Question:

My shih tzu licks everything in sight–including us. We love her dearly, but the licking is driving us crazy. Why does she do this and how can we get her to stop?

Carol

ANSWER:

Hi Carol,

We have had a few questions recently about licking dogs – it seems to be a real problem!

First I would look take her to the vet and have him look at her teeth. Shih Tzu in general have awful mouths with some crazy dentition – too many teeth in too small of a space make for a cramped mouth that breeds a number of problems. She could also have a flap of skin on her gums called an epulis (epulis fissuratum if you want the proper name) that is annoying her and she licks in an attempt to dislodge it. These are benign masses and easily removed during a dental cleaning.

There is nervous licking behavior and my guess is this what is going on with your girl. When I say ‘nervous’, I do not mean that she is scared but more that she has learned comfort in this behavior much like humans chew their nails, pick at hang nails or any other mindless behavior that we do when we are would up, stressed or just trying to relax. My pit bull used to lick my feet for probably 15 minutes every night when we climbed into bed (Yes, she slept under the covers – long story on that one!) and it was a way for her to calm down.

To stop this behavior, teaching her the ‘no more’ or ‘all done’ command as well as the ‘leave it’ command is probably the simplest way. Our resident dog trainer, Grisha Stewart, wrote a great explanation of how to teach the ‘all done’ command on June 7th that would be well worth your time to read.

Once she is trained for ‘no more’ or ‘all done’, you should be able to give her the command and she will stop licking. If she stops, reward her behavior with a treat and a ‘good girl’.

‘Leave it’ is similar to ‘no more’ in that you want whatever she is doing to end like obsessively chasing a ball or if she is begging for more food. However, ‘leave it’ is also handy for chasing cats, barking at strangers, about to eat a steak that just fell on the floor or any other time she is doing something, or about to do something, you want her to stop.

To begin with, hold a piece of yummy high-reward food in your open palm and offer it to her. When she reaches for it, say ‘leave it’ and close your hand. She will try to get it for a while but will eventually become frustrated and stop. As soon as she does this, give her a ‘good girl’ and let her have the treat. Do it again. And again. Now try saying ‘leave it’ when you offer the food – she should stop in her tracks and not even try to take it. Continue this a few times a day for a few days.

Next, try putting the piece of food on the floor with your foot near so you can cover it if she tries to get the food anyways. Same thing – as soon as she stops attempting to get the food, she is rewarded.

Eventually she will understand this command completely and when she starts this obsessive licking behavior, say ‘leave it’. When she does, reward her with a treat as she has done exactly what you wanted her to do.

In time, this problem is easily corrected with these two commands. You will also be surprised how many places these commands come in handy – these two can be lifesavers.

Ann