weird symptoms

Question
Hello, my 4 year old choc lab began a couple strange symptoms lately. First is she seems to lick her chops a lot more (funny mouth movement, like she licking inside her mouth), when she does this or licks herself a lot i notice a foul breath odor that smells like bleach, but it is hard to describe. The second symptom is that she shakes her head every now and then like she has an ear infection or mites. However, her ears look normal and I see no signs of mites. She is typically a very healthy dog and the only issue she's had is alergies when she was a puppy. My wife thinks I'm crazy, do you think this warrants a trip to the vet? Any ideas?  

Answer
If it persists or gets worse definitely take her to the vet.  She might be licking her mouth a lot more because she is nauseous.  If she is shaking her head a lot too, its possible she could have something going on with her inner ear.  If she is eating as usual and has no other symptoms I would just keep a close eye on her.  If she starts to vomit, tilt her head, have difficulty walking then definitely take her in.  Its good that you are so attentive to any changes in her behavior.  That way you will be able to catch problems and treat them that much sooner.  

Amanda