08
Jul
Why Does My Dog Lick Its Lips A Lot. It can mean your dog is hungry happy sad sick or even nervous. If you think about it when your stomach is upset you tend to get a bad taste in your mouth or you produce a bit of excess saliva that can make you swallow or lick your lips. Dogs just do it. Some dogs will lick their lips when they feel that their lips are dry or simply because something is stuck near their lip or between their teeth.
Most content in the stomach is acidic and the acidity could damage not only the esophagus but also the mouth and teeth. In dogs licking the lips can be what Roger Abrantes calls a pacifying behavior Dogs basically engage in this behavior to diffuse a perceived threat using the lip smacking action as an appeasing signal. By licking their lips they are sending the message that they would rather not confront their fear. If your dog has an upset stomach or is feeling a little sicky whether they have vomited or not they may be sitting with their mouth slightly open drooling a lot or repeatedly licking their lips. Possible reasons why your dog licks your mouth are that the behavior is rewarded it is looking for attention boredom it is being affectionate or that it is excited. It is important that if your dog is licking their lips more than normal that this problem is not ignored as many of the causes of lip-licking can seriously impact a dogs happiness and comfort levels.
The same is true for your dog in which case any underlying disorder that produces nausea could cause your dog to lick a lot.
Atopy the equivalent of hay fever in people. It is a pacifying behavior that dogs display when they are stressed fearful or anxious. Since there are a number of possible causes it would help to consider what would make each of them more likely. It can mean your dog is hungry happy sad sick or even nervous. Dogs will use their body to communicate that they are the stressed or frightened. If you think about it when your stomach is upset you tend to get a bad taste in your mouth or you produce a bit of excess saliva that can make you swallow or lick your lips.