OCD Licker

[Fritz n Sophie]

Now I love my Fritz to pieces, but he's driving me crazy with his OCD licking. Every time I sit down he wants to lay on my arm, pinning it down, and lick my hand. If I hide my hand he makes do with my arm. What is wrong with him? He's always been a licker when he's tired but now it's all e time. Do you think it's because he's jealous of Sophie?

[spiritwings1202]

omg my pixie does this and I have to hide my hands and tell her no. When people come over she is insane with the licking. I am so glad you started this thread bc I need advice too! lol

[horsnaround]

Riley is a terrible licker also. Just to dh though. Everyone else tells him no and he will stop

[yorkietalkjilly]

Here's an article on OCD type licking that will give you some of the basics of what it is and how it can get started. I don't know that I agree with that spray treatment or how it works - if it sprays in the dog's face or just emits the pheromones - but you can Google other articles about it also and get many ideas of how you want to best deal with it. A lot of dogs do this and particularly when in a competition with another dog for claiming you but of course many factors can be behind the reason for any OCD-type behavior.

Obsessive Compulsive Behavior in Dogs - Whole Dog Journal Article

[spiritwings1202]

Thank you Jeanie that was a great article. Pixie does the ocd licking when I come home from somewhere and especially when my Grandson is over. She will constantly be in his face licking him and if he pushes her away she just gets more adamant about licking him. I bought a play pen to put her in when he is over bc sometimes he gets so angry with her I am afraid he is going to lose his patience with her

[Fritz n Sophie]

Jeanie, thank you for posting the article. It is so annoying when he gets started. I guess I'll be doing some research for the best approach to correct this behavior.

[yorkietalkjilly]

Distracting him is a good way. Say "uh oh" when he starts, moving him aside and getting his attention onto something else - get him a chewie or toss a ball or get him playing with something, let him outside or take him for a walk. Others will get up and walk away from the dog the moment he starts to lick, thus denying him the object of his licking. Others remove the dog from the room the moment he starts to lick. I like to train a dog in obedience, get him working learning things. This tends to keep the dog busy and teaches him the importance of learning to obey commands that I give him. Then I teach him "Leave it!" as one of the commands - make it into a game - and the moment he starts in to lick after that, I say "Leave it!" and he happily and immediately backs off, waiting for his paycheck for leaving it! He's thrilled to back off because in the game of "Leave it!", he wins the game by backing off and waiting for his paycheck treat. He always gets it. I make a big deal of the leaving it and really celebrate when a dog does that. If you want, I'll post my training instructions for training the "Leave it!" game. Tibbe will leave chicken lying in the floor to get his treat he loves playing the game so much. Those are a few suggestions but getting a dog working learning obedience commands can help stop so many behavior problems and start them on the road to recovery. And it "teaches" them the fine art of doing what you say to do. It can be a big win-win for you and the dog.

But do read all you can about OCD behavior and how to correct it and choose the best method for you and your dog. Usually it does take a combination of things to help them and soon they get the message of what boundaries they can and cannot cross.

[Critter]

I am glad others are dealing with this... my Harley is completely obsessed with licking, if you dont allow him to lick he will start crying. If you hide your hand he starts to dig at it till you bring it back out. We feel completely sorry for him because when you give in your can tell he gets totally relaxed by the licking. My DH allows him to do it the most so now I dont know if we can even break him of it, we have had him for 5 years...

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by Critter

I am glad others are dealing with this... my Harley is completely obsessed with licking, if you dont allow him to lick he will start crying. If you hide your hand he starts to dig at it till you bring it back out. We feel completely sorry for him because when you give in your can tell he gets totally relaxed by the licking. My DH allows him to do it the most so now I dont know if we can even break him of it, we have had him for 5 years...

It can be relaxing for them - a kind of displacement behavior such as when humans bite our nails or sit with our legs crossed and kick our foot over and over nervously, smoke one cigarette after the other or pace back and forth when we are nervous and don't really know what to do with ourselves. Of course, not all dogs lick from nerves or stress, some do from boredom, possessiveness, to curry favor and many reasons as research shows. Dogs can't read, take drugs or get busy in a hobby as we can to pass the time or deal with their jumpy times so they invent other ways such as OCD type licking or chasing their tail or barking nonstop for hours.

[Lovetodream88]

It could be anxiety.

[Fritz n Sophie]

Janie, you are just a wealth of information! I would love for you to post your training instructions. Can I work with two dogs at once or do I need to work with them one at a time?

[Lisa and Pic]

Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly

Here's an article on OCD type licking that will give you some of the basics of what it is and how it can get started. I don't know that I agree with that spray treatment or how it works - if it sprays in the dog's face or just emits the pheromones - but you can Google other articles about it also and get many ideas of how you want to best deal with it. A lot of dogs do this and particularly when in a competition with another dog for claiming you but of course many factors can be behind the reason for any OCD-type behavior.

Obsessive Compulsive Behavior in Dogs - Whole Dog Journal Article

Interesting article!

Piccolo starts licking when we have company she adores. If she can't lick them, she will lick the air near them. Guess that is an OCD behavior.

[Deb1]

Max does the licking the air when his buddy is home......it drives me nuts! He sits on his lap and licks the air or his hand. He is like a snake with fur! He only does it when my DH is home.....I guess he loves him a lot!

[Yorkiedaze]

None of mine have any licking problems, but after my shower when I put lotion on my feet, legs and all, then they love to lick my feet or legs and I have to shoo them away and get socks and pants on quickly.

Dogs who do have these problems need a diversion and a change in their daily lives. Hide food such as cheerios around the house for them to find, give them raw veggies your using for a salad (since they are probably looking and waiting for something to fall anyway) always talk to them, make a game by chasing them around the house anytime your going from room to room anyway, put a couple of toys in each room so when your in that room you can pick one up for a tug. Long walks, plenty of play outside with you, not being crated or left alone for too many hours. Think of how you would like to be treated, if left alone or just being bored all day, and apply that to your dog.

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by Fritz n Sophie

Janie, you are just a wealth of information! I would love for you to post your training instructions. Can I work with two dogs at once or do I need to work with them one at a time?

To start off, I would work with one at a time and have that dog paying attention only to you. You want his or her undivided attention. Later, when dogs are fully trained, perform all commands with no problems and are used to obeying your commands, you can work them at the same time. It's also a good thing to train your dog outside so they get used to working with your outside and learn that they also need to do what you say outside with a lot of distractions. That way if you dog is taking off bolting out the door, chasing a cat or something, the command "Stop!" could get your dog to stop and wait for you to come get him and not keep chasing the cat.

A dog that works and has an interesting life learning and seeing their endeavors rewarded and knows to obey you will "leave it" when you use that term whatever they are doing. It keeps OCD behavior and other bad habits from even getting started usually but if the dog does start to drift into that, using a command to stop it each time will soon teach the dog to not even start to do it again. But if you do see an active, trained dog trying to develop a bad habit, it's a good idea to step up his activities and give him more challenges. It will reinforce his sense of accomplishment and give him confidence and a dog like that is not nearly so likely to be a nervous, unsure or possessive dog. And thank you for the kind words!