Licking Doodle

[Nancy]

Hello Everyone

I have a 2 year old Australian Labradoodle and love him to death!!!  He is healthy, smart, lovable and adorable.  With that being said, he does have one somewhat annoying habit.........he seems to have a "licking" fetish.  He licks chairs, couches, rugs, the comforter on my bed as well as my  pant legs and the pant legs of guests.  I noticed there are alot of common traits within this breed like ball fetching, breath smelling, etc... Does anyone else have a licking doodle and why do you suppose he does it? 

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

My year old ALD guy likes to like off my hand cream.  When he was first home, he would lick furniture legs and different things but we stopped it with some bitter apple to break the cycle. Now he likes to lick hand cream off of my hands and licks my legs when I get out of the shower.  Not obsessive, though.  Your guy is a cutie!   

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

He can't hold his licker :) I am sorry. I just could not resist. I Googled this and came up with all sorts of things....anxiety, a neurological problem, lack of exercise, release of energy, needs to be redirected, bad habit, and last but not least, someone with a different kind of dog said it was just the breed. I didn't find any search on DK about this problem. What do you do when he is licking? If you are giving him lots of attention, maybe he likes that even if it is not all good attention. Maybe it has just become a habit or maybe he has a little OCD and it has become a ritual. I hope someone can help you, because I am basically just guessing. Good luck!

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

LOL- his licker  

[AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner]

My thoughts are you are not going to be able to stop the licking but perhaps you can stop him from licking everything.  I would put "bitter apple" on something he licks and see if that discourages him.  You may then be able to use it to "train" him not to lick certain things. 

Good luck.

[AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner]

Oops - I hadn't read Lori's post!!

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Beau likes to lick Charlie, but he does not want to be licked back.  Which is probably a good thing because Charlie doesn't like to lick!!  I much prefer a licking doodle though to a chewing doodle - don't you!?!

[Lonnie & Libby Lu]

Totally agree with you Linda!  I had a chewer as a puppy and oh my . . . . .  It was horrible and thank goodness it is over!  Libby does like to lick bare legs.  Usually with "leave it" a couple of times she stops.

[Janelle & Finley]

LOL!  I have a licking doodle.  Finley licks the floor, appliances, cabinets, the fireplace...everything.   We are working on breaking him of it and he is getting better.  :)

[Nancy]

Thank you all for your comments, I especially appreciate the humor :)  I think Laurie is right in saying he might have a bit of OCD, afterall, OCD does run in our family and he is a family member lol... He also jumps onto my bed, spins around about 5 times before lays down.  The good thing is that the licking stops as soon as we tell him EH, EH.  That command works on almost everything!!! He gets plenty of exercise, I either walk Oliver or he gets a good run in the yard playing ball, most days he gets both and some.   I really shouldn't complain, the licking does stop, I guess I'm just curious as to why he does it in the first place.   

On another note, I am so glad I found this site, this is the first time that I have posted but I have enjoyed reading all the posts and pics from other doodle owners.  I think we can all agree that we LOVE our doodles!! 

[Riley girl]

Riley is a licker also! Anytime anyone is within licking distance she will lick any part of them that she can reach; shoes, hands, pants, arms, shirts- her favorite is necks though. She will lick blankets, carpet, her kennel, and loves to lick Annabell (our cat). If you walk into the bathroom and close the door you will see her tongue sticking out under the door!

I just considered it a lovable Riley quirk =)

The problem comes when you actually acknowledge her while she is licking you because then she will put your whole arm, hand, or foot in her mouth. She won't bite down though, just holds your appendage in her mouth! The other day she fell asleep with my arm in her mouth. She is a strange puppy!

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

LOL- tongue sticking out under the door! 

[Sally S Miles]

ROTFL - can't hold his licker!!!!!!!!! whhooo hoo - I needed that.

Well, ours does like to go on little sprees and sometimes I tell her to stop it, other times I ignore it.   I do find it related to a fidgety state and  try to redirect, depending on what and how she is on it.   The world must be a really tasty place for a doodle.