Dogs can’t be dogs if they don’t lick their lips: it’s just part of what makes our canine pals what they are!
But what if the dog lip-licking behavior becomes excessive? Is this a symptom of a medical issue? And what does it mean when the licking is accompanied by strange issues such as pacing, eating grass, or the avoidance of direct eye contact?
We’ll be answering these questions and more in today’s article, so keep reading!
When Lip Licking is Normal
All dogs lick their lips, and if it’s done in moderation and in specific situations, it’s nothing more than normal behavior.
If you catch a healthy dog licking their lips, it could be due to one of the following reasons:
1. Hunger
Is your dog hungry? Do they scent something appetizing, like the food you’re cooking or eating? Or have you just filled their food bowl with goodies? The desire to munch on something that smells delicious causes your dog to salivate and lick their lips as they anticipate a meal.
2. Post-meal yum-yum
Whether or not your dog is a messy eater, enjoying a meal leaves traces of food on their lips, around their muzzle, and maybe even their nose. Once they’re done feeding, they’ll lick their lips and other neighboring areas to make sure they mop up any remaining food particles.
3. Getting rid of foreign objects
Let’s say your dog is playing in the yard when a blade of grass or bug smacks them in the mouth. If the offending foreign object stays stuck on their mouth or anywhere in the surrounding area, your pooch will lick it off to get rid of it. If it lands on a part of the face that your dog’s tongue can’t reach, they’ll likely use their paws or shake their head to dislodge it.
4. Attention-seeking behavior
Do you smile at Scooter every time you catch him licking his lips? Do you give him treats?
If you react positively every time you see your dog licking their lips, then they may have formed an association between lip-licking and getting rewarded. Therefore, your dog licking lips is a sign they’re trying to catch your attention so you can do something for them, such as give them a treat, rub their belly, or retrieve the ball they accidentally kicked under the sofa.
5. Emotional expression/self-soothing behavior
According to studies, licking releases hormones known as endorphins in your dog’s body, which helps soothe emotional (and physical) discomfort. In other words, your dog’s lip-licking behavior is a self-calming practice that helps manage psychological distress.
Via lip licking, your dog’s tongue can therefore achieve two things: 1) use body language to express negative emotions and 2) soothe said negative emotions.
For instance, if the command you’re trying to teach Fido is too advanced for him, he may resort to licking his lips because 1) he’s telling you he’s confused and frustrated by the training session, and 2) he’s trying to make himself feel better.
If you bring home a human guest or new pet, your dog may lick their lips because they’re nervous about having strangers over. You should also expect to see lip-licking during a thunderstorm or fireworks display, if you move the entire family to a new home, or if you have the entire house renovated.
As it’s impossible to completely remove ourselves and our pets from upsetting situations, it’s normal to see a dog licking their lips from time to time. However, excessive lip licking is a sign your dog suffers from poor mental health and/or a medical problem, so contact a vet for help if you observe such behavior.
6. Appeasement gesture
In addition to soothing themselves, dogs lick their lips to calm other animals down and prevent a fight.
For example, if another dog is angry at Rover, you may see Rover licking his lips. This is a fearful, anxious Rover trying to pacify the other dog so that they don’t attack him. Rover may even try to lick that dog’s lips to show deference.
Similarly, if you scold your dog after catching them peeing on the rug, they’ll lick their lips because they feel threatened, and they don’t want you to hurt them.
Lip-licking as an appeasement gesture can also be accompanied by other behaviors, including yawning, flattening the ears against the head, avoiding direct eye contact, tucking the tail between the hind legs, and body tension.
Dogs getting angry at other dogs is an unavoidable fact of life, so the occasional calming signal is normal. Again, however, excessive licking is the body language of a dog that is suffering from near-constant mental anguish.
Excessive Lip Licking in Dogs: The Causes
As stated previously, when a doggo licks their lips, their body is flooded with endorphins – hormones that alleviate pain. Therefore, if your dog keeps licking lips, then it’s possible they’re unwell, and they’re trying to make themselves feel better.
With that in mind, let’s explore the possible health reasons behind your dog’s lip-licking behavior.
1. Anxiety, stress, or fear
All canines experience anxiety, stress, and fear. But if your dog frequently suffers emotional disturbances, then they likely have poor mental health that may manifest as excessive lip licking and other strange, inappropriate, or destructive behaviors.
For example, if a rescue dog was abandoned by their previous owner, they may be convinced you’ll one day leave them, too. So every time they sense you’re about to step out of the house, they’ll lick their lips, pace, and whine out of fear. When you do leave the house, they’ll bark, howl, and run around like it’s the end of the world. Their panic can even encourage them to chew the furniture. This acute fear of abandonment is known as separation anxiety.
Most dogs with high levels of anxiety, stress, and fear have a history of neglect, abuse, and other types of misfortune. Such dogs often have extreme reactions to upsetting experiences. For example, while a healthy dog may retreat into their crate during a thunderstorm, an overly fearful dog will tremble, whine, lick their lips excessively, and maybe even chew a shoe.
If you have such a dog, seek help from a veterinarian and veterinary behaviorist. Anti-anxiety medication can manage your dog’s mental problems, while counterconditioning techniques can help them unlearn undesirable behaviors.
2. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in dogs is known as Canine Compulsive Disorder (CCD). It encourages extreme repetitions of otherwise normal behaviors, so if Spot has CCD, you may see him constantly licking his lips.
While CCD is more likely to occur in young dogs, it can affect canines of any age.
CCD has a genetic component, which explains why certain breeds (including German Shepherds, Doberman Pinschers, and Bull Terriers) are at a higher risk of developing the condition.
Neglect, frustration, severe anxiety, a lack of mental stimulation, a lack of physical activity, and having no job to do can also encourage compulsive behaviors such as excessive licking.
If your dog keeps licking lips due to CCD, seek help from a vet or applied animal behaviorist. Medication and professional training can improve their behavior.
3. Nausea and/or upset stomach
Is your dog licking their lips, then swallowing? They may be feeling nauseous.
Nausea causes the overproduction of saliva, which in turn leads to excessive drooling. You see your dog lip licking because they’re getting rid of all that surplus saliva. Some dogs even eat grass to relieve themselves of discomfort.
Swallowing is then an attempt to keep down whatever your dog’s gut is eager to chuck out. In fact, swallowing is often the precursor to vomiting.
Nausea due to an upset stomach has many causes, such as eating something that doesn’t agree with them and eating too much. Motion sickness and even medication can also make a dog nauseous.
Nausea can be a symptom of serious conditions such as distemper, poisoning, kidney disease, liver disease, etc. If nausea and/or vomiting persists or worsens, your dog needs veterinary pet care.
4. Oral problems
Is your dog lip licking? They may have dental disease, gum disease, or any other issue concerning the mouth that’s causing them pain.
Left untreated, the gum inflammation caused by periodontal disease can result in severe oral discomfort, infection, and even tooth loss. Dental problems such as infected cavities and tooth breakage are also known to cause extreme pain.
Other concerns that can lead to dental or oral discomfort include mouth tumors, oral ulcers, a foreign body penetrating tissue within the oral cavity, and swollen salivary glands.
To prevent such issues:
- Brush your dog’s teeth daily and give them dental chew toys
- Supervise your dog during play to ensure they don’t put sharp objects in their mouth
- Regularly inspect your dog’s mouth and teeth for problems
- Make sure your dog doesn’t swallow caustic substances such as bleach, detergent pods, etc.
Bring your dog to the vet to treat dental disease and other oral issues.
5. Seizures
Do you sometimes catch your dog licking lips excessively for no reason? They may have a neurological disorder known as partial seizures.
A partial seizure (a.k.a. focal seizure) affects only a small portion of the canine brain, so it produces more subtle signs of motor dysfunction. For example, instead of a dog collapsing and shaking all over, they may continuously lick the air or their lips. Another abnormal behavior induced by this disorder is “fly biting,” in which a dog stares at something invisible in the air, then snaps at it.
A dog likely suffers from partial seizures if they appear depressed or listless after a fly-biting or lip-licking episode. If this is the case with your pooch, seek help from a vet immediately so they can prescribe drugs to prevent the seizures.
6. Canine Cognitive Dysfunction
Just like Alzheimer’s disease in people, Canine Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome (CCD) can affect senior dogs to cause various abnormal behavioral changes.
It’s common to see dogs with CCD licking their lips frequently. Other symptoms include:
- Pacing
- House soiling
- Confusion
- Increased vocalization
- Changes in sleep patterns
CCD is a progressive degenerative disease; it has no cure and will get worse as time passes. However, you can do certain things to make a senior pooch more comfortable. For instance, you can bring them to the pet clinic so a vet can prescribe medication that can help alleviate CCD symptoms.
7. Bloat
Bloat is a serious, potentially deadly condition in dogs.
This problem occurs when food, liquid, or gas gets trapped in a dog’s gut, which can culminate in the swelling and twisting of the stomach. As a result, the stomach’s contents can’t escape, organs are unable to receive the appropriate blood supply, and toxins build up in your dog’s tissues. Without emergency treatment, your dog can perish from these developments.
Is your dog licking their lips constantly? They may have bloat if they also exhibit the following symptoms:
- Pacing and restlessness
- Distended or swollen abdomen
- Painful abdomen
- Retching/failure to vomit
- Excess drooling (which explains the lip licking)
- Excess panting
- Rapid breathing
- Collapse
If you suspect your dog has bloat, rush them to the vet. Hesitation can have fatal consequences.
The root cause of bloat is still being studied. However, certain factors – including overeating, eating quickly, drinking large quantities of water rapidly, elevated food bowls, exercising after eating, and old age – may contribute to its development.
8. Dehydration
A dog’s body losing too much fluid can result in dehydration – a potentially life-threatening condition if left untreated.
Dehydration has various causes, including severe diarrhea and/or vomiting, heat exhaustion, heatstroke, or an underlying medical problem such as diabetes, liver or kidney disease, or some cancers.
While it’s common to see dehydrated dogs lick their lips, the condition can also cause the following symptoms:
- Dry nose
- Dry, sticky gums
- Excess panting
- Thick saliva
- Little to no skin elasticity
- Sunken eyes
- Loss of appetite
- Lethargy
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
A severely dehydrated dog should be brought to the vet immediately for life-saving treatment.
To prevent dehydration, make sure your dog has regular access to cool drinking water. Your dog should also have an air-conditioned room they can escape into during hot weather.
9. Bites or stings
Is Fido licking his lips? Maybe an insect bit him on the mouth! Getting bitten or stung by bugs such as bees, wasps, spiders, horse flies, or mosquitos can cause discomfort or pain, so the poor dog keeps licking his lips to alleviate his suffering.
Getting bitten by a venomous snake is much worse than an insect bite. As the venom courses through your dog’s body, they’ll likely display the following symptoms in addition to lip licking:
- Swelling/pain around the bite
- Trembling
- Vomiting and/or diarrhea
- Weak/unsteady hind legs
- Excess drooling or frothing (and therefore lip licking)
- Dilated pupils
- Bloody urine
- Collapse
- Paralysis
A dog that has been bitten by a venomous snake should be taken to the vet for emergency pet care.
Insect bites or stings can be treated at home, but it’s always a good idea to ask a vet for advice on how to manage such concerns. Generally, treatment requires the use of tweezers to carefully remove the stinger; applying a paste consisting of water and baking soda to the wound; and applying an ice pack to the wound to alleviate pain and swelling. Oral antihistamines can also help.
If your dog is allergic to the bite or sting, they may experience vomiting; breathing difficulties; facial swelling; redness and swelling at the site of the sting or bite; and a body covered in hives or raised red swellings. Rush your dog to the vet before their condition grows worse.
10. Tasting toxicity
Your dog’s mouth and tongue are tools for exploration; to learn more about the world, they’ll lick or even bite things. Unfortunately, this means some dogs lick things that aren’t good for them, such as cleaning fluids and chemicals, foods that can harm their health, and even poisonous toads.
So if you see a dog licking lips, they may have tried to eat something that tasted disgusting or worse, something poisonous. In fact, there are many toad species that can cause toxicity if licked, including the marine/cane toad and Colorado River/Sonoran Desert toad.
The signs of toad venom toxicity include:
- Mouth irritation causing excessive salivation (and therefore lip licking)
- Breathing difficulty
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Fever
- Heart abnormalities
- Seizures
- Weakness
- Collapse
If your dog licks a poisonous toad, rinse their mouth to remove the venom, then contact a vet for advice. You’ll likely have to bring your dog to the clinic for treatment.
Is Your Dog Licking Their Lips? Here’s What to Do
Unless you’ve never lived with a dog, you’ll know that in a majority of cases, licking is normal. But if you sense something’s off with your pet’s behavior, you should keep a few things in mind.
1. Figure out if there’s something that’s making your dog anxious, stressed, or fearful. Do they have a tucked tail or pinned ears? Are they showing other signs of nervousness or appeasement behavior? If so, then something within their vicinity is likely making them feel threatened. Remove the possible causes of your dog’s distress to allow them to calm down. If the stressor is another pet or a child, it’s a bad idea to keep them near an agitated dog.
2. If your dog keeps licking their lips while you’re training them, they may be baffled and frustrated by your lessons. Stop the lessons and develop simpler training methods before continuing said lessons another day.
Be consistent and use simple, unique vocal cues and hand signals with each command. Be cautious with your actions lest you inadvertently reward unacceptable behaviors (such as when you smile or speak in a soothing tone every time you catch your dog chewing your shoes).
3. Once you’ve determined your dog’s issues aren’t behavioral, it’s time to determine if something’s wrong with their mental or physical health.
If your dog is anxious, stressed, or afraid most of the time, then their issues may be psychological. Contact a vet and an animal behaviorist/dog trainer; the former can prescribe medicine that can help manage your dog’s emotional issues, while the latter can determine the root cause of your dog’s behavioral problems and provide counterconditioning tactics to help them unlearn problematic conduct.
If your dog’s behavior has a medical cause, they’ll display issues you can observe. Vomiting, diarrhea, restlessness, high body temperature, excess panting, excess drooling, pain, breathing difficulty, unexplained trembling, lethargy, weakness, collapse, and other symptoms indicate your dog is ill. Contact a vet for help if your pooch displays such symptoms.
FAQs About Dogs’ Lip-Licking Behavior
Here are our answers to more frequently asked questions about why dogs lick their lips!
What are the signs a dog’s lip licking is abnormal?
Is your dog’s lip-licking excessive? Does your dog lick their lips even when they have no obvious reason to? If your answer to one or both questions is “yes,” then there’s a chance your dog is suffering from a psychological or medical issue.
Also, your dog is likely unwell if their lip licking is accompanied by health issue symptoms such as aggression, social withdrawal, loss of appetite, diarrhea, vomiting, excess panting, excess drooling, breathing difficulty, unexplained shivering, fever, pain, lethargy, depression, collapse, and the like.
My dog keeps licking lips, then swallowing. Is this a problem?
If your dog keeps licking their lips then swallowing, they may be experiencing nausea. Nausea results in extreme drooling; your dog removes the excess saliva by licking their lips. Dogs tend to swallow in an (often futile) attempt to prevent vomiting.
Why do dogs lick each other’s mouths?
Dogs lick each other’s mouths to express affection, show deference, seek attention, request food, lap up food residue, gather information, groom the other, or appease the other to prevent violence.
Dogs learn this behavior during puppyhood when licking the mother’s face makes her regurgitate food. It’s normal social behavior many modern canine species acquired from their wild ancestors.
My dog licks my face. Is this normal?
Dogs lick their humans’ faces for the same reason they lick their packmates’ faces: to express affection, gain attention, show deference, and so on. In other words, it’s normal social behavior.
Whether or not you should let your doggo lick your face is another matter.
Should I let my dog lick my lips or face?
While it’s rare for people to get ill from getting licked on the lips or face by a dog, it’s generally not a good idea to let your pooch give you smoochies.
Your dog’s mouth is home to over 600 different bacteria, some of which may harm you. If your doggo licks a wound, it could get infected. Dogs on a raw diet may contract salmonella, then spread salmonella to their humans when they lick their lips. In short, the more dogs lick your face, the greater your risk of experiencing problems.
Final Thoughts
Moderate, situational lip licking is normal behavior in canines. However, dogs that constantly lick their lips may be showing a sign of one or more health issues.
Keep an eye on your pooch; if their lip licking grows excessive and is accompanied by worrying behaviors or health issue symptoms, contact a vet or veterinary behaviorist. Their help and yours can go a long way in keeping your dog healthy and happy!