Should I try to get my dog anxiety medication?
November 6, 2015 2:47 PM Subscribe
She licks a lot. Compulsion or behavioral issue?
My dog is about three years old now, some sort of terrier mix. Pictures. She is sweet, affectionate, silly and energetic. She is pretty submissive and obedient to me, though she tends to drag her feet (metaphorically) when she doesn't want to do something and is hoping I give in. She is generally very easy to train - if I want to teach her a trick I can do it in an afternoon or two, although she isn't always the best at performing when she is excited (aka guests are over.)
Her main "issue" right now is that she licks A LOT. She doesn't lick herself an abnormal amount, but she will incessantly try to lick the skin/clothes of any humans she is excited about, which is guests when they have arrived in the past 5-10 minutes, and myself and my boyfriend EVERY morning and whenever we are trying to cuddle with her. In addition, even when we are petting her (or conversely when we are trying to ignore her) she will continuously lick the air. She calms down with guests after a few minutes, but with my boyfriend and I it doesn't end. The only way she's not acting like this is if I make her get off the bed/couch and she will give up and go lie down somewhere. But when she's in our immediate vicinity, unless we are all sleeping she is licking.
She has done this her whole life and I guess I just thought of it as her quirk, but my boyfriend has raised the idea that it may be anxiety/a compulsive behavior and that anxiety meds could help her. I'm totally willing to try that if it would help but I'm not sure if it's likely/possible?
I have tried to get her to stop this behavior by firmly telling her "NO!" and turning away from her/removing my hand from petting her when she licks, but it's like she can't stop. I could say "NO!" and pull my hand away literally a hundred times and it would make no difference. Whereas, any other thing she wants to do - even eat a piece of steak off the floor - if I told her "NO!" she would stop and listen to me.
Another thing that might point to her having anxiety is that she has fear aggression with other dogs. She was fine with the dog she grew up around and they would play and cuddle, but every other dog she will sniff cautiously and if they don't immediately leave her alone she will growl and lunge and just freak out. She becomes very vocal, almost screaming. I've never allowed her to exhibit this behavior long enough/close enough to strange dogs to know if she would actually bite or not. But I'm positive from her body language and reaction that it's because she is extremely terrified, even though there is no reason to be. She is also afraid of loud/hyper children and tall men with hats, and will do a low growl and back away with her tail tucked. She doesn't really like strollers either but will just give them a wide berth. She is not afraid of thunderstorms.
So I guess I have three questions.
1. Has anyone else had a licking problem like this with their dog? Any solutions?
2. If you've had a dog who you've put on anxiety meds, what was the issue and did the meds help?
3. Does this sound like an anxiety issue or something behavioral?
Thanks everyone for your help.
My dog is about three years old now, some sort of terrier mix. Pictures. She is sweet, affectionate, silly and energetic. She is pretty submissive and obedient to me, though she tends to drag her feet (metaphorically) when she doesn't want to do something and is hoping I give in. She is generally very easy to train - if I want to teach her a trick I can do it in an afternoon or two, although she isn't always the best at performing when she is excited (aka guests are over.)
Her main "issue" right now is that she licks A LOT. She doesn't lick herself an abnormal amount, but she will incessantly try to lick the skin/clothes of any humans she is excited about, which is guests when they have arrived in the past 5-10 minutes, and myself and my boyfriend EVERY morning and whenever we are trying to cuddle with her. In addition, even when we are petting her (or conversely when we are trying to ignore her) she will continuously lick the air. She calms down with guests after a few minutes, but with my boyfriend and I it doesn't end. The only way she's not acting like this is if I make her get off the bed/couch and she will give up and go lie down somewhere. But when she's in our immediate vicinity, unless we are all sleeping she is licking.
She has done this her whole life and I guess I just thought of it as her quirk, but my boyfriend has raised the idea that it may be anxiety/a compulsive behavior and that anxiety meds could help her. I'm totally willing to try that if it would help but I'm not sure if it's likely/possible?
I have tried to get her to stop this behavior by firmly telling her "NO!" and turning away from her/removing my hand from petting her when she licks, but it's like she can't stop. I could say "NO!" and pull my hand away literally a hundred times and it would make no difference. Whereas, any other thing she wants to do - even eat a piece of steak off the floor - if I told her "NO!" she would stop and listen to me.
Another thing that might point to her having anxiety is that she has fear aggression with other dogs. She was fine with the dog she grew up around and they would play and cuddle, but every other dog she will sniff cautiously and if they don't immediately leave her alone she will growl and lunge and just freak out. She becomes very vocal, almost screaming. I've never allowed her to exhibit this behavior long enough/close enough to strange dogs to know if she would actually bite or not. But I'm positive from her body language and reaction that it's because she is extremely terrified, even though there is no reason to be. She is also afraid of loud/hyper children and tall men with hats, and will do a low growl and back away with her tail tucked. She doesn't really like strollers either but will just give them a wide berth. She is not afraid of thunderstorms.
So I guess I have three questions.
1. Has anyone else had a licking problem like this with their dog? Any solutions?
2. If you've had a dog who you've put on anxiety meds, what was the issue and did the meds help?
3. Does this sound like an anxiety issue or something behavioral?
Thanks everyone for your help.
I am friends with a veterinarian dermatologist, he says it's behavioral or an OCD-like trigger that may be helped by anti-anxiety meds.
because your dog is so small, I'd try half of whatever they prescribe and do a 2 week test.
Just like humans, animal brain chemistry takes a bit to sync up with the helper drug.
keep an eye out for side effects.
at fancy vet clinics here in the Bay Area, they have pet behaviorists you can pay to figure this out, but it seems like common enough thing you can probably figure out yourself for free.
oh, and this.
posted by bobdow at 3:18 PM on November 6, 2015
because your dog is so small, I'd try half of whatever they prescribe and do a 2 week test.
Just like humans, animal brain chemistry takes a bit to sync up with the helper drug.
keep an eye out for side effects.
at fancy vet clinics here in the Bay Area, they have pet behaviorists you can pay to figure this out, but it seems like common enough thing you can probably figure out yourself for free.
oh, and this.
posted by bobdow at 3:18 PM on November 6, 2015
Why are you and your boyfriend, neither of whom I presume are veterinarians, guessing about causes and discussing anxiety meds instead of consulting your vet? There can be a lot of reasons for this kind of compulsive behaviour including insufficient exercise and insufficient mental stimulation.
posted by DarlingBri at 3:34 PM on November 6, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by DarlingBri at 3:34 PM on November 6, 2015 [7 favorites]
I don't see the word "vet" anywhere in your question, so I suggest you take your dog to the vet and ask a professional about possible causes for this licking.
posted by Squeak Attack at 3:52 PM on November 6, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by Squeak Attack at 3:52 PM on November 6, 2015 [6 favorites]
I've heard of dogs getting anxiety meds because they can't stop licking themselves (with no allergy cause) which can cause severe skin problems. But licking you is more likely an act of affection and showing you submissiveness as pack leaders. That's not a "medicatable" offense and she doesn't deserve to be drugged for loving you and showing you you're her alpha. If you don't like it, don't ever punish her or yell at her please. Just ignore her or leave the room with no drama. Eventually she will learn that licking means mommy leaves or ignores me and not licking means cuddles and pets. It'll take some time, but you'll get further with passive reactions than "No's!" and yelling.
posted by cecic at 4:24 PM on November 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by cecic at 4:24 PM on November 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
We now know that eating fermented foods helps humans with anxiety and depression. That must be why my collie who was licking himself obsessively has completely stopped that behavior since I have been adding 1 to 2 tablespoons of kefir in his food every day. I also started giving him some canned salmon every day (has pressure-cooked bones loaded with calcium and minerals). I think that also helped.
posted by cda at 5:04 PM on November 6, 2015
posted by cda at 5:04 PM on November 6, 2015
Best answer: We have a dog that does this exact thing. I totally feel your pain. It has driven me insane. It used to be something that was mostly controlled by simply ignoring him, or distracting him. It has now become that which almost nothing can deter him from. I am a certified dog obedience instructor and even I have gotten to the point that we are nearing the need for medication. The longer we go the worse his obsessive behavior gets, he's now moved on to "fly biting" and will sometimes if left to his own devices sit and bite the air in front of him for hours. We try to interrupt him but it doesn't always work. When I started thinking about the likelihood that he has OCD I realized that almost all of his "quirks" can be forms of Obsessive behavior (tail chasing, drinking a ton of water until you have to tell him to stop etc) I will say that since he has been playing more with our new dog, and getting a little more excersize, some of the behaviors have reduced some, but not the licking, never the licking. There aren't any vet behaviorists in our area, otherwise I'd probably already have made an appointment. We haven't started meds yet, but I don't think we're far off. All this is to say that, yes , I think you should probably talk to your vet about it and possible medication. For these dogs, the act of licking is so rewarding for them that without something to take the edge off their OCD tendencies it is difficult to find something rewarding enough to even attempt behavior modification. If you haven't already, I suggest looking up signs of OCD in dogs, when I finally did it was a total a-ha moment.
posted by Quincy at 5:17 PM on November 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Quincy at 5:17 PM on November 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I had a dog who self-licked a lot, and it was helped a lot by fluoxetine.
Your dog is seriously adorable.
posted by persona au gratin at 2:33 AM on November 7, 2015
Your dog is seriously adorable.
posted by persona au gratin at 2:33 AM on November 7, 2015
Response by poster: Follow-up: I took Rooney to the vet this weekend for an unrelated issue, and decided to bring up her licking as well. Before I even could, however, the vet pointed out that she had "saliva staining" on the bottoms of all her paws from self-licking. I didn't even know she was doing this, so she must be doing it to self-soothe while I'm gone during the day. Anyway, the vet suggested anxiety meds almost immediately and she had her first dose yesterday. Hopefully it helps her feel more calm and happy.
posted by ohsnapdragon at 5:01 AM on November 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by ohsnapdragon at 5:01 AM on November 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
I hope Rooney is feeling better! I saw this article about licking on Patricia McConnell's blog and thought of this Ask. She talks about some kinds of licking being linked to gastrointestinal disturbances, which I hadn't heard before and found interesting.
posted by Squeak Attack at 4:19 PM on November 10, 2015
posted by Squeak Attack at 4:19 PM on November 10, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
That said, it ultimately did not solve my dog's anxiety issues. But it did help.
FWIW in training terms "NO!" doesn't really work on dogs. At best, they take it as attention and thus a reward. Which reinforces the behavior you want to stop. Taking your hand away and ignoring/stopping interactions with her might help correct her, but yeah, if this is anxiety related (and it sounds like it is) medication will probably help get her to a place where she *can* learn and be trained.
posted by Sara C. at 3:16 PM on November 6, 2015 [1 favorite]