OCD licking. little help here

does anyone have problems with their dogs licking too much. not licking you...but themselves like their feet...or inanimate objects ie: the floor, chairs, furnature, clothing, blankets....just to name a few of romeos.
its getting a little out of hand. i noticed him licking my top blankets of my bed and when i shooed him i saw that he had licked it soaked, and it had gone through to the second blanket. its not like i can put hot sause on my bedding or my sofa... but not only is is very annoying, i worry about him, our staffs have always been really licky, zook used to lick the air even. but he will start licking his feet and wont stop until i break him out of it, he licks them almost raw...
any suggestions?

Yer Moo was doing it for a while, just had a closer look and her claw is split and sore, she used to lick her inside leg and made it sore, there is a small patch on the carpet where she has licked it (looks cleaner lol). All I can do is say no.

He is gonna be a little off after the op still so don't worry, hope he is healing well Xx

Dogs can get OCD about licking or chasing their tail. If it bothers you, I think maybe try to snap him out of it and distract him as soon as he starts to do it? If he doesn't have a chance to do it, then maybe he'll break the habit.

oh... he was doing this licking before the op....mostly to my sofa...now its my bed it kinda bothers me couse my bed is really wet now.
i normally snap him of it when i notice, he looks at my all guilty like and stops for a while and then some minutes to... some many hours latter i'll catch him again.
he will honestly sit and lick the air some days, that tongue is always going.
i cant tell him no when i'm not home... i'm just wondering if this is simply something i just have to live with... a quirk so to speak

tyke has a problem with licking his paws and in between his toes. But we find distracting him with chews or a bone or if all else fails saying no. is he licky the bed when you are in it or does he go onto your bed when your not there? its a tricky one

he will do it when i'm here... not sure if its when i'm not, but i know he licks the sofa, i see the marks.

may be its an attention problem (not saying one minute that your not giving him enough) but may be he needs occupying with something else. or was just thinking, could it be the smells like wash powder etc that he likes??

When lexi was about 1 she got a sore on her paw from obsessive licking, the vet said to leave it and it will go away on its own and it did. He said it was probably separation anxiety, i had just started a new job that was 13hr shifts, so she didn't spend every second with me.

Our 2 do lick things but its usually where a crumb has been dropped or a bit of biscuit etc that they have not eaten

Rocky isn't overly licky. We had an old squeaky toy from ages ago that got split so we took the actual squeaky device out and kept it. We now use it for a distraction should need be.

romeo has a slightly raw front paw from his licking, and i was so angry that he soaked my bed covers from licking, i had to sleep in my jacket

sash does it too,we just say thats enough and she'll stop it,but she too will lick the bed,carpet and sofa,it is weird though

Taryn, have you heard of this professor in Finland, Hannes Lohi, who is doing a research about ocd (among other several researches eg epilepsia) with his team. They are collecting blood from dogs, to find out what is the gene that is causing that behaviour. Here are some links that might interest you and I think Romeo would be a good kandidate to participate. You just have to fill in the right report and then they need blood from Romeo. I've heard that they even come to your place to take the blood in some cases

http://www.koirangeenit.fi/in-english/

http://www.staffordshirenbullterrieriyhdistys.fi/Tiira+et+al+2012-1.pdf

And if you can read finnish text, there is an article at the finnish staffordshirebullterrier clubs website (it's a word document): http://www.staffordshirenbullterrieriyhdistys.fi/ajankohtaista.htm --> Hännänjahtaus lehdistötiedote

Logan is the same. He would sit beside you and lick your hands non stop. He is the same with his food bowl, coffee table legs, side of the sofa. He would lick at his feet for so long he would actually choke from swallowing hairs.

I brought him to the vet about it and he got a check up, but she said there was no health issue and it is a strange behaviour issue. He will stop it if I tell him, but tends to go and hide somewhere so he can keep doing it!

Bandit has always licked too. Was so bad when he was a puppy that he licked and chewed the pads off his paws. Vet said it was common in dogs that have allergies. Unfortunately we have never figured out what he is allergic to. Because his pads were raw though he developed a bacterial infection and now we have to treat his paws with medicated shampoo regularly to keep them clear of it. And constantly have to remind him to stop licking. I have always believed that it is an OCD behavior because if we don't stop him immediately he will lick them raw over and over.

Pauliina wrote:Taryn, have you heard of this professor in Finland, Hannes Lohi, who is doing a research about ocd (among other several researches eg epilepsia) with his team. They are collecting blood from dogs, to find out what is the gene that is causing that behaviour. Here are some links that might interest you and I think Romeo would be a good kandidate to participate. You just have to fill in the right report and then they need blood from Romeo. I've heard that they even come to your place to take the blood in some cases

http://www.koirangeenit.fi/in-english/

http://www.staffordshirenbullterrieriyhdistys.fi/Tiira+et+al+2012-1.pdf

And if you can read finnish text, there is an article at the finnish staffordshirebullterrier clubs website (it's a word document): http://www.staffordshirenbullterrieriyhdistys.fi/ajankohtaista.htm --> Hännänjahtaus lehdistötiedote

yes, i actually met the team last year at the staffordshire bull terrier specialty show up near Forssa . they took blood from romeo then too, i was the only one from my kennel to do it, everyone else seemed kind of reluctant to do it for some reason. And they sent me a questionaire too. i mentioned that romeo licks alot and that sometimes chases his tail when he notices it.
Normally is i tell him "stop licking" or "stop it" he will instantly stop what he is doing, but its hard to keep track of him all the time.
And yes i can read finnish

Troy does this, mostly after a walk. But he can sometimes do it as soon as you let him out of his crate on a morning.

I think he has some sort of allergy to grass or something. He gets blisters sometimes. I just put cream on his feet if it gets really bad but for the most part we cope.

Romeo has a little raw patch on his right foot now from licking
we just came back from getting his stitches out and i mentioned it to the vet, now they want me to see a animal behaviourist about it but... i dont have money to be just doing all these things, i still havent paid for Romeo's surgery!