incessant lip licking

Question
Hi Dr. Connor:
We recently rescued this 3-yr-old English bulldog who is extremely sweet-tempered, but just started this incessant lip licking & air biting spells. It doesn't seem to be prompted by anything in particular, and he doesn't have anything stuck in his mouth. Could this be stress-related? I'd love to have your professional opinion. Thanks in advance for your help. Video clip here: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7790378217421692032&hl=en

Answer
Lip licking is a stress reduction signal in dogs (appeasement signal) that can be a sign of anxiety.  However, coupled with the air biting that you describe, this may also be a sign of neurological disorder (low level seizures) or pain reaction.  I suggest you observe this dog carefully over the next few days and keep a journal of these events: time of day, light level (sunny, cloudy, dark outside, low lights inside, etc.), how close to meal time (can be distantly related to food allergy), how close to outings for elimination, etc.  Do some detective work and see if you can associate these behaviors with anything concrete.  You must also take the dog for a neurological evaluation, opthalmologic evaluation (floaters in eyes? other ocular obstruction) AND a full dental checkup.  It just might be the dog is responding to tooth pain!  Please repost results.