# Papillon - excessive licking



## rhorleyj (Mar 24, 2010)

Hello

My 3 year old male Papillon Reuben licks everything & everybody. The thing I am most concerned about is every evening he seems to be licking 'thin air' just as though he has a hair in his mouth that he is trying to get rid of (but he hasn't!). This can go on for about 20 minutes.
Has anyone else seen this problem and why is he doing this? In every other respect he is robustly healthy weighing 21 pounds, stocky but not fat, gets plenty of exercise.

thanks for trying,
Bob


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## Siberian Husky Lover (Mar 31, 2009)

rhorleyj said:


> Hello
> 
> My 3 year old male Papillon Reuben licks everything & everybody. The thing I am most concerned about is every evening he seems to be licking 'thin air' just as though he has a hair in his mouth that he is trying to get rid of (but he hasn't!). This can go on for about 20 minutes.
> Has anyone else seen this problem and why is he doing this? In every other respect he is robustly healthy weighing 21 pounds, stocky but not fat, gets plenty of exercise.
> ...


Allergies, maybe? My aunt's dog does the same exact thing and the vet says it's allergies. Which they say they have to give a benadryl shot to stop the excessive licking.


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

Wow you've got a big Papillon! A lot of Papillons are obsessed with licking, it's a breed thing really. Nia isn't too bad about it but she definitely licks people and the sofa and the floor, etc. She doesn't do much air licking unless she's really happy and trying to lick the person.

There are lots of Pap people on the forum and they've all said their Paps lick a LOT.


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## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

OCD licking (and just OCD in general) seems to be a trait papillons fall into very easily. Summer will obsessively lick for hours if you let her. 

21 lbs is huge! Do you have any pictures?


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## LilOllie (Jun 2, 2009)

My Papillon Oliver will lick me non stop if I let him. It gets gross after awhile so I make him stop. hehe. Also, a 21 pound Papillon is huge! Oliver is taller than most paps and weighs about 9 pounds. Is your dog overweight?


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## rhorleyj (Mar 24, 2010)

Thanks for the info, I will look into it.


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## rhorleyj (Mar 24, 2010)

Thanks for the info re excessive licking. I've had 2 papillons before but don't remember the same problem, however I think you may be right. Will post some pictures of Reuben.


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## rhorleyj (Mar 24, 2010)

Thanks for the info re excessive licking. I've had 2 papillons before but don't remember the same problem, however I think you may be right. Will post some pictures of Reuben. I keep asking the vet about his weight, he does not think he is overweight, just a very large papillon.


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## agbowers832 (Oct 7, 2009)

I just posted about this! I have a Schnoodle though, not a Papillon. Anyway, my puppy was doing the same thing. I switched her to Wellness Simple and it stopped like magic. You might want to give it a try.

allison


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## lauren17 (Apr 14, 2009)

My poodle/maltese/pekenese whatever mix does this too. He's done it his whole life (9 years). He will lick the couch, bed, pillows, and his fav my dads ears lol for hours. He's very obbsessive about it, we even have stains on our leather couch from where he has licked at it so much. I never thought of allergies, just always figured it was an OCD thing


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## rhorleyj (Mar 24, 2010)

Just put 3 pictures on, although not a current one. Will put one on soon. Have just put Reuben on the scales & he is 23 lbs in weight, stocky but not fat, but will have to watch his weight.


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## rhorleyj (Mar 24, 2010)

Hello Allison, Can you please tell me what Wellness Simple is? I am in the UK

Bob


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## PappyMom (Jun 5, 2009)

Paps really vary though.. Giz was 13 lbs, last time he was weighed.. Isn't our other member, with Basil, isn't he 15 or 17 lbs or so?

In regards to the licking, it's def a pap thing. Gizmo would lick for hours on end, and if you told him to leave it, he'd lick the air. We used to have a sign that said 'Papillon can't hold his licker.'

Roxy will lick for a little while, but nothing like him..she loves giving kisses though.


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

Wow he is a very leggy big boy! Gorgeous!


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