Licking the Carpet!!

[sammy101]

Kodie is ALWAYS licking the carpet! It's really annoying,to hear him slobbering and licking the carpet all the time!I tell him 'no' when he starts doing it,so he'll stop for a few minutes,then he'll get up and look for another spot to lick
does anyone else have a problem with this??

[Lexi_Lover]

Lexi does that to, but I think its because she smells food, or something there. You could use some anti-chewing spray on the spot or a good ol' water bottle to squirt da muzzle!

[Kevin Farmer]

maximus does that when he has a snack "not on the towel" ...he knows better...i think he's hidding the evidence

[emc]

My Chihuahua goes through periods of constantly sniffing and licking the floor. It's really annoying, she's stops when I tell her to but a few minutes later she's doing it again.

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[IRescue452]

I fixed that by cleaning the carpet, turns out my little sisters had spilled chocolate milk there at one point in time (brown carpet so I couldn't see it) and Autumn thought it tasted good.

[lv4dogs]

Nanook does that sometimes but not always. It does get annoying but I have learned to deal with it. He must do it for some reason or another & obviously like to do it.
I either go into another room or turn up the radio or something. lol

But again it is not a constant thing that he does and he does not damage the carpet either.

[carrie]

There are a few reasons for this behaviour. It may develop from an initial lick at a food residue and the dog just likes the sensation and it becomes a habit.
Not so bad, you think, but it may be more sisnister than first appears.
If you wear outside shoes in the house then you carry many pollutants onto your carpets, some of which are harmful and some of them addictive. This is bad news for your dog AND bad news for you as the pollutants are now in your atmosphere too. Take lead for example - greatly reduced in the environment as we produce cleaner engines and fuels, but still there in harmful amounts. By removing your outside shoes before walking on the carpets you reduce your exposure to lead by something like 35%. Lead is a culminative poison, it builds up in your system and your body does not remove it on it's own. Milk is the only thing that can get lead out of your system - milk is not a good idea for adult mammals as their digestive system does not retain the enzymes and bacteria needed to break down the lactose in it (most humans cope fairly well with it because we are continually exposed to it).
The other major problem with lead is that it is addictive - old fashioned lead paint was the cause of much nervous sytem and brain damage in yester-years when babies toys and cribs were painted with it. It has a sweet taste and babies became hooked on chewing on it. If you have lead deposits on your carpet this could be the reason for the dog developing the licking habit. A friend of mine once used old wood to build beds for her new kennel block - six months later she had lost two of pups and a brood bitch to lead poisoning. The wood had been painted with a lead based paint and her dogs had become hooked on chewing and licking the paint off. Matters were made worse with her efforts at controlling the situation - she moved the puppy that shared with the first puppy that died to a new kennel in order to reduce infection risk (not knowing what had caused the death at the time). This was a whole new source of lead for the moved puppy who died shortly afterwards.
Many modern cleaners and fresheners that we use can have a similiar affect on behaviour so be aware of products you are using on the carpet - any alcohol based cleaner, for instance, could have a similar effect.
The behaviour may also be a sign of stress (boredom, for instance). Licking the carpet gives the dog a sensation and relieves the stress it feels - like biting your nails or sucking your thunb. Oral comfort like this is a hangover from child/puppyhood and is often accompanied by a dreamy demeanour.

In most cases it is a comfort thing and you must be careful how you react to it as the final reason for this behaviour is that it gets your attention!

[Smilla]

Carrie, how great to see you! And as usual, a wonderfully informative reply.

Lefty licks the rugs, the floor, the couch cushions, his bed, etc. He usually stops when I tell him to. However, I have switched several cleaning products because of his little "habit"--plain water for the floor, in a steam cleaner, and a mixture of baking soda and cornstarch for the rugs! I figure it's better for us humans, too.

[carrie]

It's so good to be back! (Again!)

Lefty sounds like an habitual licker, habit.

Although, baking soda...try using a little less in your cleaning solution as too much will saturate the solution and leave particles of soda undiluted, it may be this that encourages Lefty to lick.

Nice to be back in contact!

[Pit Chick]

Gravity is a major licker. When sitting on the couch she will lick us constantly on the arm for quite some time. If we aren't there, she licks the couch cusion in one spot repeatedly. What really sucks though is when she does it to the bed pillows. I just figure she like the tast of our salty skin and if we aren't available the couch or pillows have our "flavor".

[2dog1cat]

It's possible the dog could be missing something in his diet.

We had a St Bernard/Golden x years ago. We had just started learning the difference between good food and not so good food. At the time, we were feeding Nutro Max (upgraded from Mainstay).

Barney started licking the carpet, not all the time, but once in a while, and he would be trying to heave. We would let him outside, he ate grass and would be sick. This went on for years. At that time, we were never able to find out what caused it, vet didn't know.

It wasn't until we got Misty, and I was getting the right food for her and talking to the homeopath, that she told me it was probably the food. I don't remember why she told me the food caused the reaction, but I do remember her saying it was a common problem with some dogs on that food.

[Sassy_luvr]

sassy doesn't have a problem about licking the carpet,but she does about biting it and then pulling it up. so sorry no advice from me except clean the carpet.