# Dog suddenly excessive licking



## ell1e (May 19, 2009)

I have a 5 month old Shih Tzu cross who has been doing really well.
We woke up this morning to find that his bed was soakings, as was his tail and paws. We thought he had wet himself so cleaned him all up.

My mom returned home from her lunch this afternoon and found everything wet again and realised he has been licking himself and causing everything to be so wet.

Nothing has changed in his routine, he has been left on his own now in the day for the past 5 weeks and has been fine. He went to puppy school last night and I was thinking that maybe he had hurt himself?

Is there any other thing that could be causing this because I dont want it to turn into a big problem.

Thanks


----------



## Guest (May 19, 2009)

This usually indicates some kind of pain or discomfort. Did he walk through anything that could have had chemicals on? Could he have picked up mange?


----------



## ell1e (May 19, 2009)

I dont think so. I will look over him properly when I get home. His puppy school was in a church hall, so nothing too dangerous. There were a few bigger dogs that he hadn't met before so the only thing I can think of is that he may have been hurt by one of them last night.

If it was behavioural, is there any reason why it would suddenly start now after him being fine for the past 5 weeks??


----------



## Guest (May 19, 2009)

If he is licking his rear end I would ask has he been wormed!
regards
DT


----------



## ell1e (May 19, 2009)

Yes, he has been wormed although his next worming tablet is due the end of this week, he has all his injections ect.


----------



## Guest (May 19, 2009)

ell1e said:


> Yes, he has been wormed although his next worming tablet is due the end of this week, he has all his injections ect.


Is is his rear end that he is licking?


----------



## ell1e (May 19, 2009)

Its mainly his tail. That is just getting drenched


----------



## LouJ69 (Feb 28, 2009)

Well, there could be 2 reasons for your dog excessively licking. 1 is that it could be a medical reason such as a skin allergy, dry skin, irritation to the pads on his paws as a result of contact with ice, snow or the salt on a road. He may also have an allergic reaction to certain cleaning fluids or a sensitivity to certain soaps? the other reason would be behavioural and could be caused by anxiety. Sometimes it can be a dogs way of saying that he wants to go for a walk, play or food. This licking can also be caused by separation anxiety. When my dog got stitches in his paw, he started to lick the top part of his paw because he couldn't get to the stitches due to the bandage. Could be any number of reasons really, but if you're really worried about it, maybe bring your dog down to the vet, just to have it checked over anyway?


----------



## Guest (May 19, 2009)

This time of year, it could be a tick or fleas


----------



## Blitz (Feb 12, 2009)

He could also need his anal glands emptied


----------



## ell1e (May 19, 2009)

We have managed to work out that it isnt excessive licking, it is excessive salivating. He is only 5 months old so I am guessing it is him teething. Poor thing.


Thank you for your help


----------



## Emmanuel (May 21, 2009)

Is excessive licking a common Cavalier behavior?
Ok, strange question ;-) I have had very limited experience with Cavaliers, and my only real physical encounter was quite bizarre.

I was visiting a friend who had a Cavalier, and as it was summer I was wearing shorts. The entire time I stood talking to my friend in his living room (maybe 10 minutes), the little Cav was licking my legs. It was quite disconcerting to say the least, a sniff or a random lick would have been one thing, but this was obsessive behavior and my friend didn't seem to have a clue that it was even going on. I didn't want to be rude and ask him to tell his dog to stop it, or to take the dog into the other room, so I just stood there and endured it ;-)

Does anyone have an idea on what was going on here? What was the licking all about...a severe salt deficiency, just trying to be friendly, submissiveness? Thanks!
_________________________________________________________________
partner marketing
atm machine


----------



## lemmsy (May 12, 2008)

anal glands??


----------

