Excessive Licking, Chewing, and Grooming in Dogs

It can be frustrating as a pet parent to watch your dog licking, chewing, or grooming themselves obsessively. There are many possible reasons for excessive licking in dogs, including medical conditions, such as allergies, pain, and digestive issues.

Your vet can help you determine the underlying cause and recommend an appropriate treatment to stop your dog from excessively licking.

Is My Dog Licking Themselves Excessively?

Most dogs lick a few common areas—between their toes, along their forearms, over joints, belly, inside of their thighs, and their back end (anal area). They may lightly lick or even bite or chew these areas intensely.

Excessive licking, however, occurs when a dog experiences negative effects from constant licking. This may include hair loss or bald patches, red areas on the skin, pimple-like lesions, dandruff, skin or coat discoloration, yellow or green discharge, or even limping.

Some pets may also show obvious signs of discomfort while licking or grooming. Signs may include vocalizing, whimpering, moaning, or groaning.

If you notice the following issues, the licking may be excessive:

• Your dog has hair loss (thinning hair or bald patches), skin redness, dandruff, or oozing anywhere on their body.
• Your dog is unable to sleep or frequently wakes because of the urge to lick or chew.
• Your dog moans or whines when focused on an area.
• Your dog stops playing to lick or groom frequently.
• Your dog has mats in their fur close to the skin.
• Your dog is otherwise unable to live their life normally.

Why Is My Dog Licking Themselves Excessively?

There are many causes of excessive licking in dogs. Your vet will try to determine the underlying cause, such a skin condition, pain, and other medical issues, or, less commonly, a behavioral issue.

Because many dogs avoid showing signs of illness at the vet, you can help your vet figure out what’s causing it by bringing photos or videos of your dog while they are constantly licking.

Common reasons dogs excessively lick include any of the following.

Allergies

If licking and grooming are accompanied by scratching or the area is red, infected, or warm to the touch, itching may be the cause.

Allergies are one of the most common causes of pruritus, or itchiness. There are generally three types of allergies in dogs—environmental allergy, flea allergy (allergy to flea bite saliva), and food allergy. A dog with allergies may lick, chew, or scratch, or they may even have digestion problems.

Environmental Allergies

Environmental allergies, or atopy, are reactions to airborne allergens like pollen, dust mites, mold, and grass, causing symptoms like itching and licking. It’s also very common to have secondary infections in the skin or ears, and these must be treated at the same time.

Environmental Allergies Treatment

There are many medications to help treat atopy, such as Zenrelia, a prescription medication used to control itching and skin inflammation associated with allergies in dogs.

Food Allergies

Food allergies are an immune response to ingredients in a dog's diet. The most common dog food allergens are proteins, such as chicken, beef, and dairy proteins.

Food Allergies Treatment

If a food allergy is suspected, your vet may recommend a hypoallergenic food trial using a prescription allergy diet.

To perform a food trial, you and your vet determine the best diet for your pet—hydrolyzed or novel protein are two very common choices. During the trial, your pet cannot receive any other food, treats, meal toppers, pill pockets, flavored medication, or flavored toys. The idea is to prevent any other food allergens in the diet.

Food trials can take 1–2 months before seeing improvement. If your pet does well on this diet trial, you can slowly start to re-introduce, or challenge, their system with their old food.

If your pet begins licking or overgrooming again, your pet is most likely allergic to the protein in their previous diet. With time and patience, this challenge can be performed over and over to determine your pet’s allergy profile.

Flea Allergy

Flea allergy dermatitis is a hypersensitivity reaction against the proteins in the flea’s saliva. The dog’s immune system causes an inflammatory reaction, leading to intense itching and licking.  

Flea Allergy Treatment

Treatment for flea allergy dermatitis in dogs is aimed at getting rid of the flea infestation and reducing the symptoms of itchy skin and irritation until the fleas are gone.

Speak with your vet about the best flea and tick medication for your dog based on their age, lifestyle, and health. Flea and tick treatments are available as a flavored chew, topical solution, collar, or shampoo.

Yeast, Bacterial, and Fungal Infections

If your dog does not have ectoparasites, your vet may look for yeast, bacterial, or fungal infections on the skin and fur using diagnostic skin tests. Bacterial and yeast infections are typically itchy and accompanied by redness, discharge, and even dandruff.

Yeast and bacteria thrive in warm, moist, dark, irritated environments, which is why we frequently see yeast infections and bacterial infections between toes, in the groin area, and in the ears. Brownish-red discharge and discoloration are common signs of yeast and bacterial infections. You may also notice discolored areas where the dog has been licking.

Fungal infections, like ringworm, may or may not be itchy and has similar skin symptoms, including hair loss, red bumps, discharge, and crust. Microscopic hair follicle tests and samples of the fur and crust are utilized to screen for ringworm fungal infections.

Infection Treatment

Based on these results, your vet can determine the appropriate course of treatment—an antibiotic, an antifungal, an antiparasitic, medicated shampoo, a corticosteroid, or anti-allergy immune modulators.

Pain

If there is no sign of skin infection or allergies, vets will consider arthritis, pain, and wounds as reasons for overgrooming and licking. Dogs will commonly lick painful areas on their body.

Carefully (and safely) examine the area your dog is licking for signs of lacerations, puncture wounds, or even small insect bites. If there is no hair loss, these may be very difficult to see. You may need to clip and clean the area to fully examine it.

Excessive grooming over joints could indicate soft tissue injury (sprains or strains), fractures, or degenerative joint disease (arthritis). You may also notice your dog having trouble navigating the stairs or jumping, having difficulty rising from rest, as well as joint swelling, joint heat, and limping.

Pain Treatment

For wounds, clean the area with a medicated shampoo for dogs, not household cleaners like alcohol or hydrogen peroxide, which can be harmful to dogs and potentially make the wound worse. Most wounds require medical care and possibly surgical intervention.

We have many treatment options for strain and sprain injuries and degenerative joint disease, including medication, weight loss, supplements, laser therapy, physical therapy, and acupuncture.

Nausea

If your pet is licking their lips or the air, carpet, or bedding, or if they are eating grass, this could be a sign they are nauseous. You might also see signs like drooling, vomiting, diarrhea, decreased appetite, increased stomach noises, or lip-smacking.

There are many reasons why a dog may be nauseous or vomit. Some of the more common causes include a blockage of the digestive tract, dietary indiscretion (eating non-food items), a diet change or sensitivity, inflammation, an infection, parasites, pancreatitis, toxicities, or diseases of other body systems.

Nausea Treatment

Standard diagnostics, such as X-rays and blood tests, can help determine the cause and treatment for your pet’s nausea.

Treatment for nausea depends on the underlying cause and can range from withholding food and water for a short period of time as directed by your vet, to an anti-nausea injection (Cerenia) given at your vet hospital, as well as medications or therapeutic digestive diets.

If your dog is lethargic and cannot hold down food or water, seek emergency care immediately.

Other Health Issues

A dog constantly licking may be due to other health issues. To find out why your dog is licking so much, you’ll want to consider the location of the licking.

Nail Problems

Long, cracked nails are commonly a source of discomfort. However, autoimmune issues and food deficiencies can also cause dry, brittle, or infected nails.

If your dog’s nails are frequently broken, cracked, dry, or brittle, talk to your vet to determine the cause for this combined with the licking.

Treatment of Nail Problems

A simple nail trim could solve the problem. Omega-3 fatty acids and other dietary supplements can help strengthen your dog’s coat and nails, leading to less licking and irritation of the nail and nailbeds.

Anal Gland Issues

If your dog is focusing the licking on their rectum or groin, they may be experiencing anal gland problems. These include anal sac impaction, infection, or rupture.

Treatment of Anal Gland Issues

Most cases of anal sac disease in dogs can be treated with manual anal gland expression. Some cases will require oral antibiotics, such as Clavamox, anti-inflammatory pain medication, such as carprofen, regular treatments with medicated wipes and medicated shampoo, and laser therapy. In severe cases, surgical intervention might be needed.

Urinary Tract/Reproductive Organ Infections

Your dog may obsessively lick their private parts due to discomfort caused by urinary tract infections or an infection to their reproductive organs, such as vaginitis or pyometra.

A urine test (urinalysis) will reveal evidence of infection, blood, urinary bladder crystals, and inflammation.

A thorough urogenital exam is especially important in intact female dogs (those who have not been spayed), as they can acquire severe, life-threatening uterine infections.

UTI/Reproductive Organ Infections Treatment

A bladder infection (UTI) is generally treated with a 1–2 week course of antibiotics, often chosen based on results of urinalysis and urine culture and sensitivity testing. Your vet may also prescribe a therapeutic urinary diet.

Vaginitis is treated with antibiotics or anti-fungal medication, based on microscopic cell analysis of the discharge (skin cytology) plus medicated shampoo and wipes.

Sometimes a bladder infection or vaginitis in female dogs is caused by an anatomical issue where there is extra skin surrounding and folding over the vulva, called a recessed vulva. If obesity is the cause of recessed vulva, your vet will recommend a weight loss plan for your dog. If your dog has a healthy, trim body condition, surgery may be required to remove the extra skin around the vulva.

Pyometra requires emergency spay surgery and intensive care hospitalization with antibiotics.

Anxiety/Behavioral Issues

If all medical reasons have been ruled out—itch, infection, allergies, nausea, or pain—the excessive licking and grooming may be a behavioral issue.

Boredom

Without proper enrichment, dogs can become bored. Dogs can lick, groom, and scratch because of boredom.

Managing Boredom

If you notice your pet self-grooming mostly when they are idle, try increasing their daily exercise and giving them a job. All dogs need daily exercise and mental stimulation, which can include long walks or runs, fetch, flyball, agility, obedience classes, and doggy day care. Keep their brain busy with time-released treats, interactive food toys, or puzzles with hidden treats. Socializing your dog is a very important part of training your dog to be comfortable and confident.

Anxiety

Similar to humans, dogs can experience anxiety. Common causes include fear, separation, and aging. Repetitive or compulsive behaviors, like obsessive licking, is one sign of anxiety in dogs.

Anxiety Treatment

If anxiety is an issue, over-the-counter therapies are a logical next step.

The Thundershirt is a vest that applies gentle, constant pressure to decrease anxiety, fear, and overexcitement. This gentle hugging produces a dramatic calming effect, similar to swaddling a newborn.

Adaptil is a calming spray that uses pheromones to decrease stress and anxiety. Calming supplements, such as Composure, Solliquin, Zylkene, and Purina Calming Care, work well with dogs exhibiting nervousness, hyperactivity, or anxiety, and for those responding to environmentally induced stress.

Many pets also benefit from prescription anti-anxiety medications like clomipramine (Clomicalm) or fluoxetine (Reconcile). Prescription medications can take time and patience to determine appropriate strength and combinations.

A dog constantly licking and overgrooming themselves can be painful and stressful. Since dogs aren’t able to talk, it is up to pet parents and veterinary professionals to work together to act as detectives. Using the many tools at our disposal, it is possible to put the puzzle pieces together and resolve the underlying issue so your dog can get back to living their best life.