My dog has had an "episode" for the second day in a row. I'm really not feeling it right now.
She all of a sudden decides that she *HAS* to lick. Mainly the floor, but she'll lick the furniture on her way by every once in a while. Nothing will stop her. We've tried holding her, but she just can't stop. She just goes until she's done. Yesterday's fit lasted for over three hours.
The first time this happened, I was able to hold her in one spot with no carpet and give her a lot of love and attention, focusing on a lot of belly patting. I essentially "burped" her until she threw up (hence the carpet-free area) so that I could give her a baby aspirin. At that time, we didn't know what was wrong (still don't), and the aspirin was just to get her to -hopefully- chill out enough to sleep.
I tried "burping" her several times yesterday to no avail. There's just no stopping her. She'll run to the door every once in a while, making you think she's going to expel something from somewhere, but when you put her outside, she just starts eating grass.
The only post I could find online from someone who has experienced the same thing with their own dog indicates it may be a form of seizure of else just a compulsion. The first time it happened, we took her to the vet. Much like pediatricians nowadays, they're quick to just prescribe an antibiotic and send you on your way. So for now, the plan is to just ride it out.
I'm just not sure how much more of this I can take. Not only is it annoying as hell to have a dog running around licking the floor non-stop and coughing because of all the hair she's ingesting. There is also the worry that she'll find something to lick that could really hurt her. Then there's that wonderful feeling of helplessness that occurs when you watch an animal you love go through something like this, and there isn't a thing you can do.
I guess it figures that I would end up with a dog who is just as neurotic as I am...
3 comments:
Faith licks the wood stairs of our backyard deck. It's constant, and I have no idea on why she enjoys it. Have you tried to give her some Benedryl to help out with sleeping or see if they have any anxiety medicine for dogs? It may sound odd to suggest that, but I think your right it might be a compulsion that could possibly be eased somewhat with some medicine....
A few months ago Bart would lick his paw nonstop... we kept checking his paw and finally took him to the vet... the vet said that a lot of times, when they have a soar neck, they lick... I don't remember the reason behind it... and I'm sure it's not the same reason for every dog... but that was our experience.
I went through a phase where I was constantly licking.....oh wait, this doesn't seem appropriate.
When I first read through this all I kept thinking was OCD, but then again I've never had animals before, have no training, so I'm at a loss.
Hope if there is something wrong the poor thing is feeling better or you're able to find the source of the issue.
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