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Excessive Licking in Dogs May Point to Health Issues

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Excessive Licking in Dogs: It May Be a Health Issue

Excessive Licking in Dogs
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Dogs lick and some more than others, both of which are completely normal. Then there are some dogs that lick excessively and lick everything including furniture, flooring, toys, animals, themselves and people. While some people find it annoying, I actually become concerned when dog owners inform me of excessive licking during consultations. Excessive licking in dogs is a symptom caused by a behavioral or medical issue.

Never ignore excessive licking. Your dog is trying to tell you something is wrong.

When Does Licking Become Excessive?

All dogs are different, so with that said, there are a few telltale signs. When a dog licks a specific spot so much he causes a wet spot, that’s excessive licking. When touching the area, you instantly know it’s saturated with saliva.

Some dogs lick themselves so often, they will cause a lick granuloma. Lick granulomas are caused when a dog has licked a sore into his skin. Battling lick granulomas is like riding a roller coaster; there’s some ups and many downs, and it can take weeks to heal the area.

RELATED: Hot Spots on Dogs: Causes and Treatments

Causes of Excessive Licking

Digestive Issues

Yes, dogs have digestive issues just like people, and it’s actually pretty common. Dogs will lick flooring, themselves or furniture because their stomach hurts or burns (they’re trying to stop the pain).

When we have heartburn, we drink water to help relieve the burning sensation whereas dogs either drink or lick excessively. Dogs are susceptible to GERD (chronic heartburn), especially if they take NSAIDs on a regular basis. Remember, NSAIDs can cause gastric ulcers and inflammation. It’s best to never dismiss excessive licking, especially if your dog takes or has taken NSAIDs.

Solution

With GERD, sometimes over-the-counter antacids can help tremendously. If you give your dog Pepcid, you’ll notice your dog stops licking within 20 minutes after ingesting and his licking will cease until another flareup causes burning again. Keep in mind antacids are not a quick fix. Too much antacid consumption can reduce your dog’s stomach acid, which results in indigestion of his food. I know, it’s a vicious cycle, so always consult with your vet when giving antacids.

Self-Soothe

Licking to self-soothe was discussed in a previous article, but it’s another reason some dogs lick excessively. Some dogs learn licking someone, furniture, flooring or himself is very soothing. You’ll likely notice it when your dog is preparing for a nap.

Sobek, my Rottweiler, learned this behavior after battling a hot spot. It feels good for dogs to lick something. When Sobek started self-soothing himself by licking, I notice he would curl up in his favorite spot and start slowly licking his leg. When I called his name, he would jump–almost like he was in a trance. It was so spooky.

Many years ago, my mother had a feisty Lhasa Apso named Trixie. She was a little pistol, but she learned to self-soothe herself by licking my mother’s leg non-stop. Sometimes, she would lick for an hour. After she was done licking, she usually fell right to sleep. It became a ritual. If my mother wore long pants and Trixie was unable to lick, she would become very frustrated. If no one were available to lick, she would lick a pillow until she fell asleep.

Solution

Self-soothing licking needs to be addressed quickly. Redirect your dog with a food stuffed toy or a quick game of “touch” (i.e. dog walks over and touches his nose to your hand). Punishment will make it worse. You’re increasing stress levels, which is the main reason dogs learn to self-soothe lick in the first place. Teach your dog others ways to self-soothe and try calming supplements and products. They can most definitely help you over the hump.

Let Your Vet Know Too

Inform your vet of your dog’s excessive licking during your next appointment. If excessive licking becomes an issue, ask for a referral to a veterinary behaviorist or a seasoned dog trainer. Again, find a dog trainer who uses positive reinforcement methods only. Remember, punishment will make it much worse. Many times, a combination of health and behavior consults will do the trick. If not, keep pushing forward, ask questions and, by all means, let me know if I can help too. 🙂

Many of us give our dogs over-the-counter products and supplements when there’s a problem, but please do research on those products beforehand. Many human medications are deadly to dogs. Always consult with your veterinarian. She needs to know all medications your dog is taking even OTC versions.

Never ignore excessive licking. If you’re uncertain whether your dog’s licking is excessive, a positive reinforcement dog trainer can certainly troubleshoot!

Laser Pointer Games are Bad for Dogs

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Beware of Laser Pointers

Laser Pointer Game Bad for Dogs
fotopitu/Deposit Photos

YouTube has many videos featuring dogs and cats diving head first for a stationary red dot. While it may seem like an innocent game at first, it can become a nightmare quickly. Laser pointer games are actually bad for dogs. 

Why Dogs Chase Lasers

At first, well meaning dog owners purchase laser pointers as a fun game for rainy days. They turn on the red light and flash the dot on the floor. Most dogs probably don’t notice at first, so owners begin moving the dot from side to side, which eventually catches their dog’s attention. Dogs are excellent movement spotters evident by the fact they notice a fleeing squirrel from 500 yards away. Similarly, a moving red dot piques your dog’s interest. The game is on! Soon, this innocent game of chasing the red dot turns into an obsession.

This fact may seem alarming and some readers may shrug off possible outcomes when playing with laser pointers, but I’m here to tell you I see negative outcomes from laser pointer games every day. Prevention is better than finding a cure. There are so many other dog games, so let’s put down the laser pointer and play games fun for everyone. 🙂

The Problem With Laser Pointers

When playing a laser pointer dog game, we never tell our dogs the game is about to start. We randomly turn on the laser pointer to start the game. Dogs are unaware the red dot comes from the laser pointer, so dogs will sit and watch floors and walls for hours, waiting for the infamous red dot to appear. Some dog owners assume their dog is asking to play the laser pointer game again and reward this staring behavior with a laser pointer game session. As a result, dogs have learned to stare blankly at floors and walls for hours because the red dot will eventually appear. Hopefully, you’re now understanding how laser pointer games can be problematic for dogs.

Worst Cases I’ve Seen

Dog Eats in Darkness

Some dogs that have played only a few sessions of laser pointing games begin obsessing over all moving lights, such as the reflection of car headlights on your home. Once, I had a consult with a dog that learned to stare into lights–I mean directly at light bulbs, especially when turned on. He refused to go potty, eat or drink. He was waiting for the light to move.

When probing further about this quirky issue, his owner mentioned light chasing had gone on for years and now her dog stares at lights turned on, waiting for them to move. And yes, they played laser pointer games with him as a puppy. Now, she must turn all lights off, close curtains and blinds, and feed her dog in darkness, so he’ll eat and drink.

Dog Starts Chasing Shadows

Another consultation was with a small mixed breed that would chase car headlights flashing inside his home. He sat by the front window waiting for the next chase. His owners purchased blackout curtains, which helped until he started shadow chasing. Shadow chasing is an obsessive compulsive behavior seen in many different types of dogs, including mixed and toy breeds. This dangerous obsession can quickly consume your dog’s entire life, as he would rather chase shadows than eat or drink.

Finding Help

Please don’t play laser pointer games with your dogs. If you’re currently playing this game, I highly advise you stop immediately. I think playing with your dog is fabulous and should happen every day just not with lights.

If your dog is currently obsessed with shadow/light chasing or staring, please don’t ever punish him. It will only make the obsession worse. Instead, find super yummy treats to redirect your dog from focusing on shadows or lights. Teach your dog “touch” or “look at me” in a safe environment first, then ask your dog to touch your hand or look at you instead of chasing or watching lights or shadows.

Now, some dogs just can’t stop the game. In this case, I highly recommend seeking professional help and going straight to the experts. Many experienced dog trainers can advise you on how to positively redirect your dog when he notices lights or shadows, so it’s best to start there. If your dog is ignoring any attempts, even when working with a qualified dog trainer, then it’s best to contact a veterinary behaviorist.

The best remedy is prevention, so share with fellow dog owners. Laser pointer games are terrible for dogs.

How to Stop Your Dog From Barking Out Windows

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Dog Barking at Windows: It’s Not a Good Thing

How to Stop Dog Barking
JennayHitesman/iStock

Recently, we started walking our dogs on the weekend through our new neighborhood. A cul-de-sac and grass-edged sidewalks are a bit different for us. We’ve lived downtown for so many years, we thought we would enjoy the slow-paced suburban life for a while. Well, walking dogs through a neighborhood is not as peaceful as walking downtown. I was pretty shocked at the difference. The main factor is bored suburban dogs are allowed to bark aggressively at walkers behind windows. Some dogs even chase walkers from window to window in their home.

Why Dogs Barking Out Windows is a Problem

Dog owners mistakenly assume their dogs are daydreaming on the window edge, watching squirrels dash and wagging as people walk along the sidewalk. However, this is not reality. Allow me to explain what’s really happening.

Dogs will do anything to cure their boredom, but their new hobby may drive you and your neighbors crazy. It’s not fair for dog owners walking their leashed dogs on public sidewalks to be threatened by a barking dog. It’s downright rude and not appreciated by fellow dog owners.

Understanding the Different Perspectives

Pedestrians

When a dog barks out the window when someone walks by, it’s jolting for the pedestrian. It doesn’t depend on the barking dog’s size–even a small barking dog is scary. I’ve witnessed everyday runners without dogs shake their heads in disappointment. No one deserves to be threatened by a lunging dog, even if your dog is behind a window.

Dogs Walking With Owners

Dogs walking with their pet owners are probably the most affected by dogs barking through windows. It’s pretty darn scary to them. Think about it from a human perspective: what if you’re walking along, minding your business and an angry person opens her curtains and starts screaming from inside her home? Then she shouts obscenities to you, staring angrily, flipping you off and beating on the glass, as you pass by. Then it continues, even after you’ve walked away from her home, you can still hear her screaming and beating on the glass. Yeah, I would call the police.

As a dog trainer, I’m the one consulted to teach the dogs minding their own business during walks how to overcome such obstacles. And it can take months. Please don’t allow your dog to harass others.

Your Neighbors

I wouldn’t be surprised if this situation hasn’t already been reported to your Home Owner’s Association (HOA) or even the police. I promise you your window-barking dog is earning a terrible reputation. If anything ever happens, your neighbors will report your dog as aggressive. Yes, it’s hard to hear, but you deserve to understand what’s said behind your back.

As a fellow dog lover who lives in a dangerous dog society as you, you’re most certainly not helping a dog’s image.

Your Dog

This is a terrible behavior for your dog to practice. It not only teaches him to bark at everything that walks by, but it also increases his stress level. Plus, window-lunging dogs learn barking makes the moving object go away, which makes the behavior worse and likely to happen more often. You may have probably noticed your dog charges toward your visitors when they walk in the door. This is the behavior your dog taught himself when barking at strangers through your window.

RELATED: Training Dogs Polite Greeting Behavior

How to Stop Dog Barking Out Windows

If your dog runs toward the window to bark, I urge you to stop this behavior now. Here are a couple of solutions that work even when you’re not home.

Management

Make sure your dog doesn’t have access to sidewalk-facing windows. It’s the quickest way to stop this unwanted behavior, especially while you’re away from home. Place sturdy baby gates in hallways to restrict your dog’s access or crate your dog when you’re not home.

As you’re probably well aware, closing heavy curtains or blinds doesn’t work, especially if used as a management tool alone. Most dogs will shred them in a frenzy to view through a window. However, closed curtains coupled with restricting baby gates are quite effective.

Relieve Boredom

Just like children, when dogs are bored, they can easily cause havoc. When you’re going to leave your dog home alone all day, hide frozen food stuffed toys throughout the house to provide your dog plenty of mental stimulation. Or better yet, hire a dog walker for a noon walk. Walks not only provide mental stimulation, but physical exercise as well.

Redirection is Your Friend

In a quiet location, teach your dog the “touch” game. “Touch” is when a dog walks toward you and touches his nose inside your hand. This is a great way to ask your dog to do something else rather than bark out the window. It’s essential to practice in a quiet place, so your dog understands the behavior thoroughly before using it as a redirection tool.

With management in place and lots of practice under your belt, ask your dog to “touch” the moment he hears someone walking past your home. If your dog starts barking, it’s too late. When your dog turns toward the front windows with his ears perked up or takes a step toward the front, say “touch” and reward your dog heavily when he responds. Always use super yummy treats and reward often. When I say reward heavily, I mean give your dog five pea-sized treats one after the other.

After lots of practice, you’ll soon notice your dog walking toward you when he hears someone walking past your home. Reward heavily!

If your friend or neighbor has this issue, please print this article for her. If it’s someone you don’t know, print and place in her mailbox. I firmly believe people do better once they know better. 🙂

How to Deal With Fear Aggression in Dogs

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Dealing With Dog Fear Aggression

Fear Aggression in Dogs
wujekspeed/Deposit Photos

Is your dog showing signs of fear and aggressive behavior at the same time? This behavior can be categorized as fear aggression. Fear is not uncommon in dogs and most aggressive behaviors derive from it. This behavior could be caused by a multitude of things, such as genetics, possible mistreatment or lack of socialization during the impressionable stages of the dog’s life (fear imprint period). Sometimes you may be dealing with a combination of these things, depending on the dog and situation.

What Causes Your Dog’s Fear?

First, you want to identify the source of your dog’s fear whether it’s strangers, other dogs or specific objects. Once you can identify the cause of your dog’s fear, you can work on the behavioral threshold (the distance where the dog is not reacting). This will help your dog learn to overcome and deal with the cause of his fear.

As someone who has owned a dog that suffers from fear aggression, I recommend working with a professional dog trainer who is experienced with this type of behavior. Dealing with fear aggression can be complex and a little overwhelming for a dog owner to deal with, so coupling up with a dog trainer will help your dog tremendously.

What You Can Expect and When

You’ll see your dog’s fear aggressive behavior become more intense around six months of age or at the beginning of the dog’s adolescence. The sooner you begin modifying this behavior, the better. As stated above, you might see your dog show signs of fear toward strangers, other animals and even inanimate objects.

Flight or Fight Response

Some dogs will show the flight response (running away) to the things they’re fearful of. This is generally categorized as being fearful. On the other hand, you might have a dog that shows the fight response (trying to move toward the object), which is considered fear aggression. The dog that shows the fight response is trying to scare the thing she is fearful of away.

Your Dog’s Body Posture

A dog suffering from fear aggression may bark, growl, show teeth, lunge and hug the ground within seconds, or have his hackles raised from the tail all the way to the shoulder blades trying to appear bigger than he is. His body posture may make him come off as indecisive. One minute he’s lunging and growling and the next he’s cowering and running behind you.

RELATED: Dog Aggression

How to Train a Dog With Fear Aggression

First and foremost I want to state that using any correction on a fearful dog can be detrimental to dog training. This will only cause a bigger negative association to what the dog is fearful to. The dog is scared. You can’t tell him to stop being scared. Building a positive association and teaching redirection with the use of positive reinforcement techniques will be ideal in a situation like this.

Select a High Value Reward

Begin by finding the highest value reward for your dog, such as steak, chicken or liver. A head collar is also a great tool to use in this training program, as it gives you much more control. Our goal is to have the dog become aware of the triggers and not react to them.

Treat Your Dog Around Triggers

As soon as your dog sees the trigger, feed your dog a treat one after another. Do not give the dog a chance to redirect onto the stimulus. While the dog is focusing on you and the reward, start moving the dog away from the stimulus where you know he won’t act aggressively. You will begin doing this for several weeks in small increments.

Move Closer

Once your dog is successful at seven feet from the stimulus, begin moving closer. For the next couple of weeks, work with your dog at a distance of five feet. As your dog’s confidence builds, then work with him at a closer distance.

Involve Strangers

When your dog is comfortable around strangers, start using them in your dog training. A great way to begin is to have strangers toss high value food rewards near your dog, as they walk by. Do not have strangers approach quickly or look at your dog–have them just toss a treat and move on.

If your dog doesn’t react to this, then you know you’re making great progress and can move forward. If your dog does show reaction to the stranger, take a couple of steps back and continue to build her behavioral threshold without additional stimulation from strangers.

Take It Slow

Remember to take these exercises very slowly. By going at a slower pace, you’ll be much more successful. It’s normal to want to push a little more when you see progress, but I wouldn’t recommend doing this, as you can overwhelm the dog and jeopardize your training.

I know this can be a frustrating situation, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. My Boxer Chanel began showing signs of fear aggression at five to six months old, which escalated quickly. She is now seven years old and lives with cats, a three-year-old child and another Boxer. There was a lot of training and emotions involved over the years, but I wouldn’t change it. She is my success story!

Sources:
www.iaabc.org
www.apdt.com
www.aspca.org

Human Medications Deadly to Dogs

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List of Human Medications That are Poisonous to Dogs

Human Medications Poisonous to Dogs
RoschetzkyIstockPhoto/iStock

Many times, we reach into our medicine cabinets when our dogs are feeling under the weather, but not all human medication can be given to dogs. Before giving your dog human medication, make sure you research each medication first. As a resource, here’s a brief list of human medication poisonous to dogs regardless of size. Don’t assume dogs need to ingest a lot of pills to feel the effects. It usually only takes one.

Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug

Just about every human nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) is poisonous to dogs. Everything from Advil to Aleve to Motrin should never be given to your dog under any circumstances. Veterinarians do prescribe NSAIDs made especially for dogs, as human dosages can be lethal. Plus, many NSAID compounds contain additional ingredients that can cause severe liver damage.

Believe it or not, NSAIDs rank as the top dog-ingested poison and most are accidental. Many poison control hot line calls are a result of dogs finding a bottle of NSAIDs on a nightstand and chewing the bottle open to ingest the pills. Please keep all medication behind a tightly closed door or inside a drawer. If your dog learns how to open a cabinet door, move all medications to a top cabinet out of your dog’s reach.

If you should drop a pill on the ground, immediately step on it, so your dog isn’t able to swallow it. Better yet, teach your dog the “leave it” cue, so he learns to ignore anything that drops on the floor. Once you safely remove the pill and discard it in a closed container, reward your dog with a yummy treat for ignoring the fallen pill. Sometimes, pills are dropped unknowingly, so I highly advise crating your dog when you’re taking daily pills.

RELATED: Crate Training

Tylenol

We all know Tylenol (acetaminophen) can cause liver damage, especially if taken over long periods of time or at high doses. Well, this stuff can most certainly cause liver failure in dogs. Keep this stuff out of your dog’s reach.

While a few over-the-counter medications are safe for dogs, many have compounds of other ingredients and you’ll likely notice acetaminophen hidden in the mixture. Read the fine print. If acetaminophen is found anywhere in the ingredient list, don’t give it to your dog.

Decongestants

Many dogs rely on Benadryl (diphenhydramine) during seasonal allergy months, but not all allergy medications are the same. Always flip the bottle or box over and look at the ingredients. You’ll likely find some type of decongestant listed even if it’s way down the ingredient list. All decongestants are toxic to dogs.

When reading an allergy medication ingredient list, look for pseudoephedrine, which is an extremely common decongestant found in most major and generic brands of allergy medications. Make sure to choose products with diphenhydramine listed as the only ingredient. Better yet, ask your veterinarian for a recommended brand and dosage for your dog.

RELATED: What Human Foods are Bad for Dogs?

Human Prescriptions

Just like we never share our prescriptions with friends or family, the same applies for dogs. For most of us, we don’t intentionally give our prescribed drugs to our dogs, but they still end up swallowing it because they find a dropped pill or the bottle on the ground. As you would with your children, keep all medications out of your dog’s reach at all times.

Xylitol

You’re probably aware that xylitol is not a prescription or even a medication. Rather, it’s a sugar substitute that is extremely toxic to dogs even in tiny amounts. Unfortunately, this stuff is popping up in more and more human medications every day. Xylitol is usually found in chewable tablets, as the sugary taste masks most bitter-tasting medicine. Xylitol is also found in beverages marketed for children because again sweet-tasting stuff makes it easy to dose sick children. Unfortunately, this toxic stuff is finding its way into many supplements and herbs as well.

Always look at the back side of the bottle to ensure none of the ingredients above are listed. When in doubt, ask your vet!

You may also like: Best Multivitamin for Dogs

Dog Training Nation is a dog training blog for pet owners and dog lovers. We cover a range of topics from puppy socialization tips to dog aggression to dog health. It is our hope you share our content to make the world a better place for dogs.

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