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Licking

gamefanz

Well-known member
Toby is now 17 weeks old. He licks everything! He will lick the carpet, blankets, himself, us, toys etc.. He has lots of toys to play with and we pay attention to him all the time. I don't know if this is an obsession or just a puppy thing. Anyone have ideas on how to get it to stop?

Becky
 
Gracie used to do that....

But not nearly as often nowadays at age 15 months. Not sure if a puppy thing but her habit did change
 
It can be an obsessive compulsive disorder if it is excessive -- you might want to talk to your vet. Yet another thing the breed is prone too.
 
I'm not sure if it qualifies as obsessive but it does happen often. I just don't see anything on the floor to lick but maybe he smells leftovers from a bone :confused: I will talk with the vet and see if she has any experience in this.
Thank you
 
Millie my eldest, age 6, has a few plush toys that she licks ond sooks on, she sometimes rubs her front paws back and forward on the rug while she's doing this, until she falls asleep with the toy still hanging out her mouth. All her toys are too big to fit fully into her mouth so aren't a hazard, and she doesn't chew or bite bits off. I wash them regularly and just let her get on with it, it's cute and she enjoys it :p
 
Molly actually does the same thing. She always licks our hands/toes/clothing/the floor and even the sides of cabinets and walls..she just does a couple of licks and walks off..lol i thought it might just be her experiencing the world through taste! ;)
Molly is only 16 weeks old :)
 
Hmmmm interesting. Jack still does this (although it was worse when he was a puppy),from time to time a little obsessively:-?. He is going to be 3 years old in Dec.
 
Hmmmm maybe it is just a breed thing since so many do this. It just gets a little annoying when you don't want soaked pants LOL I thought maybe he liked the fabric softener :lol:

Becky
 
Bubbles licks constantly. She licks her paws, the carpet, the couch almost anything and when you try to stop her she will lick your hands. I have mentioned it to the vets many times and even last week she was licking and biting her paws so badly that one bled. I took her to the vets and he checked her for "red spider" but she was clear and he couldn't find any other reason for the excessive behaviour.
 
WOW that does sound excessive especially if she is biting and licking so much that she bleeds. Toby is not at all the bad. I think he does it more for attention because we tell him to stop so he knows he has our attention.
I hope you find a cause for her behavior.
Becky


Bubbles licks constantly. She licks her paws, the carpet, the couch almost anything and when you try to stop her she will lick your hands. I have mentioned it to the vets many times and even last week she was licking and biting her paws so badly that one bled. I took her to the vets and he checked her for "red spider" but she was clear and he couldn't find any other reason for the excessive behaviour.
 
Surprised no one brought this up but the licking can also be CM/SM related. I know Cavaliers can be obsessive (Flash has a sever obsession, not related to licking, that nothing has ever helped) but when I think about Cavaliers licking there feet I think of SM. Hate to be the one to say it but since all 3 of mine do it and all 3 of mine got drastic relief from neurological medication I thought i would mention it.

Blitz did it a lot before medication. He did it so much the fur around his mouth was stained reddish from all the moisture. He would like the air, the couch, the floor, me, & his lips. His neurologist said this related to his SM. Sure enough after starting his proper medication it has lessened drastically. I think I have a video of it somewhere and I will post it when I find it. A lot of times when he would get excited he would just sit and lick his lips. He still does it a little bit when he is overly excited but it is considerably better.

Flash did it a lot as a puppy too. He would lick the area so much you could see wet spots on the furniture. He licked his legs, the furniture & me. He would lick anywhere from a few minutes at a time to easily over 30 minutes unless I distracted him. Once we started him on his medication for CM it stop. Then around his 1st birthday he has started licking the air. It ONLY seems to happen when he is having a bad CM/SM day.

One last thing is chewing on the feet... that can be allergies but also CM/SM related. All 3 of mine did it before medication. Flash would chew heavily at his hind legs or just sit and lick on his front paws. Blitz mainly does the hind leg chewing and Holly licked her front paws. I think this has to do with odd sensations they are feeling due to the SM. I noticed both Flash & Holly would look at there feet like something was crawling on them sometimes. Flash would stare at his foot and then bit at it. Since starting on medication he doesn't usually do this anymore.
 
Thank you Reptigirl, This is always weighing on my mind. I am always watching, its hard for me to know if a once in awhile thing is related to CM/SM or often but not all the time is related.
I am sharing this but I feel so horrible and disgusted about it and VERY angry!
We had Toby's last shots yesterday. On this visit I asked for flea & ticks meds because I am worried about our walks. I was told when we went to the vet for his first visit NO Flea and tick meds just wash him with Dawn dish soap. We we waited.
I told them that I wanted and oral med. They said there is no oral med for ticks but we could get Comfortis for fleas. We decided to try this and hope he doesn't get ticks. I saw a thread that the liquid meds are hard for cavaliers so I didn't want that.
This morning we were gonna give the Comfortis to him. I saw his paws this morning needed a trim so my husband started doing this and when he did he saw a flea on his tummy. He tried getting it off but it jumped away. I was freaking out!!!!
We fed him breakfast and gave him the pill. I was still freaking out!!! I called my dad who is an exterminator and he told me not to freak out. He asked if we are getting bitten or if we have seen more than one. I said No. He said he would not be worried. He said to Vacuum all the carpets and do the base boards too. Wash the blankets in the living room and that is all. He said if he took a call from someone who only saw 1 flea he would tell them to call someone else who would charge and arm and a leg for 1 flea.
He said to call him back if we see more but the meds should do the job especially if we are not seeing any or having bites too.
So maybe this is part of Toby's issue. I feel like such a horrible mom! I tried getting the meds when we first got him but the vet said no!
UGH! Hope we are covered now.
Becky
 
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