Chronic Licking Problem! Please Help!!

[bill_wheeler]

Hey Gang -

I'm a long time lurker here at the forums, and have gained several insights and worthwhile information from the excellent folks here. Now, it’s time for a question to the experts at large.

First, the background: My wife and I got married about a year ago, and bought a house, moving in this past May, bringing our dogs together 'permanently' for the first time. Now, these dogs have known each other since my dog came into this world, have spent lots of time together at each's 'turf' and have spent several vacations together on neutral turf. I guess my point is that they both get along, and nothing out of the ordinary has happened before.

My dog is a four year old rottie, Ben, and hers is a 5 year old Chow/Golden, Derby. Derby runs the show, as far as dominance goes, and Ben takes his cues from Derby when it comes to alerting us about noises, strangers, etc. There are times when Ben will 'push' Derby out of the way, but this, I believe, has less to do with dominance than that he's a much bigger and excitable dog. Having said that, Derby can push back, and Ben knows his place, and is ok with it. In terms of general temperament, they're both pretty mild mannered, and Derby is the persistent one, a slight on the bull headed side, whereas Ben is a bit more classically 'disciplined' and will obey generally on the first command.

So, there's the family in a nutshell, now onto the question. Derby has recently - in the last three months or so, taken to persistently licking Ben's butt/rectum. Also note that Ben hardly ever licks himself back there. Now, I know dogs check each other out, and lick each other - this is natural, and I am fine with it - to a degree.

Please note that while it may seem out of this world, I am not exaggerating when I illustrate the following: Derby licks Ben's butt CONSTANTLY! Ben turns around, Derby turns with him, still licks. Ben sits down, Derby lies on the floor, head tilted sideways, and burrows under to lick more. Ben barks, or (the high pitched 'annoyed') vocal protest, Derby continues. We correct him; vocally he might pause, then, like a rubber band, snaps back to the butt for more lickin’, pull him off? Only a minor setback, more lickin'. Even bitter apple to his mouth? After a few coughs and hacks, back to lickin'. Ben walks away, Derby is like a caboose, well, attached to Ben's caboose. These events happen daily - or rather, more like hourly - just about anytime that they aren't asleep, on a walk, or eating, Derby is after the old Lick!

Ben is getting really annoyed with all the 'attention' that Derby is giving him, and who can blame him? He protests vocally, but since this is his big brother, and he knows his place, Ben won't go any further to convince Derby to stop. Not that I'm hoping for a bloodbath, but I'd like to see him make his point.

So, anyone else ever experience this kind of behavior? The IRON WILL of persistence in the realm of butt licking? What can we do? Any ideas WHY?

So thank you all for reading this epic tale of licking, and I hope that someone out there has some kind of insight for us!

Thanks!

Bill

[brunie's mom]

Have you had Ben to the vet?
He could have impacted anal glands or a peri-anal tumor that Derby can smell.

That would be my first step...often dogs are attracted to infections and want to lick.

If there is nothing wrong health wise and the vet gives Ben a clean bill of health I would probably put an elizabethen (e-collar) on Derby...and see if you can break this obsession of his.

Gina

[spidey]

I don't think an Elizabethan collar will help, he'll still be able to reach the other dog's rear end. I agree about getting the dogs checked by the vet, however.

Assuming there is no medical problem, I'd put the licker on lead in the house, and use the umbilical cord technique (where the dog is attached to a human the entire time he is not in his crate). Hopefully this is just a habit which needs some time without reinforcement (i.e. no chance to lick) to get broken. Constant licking can cause serious problems, no wonder the "lickee" is complaining!

[bill_wheeler]

Aha!

Thanks for the informative replies! After reading them, especially the part about possible anal conditions made the Sherlock Holmes in me sit upright in my chair!

Another thing is that Ben never really used to be a gassy dog, not more than average, I suppose. However, over the last few months, he has become quite the gas machine, and it seems to have gotten worse - in increased frequency and increased potency.

Any chance that two and two mean something? I will be calling the vet to make an appontment, but having thought about it some more, I thought that I would add the bit about Ben's gas.

Any more ideas?

Thanks!

Bill

[spidey]

The gas could be diet-related.

[bill_wheeler]

Ben gets a steady diet of dry food, and the occassional bone. Both dogs eat Nutro Max Large Breed Adult. I'm a stickler for the 'no human food' for them as well. I only brouht this up because Ben's gas has been, well, quite prevalent to put it mildly. "Internal combustion engine" is really more accurate!

Thanks!

Bill

[brunie's mom]

Nutro Max is full of corn...this may be what is causing the gas problem.
I would suggest you get both of the dogs on a better diet, even Nutro Natural is a much better choice....they do not need the Large Breed...it just has more grain in it.

I doubt very much that Derby is so interesed in licking Ben's butt because of gas...I would highly suspect some kind of infection or impacted anal glands.

Hope you get Ben to the vet.

[spidey]

Originally Posted by brunie's mom

Nutro Max is full of corn...this may be what is causing the gas problem.
I would suggest you get both of the dogs on a better diet, even Nutro Natural is a much better choice....they do not need the Large Breed...it just has more grain in it.

Agreed. And by the way, there's nothing wrong with feeding appropriate people food (meat, veggies, fish), as long as you adjust the kibble amounts accordingly, and do not feed anything your dog reacts badly to.