year old Beagle, he has developed a habit, and I cannot for the life of me get him out of it. It all started when I weaned my baby onto solids, he sat in the highchair and obviously food does get dropped. I lock Ralph behind the babygate at feed times otherwise Toby will throw him food as he finds is highly amusing. I would make sure crumbs and food were cleaned up and then let Ralph in, he obsessively licks the floor. To the point it is wet and slippy and Ralph has a foam around his mouth. He will lick for hours and hours if we don't stop him. This only occurs at Toby's meal times. So far I have tried the below:

Keeping him locked behind the baby gate for a long period after food time - makes no difference, apart from him being in such a rush to get back in
Leaving him in the room with us during feed him - makes no difference
Giving him a lick mat - works short term and then he goes for the floor
Distracting him with training and treats - works until the training stops and then goes to the floor
Giving him his dinner - he will eat that and then will still lick the floor

He will still obsessively lick the floor no matter what, its open plan so I can't shut the doors. He waits in the hallway behind the gate. Not only is it extremely unhygienic, but I am worried he will harm himself with the chemicals as I wash the floor daily. Also it is hard to relax in the evenings when the continuous licking sound is going on.

He only does it with the toddler, and never did this before him. He will listen if we call him away, but 10 seconds later he will get back up and back to the floor to lick. He literally leaves puddles behind. Its become more of an obsession then anything for him I think.

 

[meleeka]

That does sound like it’s become an obsession. How much exercise does he get? I don’t think you are going to get a quick fix, but ime obsessive behaviours usually start when the dog is unhappy/bored, so fixing that stops the behaviour. My JRT went through a stage of licking her leg (it started off with a teeny scratch) The only thing that stopped it was making sure she was so busy that when she was at home she slept instead of thinking about licking her leg, which stopped the pattern.

 

[CorvusCorax]

It's likely a displacement/stress behaviour caused by something else - like us repeatedly washing hands, a doggy tic.
Probably simple separation anxiety but it wouldn't hurt to have a think and rule out anything else and maybe think about some meds to break the cycle.

 

[AmyMay]

My friends dog does this. They thought it was stress related, but interestingly has stopped somewhat since having a dental clean and extraction.

Extreme, but you could muzzle him.

 

[CorvusCorax]

Externalising an internal discomfort - an itch that can't be scratched - also counts as a displacement behaviour.

 

[twiggy2]

Does he watch the little one eat?

 

[FinnishLapphund]

If he gets around the same amount of exercise as he did before, as some others have suggested, a veterinary check up would be my next step in your shoes. It could be something like a tooth, or since he's 9, maybe some hormonal imbalance have occured, or something caused by simple wear and tear have changed in his back, or joints.

If it still turns out to be just food obsession leading to him developing the new hobby of trying to find imaginary food molecules after the baby have eaten, maybe try spraying a little bitter spray/chew stopper for puppies on the part of the floor where he usually starts licking, or use baby gate to keep him permanently out of the kitchen until he forgets that the baby had a tendency to drop him food.

 

[LaurenBay]

Exercise wise he goes out daily for at least an hour, on a Weds he goes out with the dog walker for longer and on the weekend I make sure he goes out for longer walks.

He had a once over only recently and vet gave him a clean bill of health. Muzzle is a possibility.

He does watch, he sits behind the babygate, I could try to move Toby into the living room out of eyesight though as I have not tried that before.

 

[FinnishLapphund]

If he watches through the baby gate, tape cardboard to the baby gate to block his view?

 

[twiggy2]

I would stuff a long and put him outside with that whilst the little one is eating, tidy up and wash the floor, let the floor dry and spray some bitter apple spray before letting him back in.
I would guess its stressful for him to watch someone eat and drop so much food especially if he cannot get to it and he comes in the frantic licking is a self rewarding obsessive behaviour.
Muzzling will do nothing to change the dogs mindset and is more likely to increase stress and frustration

 

[Sandstone1]

I would do as above. Give a stuffed frozen kong out of sight of child eating. Could you put a square of plastic or something under high chair that can be picked up a removed so no trace of food left. certainly would not muzzle.

 

[Books'n'dogs]

Have you always washed the floor on a daily basis or have you changed the product you use? My German Shepherd used to obsessively lick the floor if I used a cleaning product to remove stains or odors, one time she licked a hole in the carpet because no one noticed what she was doing. She didn't seem to care as much if I just used soap and water but any cleaning solution triggered the behavior.

 

[sarah.oxford]

Put a cover down on the floor?