Expert: Delores Beck - 10/31/2008

Question
QUESTION: I have a 4 year old black and white cockerspaniel and she is absolutely great, but my husband and I are having one problem that we cant seem to fix....she licks all the time.  I dont just mean that she licks herself, but that she licks everything. Pillows, the carpet or any floor, shoes, I mean anything that she can lick she does.  Is this normal?  How do I fix this problem?

ANSWER: Yes, it's kind of abnormally normal :)

I have a couple of questions before suggesting anything.
1.  Is she an anxious sort of girl?
2.  What are you feeding her?
3.  Is there any pattern to this behavior?  By that, I mean does she do it when you're home - not home - mornings - after feeding?  Does she lick outdoors or only inside?

Nervous dogs can exhibit all kinds of obsessive behavior but it can also be diet related...or a combination of things.
Delores

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: She is a little anxious at times.  We feed her healthy dog food, but we dont regulate how much she eats.  She licks herself when she is outside, but when she is inside and lays down she licks whatever her tongue can reach.  It is at all times of the day...we can leave for a little bit and when we get back, our bed has a huge wet spot that looks like a pee spot but smells like spit.

Answer
Okay - this definitely sounds like general anxiety.  You say you feed a "healthy dog food" - what exactly are you feeding?

How many times a day is she walked and for how long?  Where does she sleep?  And why are you free-feeding?

The very first thing I'd try (and the week-end is good for this) is walking her a LOT...getting her to a dog park to run off some energy..taking her with you everywhere you can and basically tiring her out.

Get your husband to walk her for an hour - then you take a turn later on.  Get her to the park - let her run and play with other dogs.
I'd really like to see what happens when she's physically tired and has had a lot of stimulation.

Exercise is a dog's primary need (right up there with food) and when they don't get it, neurosis can develop.  So let's try that even just for a day and see what the results are.  This type of obsessive behavior can be from pure boredom.
Delores