[SusanG]

Today I was scissoring Molly's tail - and she turned really fast and licked the scissors - blood all over - scared me half to death. I couldn't see where the cut was, just blood. We were halfway to the vet when all of a sudden it stopped.

From the day we brought Molly home as a 9 week old puppy she licks - excessively. She licks us and she licks her front legs and feet - a lot. Occasionally she even licks the air, but that is intermittent. The vet and I have tried everything to figure out why, except that its just her. She isn't a nervous dog, and even after receiving an allergy shot (to see if that is the cause) she still is a licker. They ruled out seizure so it is habit and OCD. I can tell her to stop, which she will, she tries, but can't for very long. The vet even tried OCD medication. Of course she doesn't lick when she is busy, or walking or playing or distracted with other things.

My biggest problem is grooming her. She is wonderful about it, loves it, gets excited when she sees the clippers, jumps right on the table, loves the attention and is very cooperative - but she licks the whole time. When I am clipping her feet, she is licking my hands, arms and tries to lick the clipper (Bitter Apple doesn't work) (Thank goodness for the grooming arm on the table which helps a lot. Doing her face is a challenge because her tongue is going the whole time. I'm so very very careful but its a nightmare to shave her face (and I don't dare chance sending her to a groomer - she is fast! The one groomer I could trust retired)

I'm wondering if it might condition her to stop the licking while being groomed or at least protect her tongue if I used a mesh muzzle, which at least would protect her from the unexpected lightening fast lick at scissors or clipper. (of course it won't work for face, but I've developed a pretty good method for a fast face shave)

Any recommendations? There are so many products on Amazon and the mesh muzzles all look the same.

 

[EVpoodle]

Have you tried making a grooming muzzle, you make it out of a strip of fabric that way you can move it around while you are clipping.

I hope this helps.

 

[Starvt]

A lot of the regular style muzzles will still allow the tongue to come out. For this issue you might be better off with a basket style. I would look for one that is marketed for sighthound and other long-nosed breeds.

 

[reraven123]

How about this one?

https://www.amazon.com/Crazy-Felix-Breathable-Anti-Biting-Anti-Barking/dp/B07QNWWD5P?ref_=ws_cp_4b90e67b12b899edec24_p_1_t_p_ws_cp_22a496dbb21f70734bfe_cp_3_i

 

[Dechi]

A cone of shame would so the job and when you get to the face, you can keep her mouth shut with your hand. That‘s what I use with Merlin to dremel his nails or he would bite me.

Constant licking can be a sign of anxiety. The dog uses it as a soothing mecanism.

 

[Asta's Mom]

OCD is one of my problems. There is really no ready solution for .OCD but here is what I am doing to keep it under control:
Try redirecting a good behavior for the problem behavior.
Medication - my go to is Neurontin . There are generics of Neurontin so that keeps it affordable. This is something to ask your vet about.
OCD in dogs interesting. Dechi had to work hard with her Merlin on the many things like anxiety so you might want to look at her posts.

 

[Asta's Mom]

I just purchased one of the muzzle from Amazon. I am hoping it will help with my grooming terrorist. Why did I never think of this before Lucky I had Amazon reward points so this one is free. Supposed to be here by Saturday. Will let you know how it goes. I know this will mean more training so he doesn't go bonkers.

 

[PeggyTheParti]

Oh my goodness! What a scare!

Your breeder might have played a part in that licking behaviour, depending on her puppy training methods. Years ago, I had an extreme landshark puppy. Much worse than normal puppy biting. Extremely tenacious.

I read in a puppy book to swipe a stick of butter on my hand and then praise like crazy when he licked. So I tried it. And it worked.

A little too well.

For the rest of his life, he was a non-stop licker. He didn't care if he was licking your hand or licking the air.

I suspect, in hindsight, he was a little obsessive and I just replaced one obsession with another, rather than addressing the underlying motivation. It was nicer than the biting, though.

I hope you find a muzzle that works. My priority would be ensuring she can still pant. That Amazon one linked above looks interesting.

 

[jennkpeterson]

Ugh! We had the "blood everywhere" experience with our last grooming session also. My cute Tango tolerates the clipper everywhere but her face. I tried scissors, she licked, blood everywhere, and now she has a little notch out of the tip of her tongue. I'm dreading our next grooming session.

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