teeth grinding

Question
my 7 year old lab started grinding her teeth about 6 months ago.  she does it awake as well as when she's sleeping.  No change in appetite. Any ideas?

Answer
Hi Pauline,

Tooth grinding can certainly be annoying, but there are worse habits a dog can develop. You could treat this like any other bad habit a dog could develop, that's done with distraction and reward. Scolding her when you notice her grinding her teeth is not going to stop their behavior.

When you see your dog grinding, give her a pop-quiz of obedience commands, such as sit, stay, down, etc. Reward when she obeys reward. If your dog doesn't know any commands, you can give her a chew toy or treat as the distraction. Reward her when she's busy chewing on the toy, if that's a behavior you'd rather have her do.

It might be your dog's teeth are not aligned right. If the tooth grinding continues to trouble you, talk to your vet about this during your next vet visit.

Best of luck,
Patti