Help, why does a dog (shiz shue) lick

[major]

Why does this dog have to lick everything and chew on all the blankets and then try to eat the ends of the blankets, pillows, anything he can get ahold of. I am going to have to buy all new bedding maybe even a couch. thanks

[amethyst]

my shih-tzu LOVES pencils. When it's time for my son to do homework..we cant' find a pencil half the time because spike has most of them chewed. He's going for socks now. That's his latest thing. doesn't chew his bedding though.

[whisperedsin]

My parents had two of these dogs when I was growing up and they neurotically licked each other - all the time. It must be something in the breed. I find this particular breed has hygiene issues.

[blueyes]

Hi, i don't mean to alarm you, but, my dog had to be put down last summer cuz of him chewing soft materials things. He gotten very sick and when i took him to the vet, they took an x-ray and found a blockage in his stomach that was blocking the way to his intestines. They material went rotten and the bacteria start to grow and was killing him slowly. Sure they could of operated but, there was no guarentee that they would get all of the bacteria or perisites. He would chew on sock, face cloths or towels. He would even chew on the bench from a truck they we had him. So please just becareful i know what i went through and just hopes noone else have too. It was terrible having to put Max down, it tore my heart out, and now i still refuse to have another dog> i just can't bring myself to go through it again.

[amethyst]

I find this particular breed has hygiene issues.

as in how?

[Lemme_LQQK]

It may also be , the dog was weaned from it's mom to young. My daughter has a Shih 4 1/2 months old and between her house and ours we have lots n lots of toys for her to play with such as string balls toy animals,hard rubber balls and she had hard treats such as marrow bones , T-Bonz and a pedigree chew bone , she doesn't bother with anything else.

As for the licking she doesn't do that anymore than any other dog we've had . But she does love to run and play outside and play inside as well.

The issues with your dog may very well be in his/her blood line .
Distraction and lots of patience is what I am a true believer of.

[space]

my mother has a shiz-shu and when company comes in the dog sit on ur lap and lick lick an lick ur face.. that tongue of his never gets tired. lol

[adorabull]

Why does this dog have to lick everything and chew on all the blankets and then try to eat the ends of the blankets, pillows, anything he can get ahold of. I am going to have to buy all new bedding maybe even a couch. thanks

Believe it or not, it can be an insecurity thing, obsesisive compulsive, or a learned trait. My sisters lap dog does the same thing, but its because hes submissive. My dog used lick (in moderation) but I tried to detur him from doing it, not everyone likes there face being soaked with dog spit..ick!:biggrin:

What I mean by learned trait is, he learned to do it, Why wouldn't you get the idea (as the dog)if everytime thepuppy licked your face you coochie cood, and cutisie woozied him He hehehe....

Like my dog and teaching him to "speak" worst trick ever, cuz he wont shut up :p

Spray the corners of your bedding with bitter apple or "shoo" and make sure he has other toys to chew on, maybe a stuffie toy, with a squeek?

my.02

[whisperedsin]

I don't know - after growing up with two of these dogs in a very clean animal loving household, I found them to be kinda gross. They licked each other all the time and ate their poop. They lived very long lives and my parents adored them but no matter how hard they tried the dogs had weird hygiene issues. Don't get me wrong, they were good dogs. Then I had a friend who owned one and she said it was a dirty pet. They're good dogs and quite sweet but after owning a few other breeds I've noted the difference in cleanliness.