Guest lovemyblackgrey Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 Dear All, My grey has developed this weird behaviour/ obsession in the last couple of months; she excessively licks her bed pillow all the time when she is on her bed and not sleeping. It is not an anxiety thing, she pretty much does it all the time, just after food, when we are there, when we are not there, other people in the house or just us, all day basically. It is almost like an obsession - she goes into this licking 'frenzy' until we snap her out of it. Now it doesn't do any damage besides leaving huge wet spots I would be interested to know if other people have had a dog with a similar habit and if there is anything that can be done to break the cycle. We have corrected her, clapped hands until she snapped out of it, done the firm 'NO' but nothing helps. The thought did cross my mind that it could be a symptom of boredom but I do keep her occupied, go for walks, play etc. eveyr day. And she does it straight after she lies down after play/ walks so I am a bit puzzled by this one! any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Kind regards from Oz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tallgreydogmom Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 Does she have toys, kong or a marrow bone to chew on? Try a muzzle with muzzle cup. We have one that lays and licks his muzzle cup. Quote Then God sent the Greyhound to live among man and remember. And when the Day comes, God will call the Greyhound to give Testament, and God will pass judgment on man. (Persian Proverb) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greydawg Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 Our silly-head, Alex, does the same thing with his bed pillow before he goes to sleep. He also licks the tile floor sometimes while lying on a throw rug. Long, slow licks. What's up with that? It is like he is in a trance. No apparent harm done, just an obsession, like you describe. He has plenty of toys and chewies of which he often plays, and he gets an appropriate amount of exercise every day. So, like you, I don't think he does it out of boredom either. We chalk it up to just one of his many funny little idiosyncrasies. Quote Cheryl - "Mom" to RUNNER (Gunnah, born 6/15/2012) and FARGO (Ridin Shotgun, born 8/21/2015). Missing my Grey-Angels HEISMAN (RX Heisman) (3/29/2005-2/1/2016) and ALEX (Bevenly) (4/15/2005-6/7/2018). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BlackBeauty Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 Our first Grey did that and we never did figure it out either, I'm thinking it may just be some kind of comforting obsessive behavior also. Have you tried a bitter spray where and when he's licking ? That may help... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greyers Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 I think it's a comfort thing. Our happy go lucky male use to lick his bed a lot. And our spooky bites her blankets almost in anxiousness, yet it's never when she is anxious. So we have always thought these behaviors somehow comfort them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OwnedBySummer Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 Be happy it's an inanimate object? Quote Lisa B. My beautiful Summer - to her forever home May 1, 2010 Summer Certified therapy dog team with St. John Ambulance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeofNE Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 OCD! Be very, very grateful she's licking her bed and not her own legs. We had a Labrador who licked his front legs until they were bloody. We spent thousands of dollars trying to figure out why and how to stop it. Finally we gave up and put a long sleeved t-shirt on him. That stopped it. But as soon as we took it off...lick, lick, lick! Quote Susan, Hamish, Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SusanP Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 (edited) Our old girl Simon used to do this to a spot on one of her front legs for all the years she was with us. The skin was shiny and fragile there. And Spinner does this now--he licks the carpet in any room. He also licks metal tools. When DH is working on a project, Spinner will be right there, looming around just waiting to get at the hammer head or other metal tool part. He gets more excited about those than he does flavor basted rawhide. I think all of our greyhounds do some bed licking, really, but not a crazy amount. It makes him happy, and my only real concern would be if he's licking something that might not be good for him. Hard to divert, though. Makes me think of when I was a kid and couldn't stop sucking my thumb. Edited October 22, 2011 by SusanP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kudzu Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 Boredom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3vagreys Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 My Frosty does this too. It seems like an OCD thing and it is difficult to distract her when she starts doing it. As someone else said, it is almost like she is in a trance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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