licking dog

Question
QUESTION: Hi Lee,

I have an 8 year old lab, rottweiller, great dane mix.  He is in great health for a large older dog but within the last year has developed a habit that i am curious about.  He licks.  Not people but sometimes the carpet.  95% of the time he just licks the air.  He will do this for hours if you don't stop him.  We notice it in the evening during "quiet time".  Is this just a bored behavior or is the something wrong with my dog?

Thank you!!
Dawn

ANSWER: Hi, Dawn,

Thanks for the question. I hope I can help.

How much hard vigorous playful activity does your dog get every day? And I mean things like fetch and tug-of-war where the payoff of the game is that he gets to bite something? Also, was there any change in his structural dynamic in the last year or so? A move to a new house? Someone moved out? Another pet died? New furniture, new dog food?

This information would be helpful to me.

LCK

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for responding so quickly.  The answers to your questions.. I have definitely slacked off in the play time with him. So as far as the activity, he get's maybe 10-15 minutes a day.  Definitely not enough.  He won't play tug of war but will fetch.  As far as structure, same house, same people, same environment, same cat's, same dog food brand but now he get's the "senior blend" however we had his life long companion put to sleep last January.  She was my black lab that we had before we adopted Remmy from the Humane Society.  He went into a depression for around two weeks after we put her down.  There is also an annoying German Shepard that won't leave him alone and play's very rough.  He comes to visit twice a month.  My Boyfriends dog is good natured and they seem to get along very well.  We are moving in together so maybe they can keep each other company while we work.  Thank you so much.  Any insight you can give me to give my dog a happier life is appreciated.

Answer
Thanks for the further info.

Sometimes a dramatic change in the household structure can cause stress. If the stress is deep enough, it creates behavioral problems. You should talk to your vet to rule out a medical condition.

From a behavioral point of view, though, dogs are designed to reduce stress through chewing and/or biting, especially as part of a game that imitates some of the motor patterns found in wild wolves when they're hunting together. Sometimes, if a dog isn't getting enough playful exercise, and especially not getting enough of a chance to reduce stress through biting games (like tug), they find a release through other behaviors. Licking is one of them.

In this case (if the behavior doesn't have a medical cause), the licking seems to have become like an OCD behavior, where the brain is caught in a serotonin loop, creating feelings of release that would normally be handled in other ways.

Since he won't play tug, here's a link or two to some exercises that'll get him started in that direction. The main goal is to get him to play tug with all his heart. The harder he bites the tug rag in play, the more emotionally balanced he'll be. It's not going to be easy, though. It'll take time. But more fetch will certainly help too.

http://www.tiny.cc/jumpstart

http://tinyurl.com/3balu6

http://www.tiny.cc/SwimUpstream
         
http://www.tiny.cc/tug

I hope this helps!

LCK