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Lots of licking

My puppy is 6 months old. Compared with the other dogs I have had, he does a lot of licking. Should I be concerned about this? Also, is there anything you can do to train to stop this behavior? I'm doing a gentle slap under his chin and saying no.
Thanks
 
There are lots of things that this could be, so I would see you vet to discuss. It could be behavioural, but it could also be allergies or SM or skin issues...so please get those checked out because you don't want to discipline him if he is actually really uncomfortable or itchy, you would just want to get the core issue taken care of. With that said though, licking can become habitual if it stems from an underlying problem, so best to get that underlying problem sorted before it becomes a habit.

In the mean time, I would just use distractions and deterrents from licking vs. a gentle tap under the chin. This is because, if he feels like he is going to get a gentle slap from licking in front of you, he will just be more apt to lick in private or at night when he is alone, and you will not be able to monitor it as well. Things like putting bitter apple spray on the area that he licks worked really well for me. Also, I used secondary distractions (like coins in a jar) so shake or make sounds to snap my dog out of that behaviour. The discipline was then coming from another source vs. me, then I would distract...maybe do some training or play to take her mind off of it. This works to break any habitual behaviours.

But again, best to go see a vet to rule out any underlying causes first (y)
 
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