Dog licking upholstery, comforter, et al

[TheaBrady]

Has anyone else run into this strange behavior? She started doing this about two months ago. even licks her own bedcovering. Does she need something in her diet? Weird.
Thanks for any advice.
Thea

[MargL]

Hi Thea,
You might want to have your dog checked for allergies. Very often dogs will lick at odd things when an airborn allergy is bothering them.

My dog would appear to be licking the air when his nose was getting clogged up and my neighbor's dog will lick the carpet from one end of their house to the other!

[TheaBrady]

Hi, Marg,
Thanks for your response which made me feel better. Yes, Moggie does have allergies which the vet has prescribed meds for. I checked her tongue, which she hated, to see if there was anything obviously wrong but didn't see anything.

She doesn't appear to lick the air, just any yard goods available. She's an older toy poodle and a sweetheart. I've had to keep her off my bed and the couch in the living room. It's not pleasant to sit down on a damp spot. (grin)

Thea

[kimj]

Some dogs (and many cats) will also lick fabric because it comforts them. It becomes something of an obsessive-compulsive disorder in some of them. Not sure if that's part of it, but Marg's comment about allergies seems spot on.

[AmyShojai]

Cats sometimes will lick cement if they're anemic (weird, I know!). Don't know if that applies to dogs or not.
amy

[kimj]

Amy, I wonder if licking cement is akin to people who eat dirt.. there are trace minerals in dirt which is why people develop.. pica? I think that's what it is called. Could possibly be something similar in cats, although I'd think that just as in eating dirt, cement doesn't really do the job of correcting deficiencies like anemia. Just speculating of course... I wonder if anyone's ever thought about the correlation?

[TheaBrady]

That's very interesting, Kim. We brought Moggie into our house as a rescue four years ago. Someone found her wondering a busy street in a torrential downpour with lightning and thunder as an additional bit of terror for a little dog and turned her over to the local shelter.
She sometimes still gets almost catatonic when there's a storm but is slowly getting better and not reacting quite so strongly. Perhaps, this is a substitute for her panic during storms....if one thing doesn't work, try another?
Thea

[kimj]

Thea,

I'll bet that's part of it then. Licking fabric is calming for some reason, almost hypnotic. Er, not that I know from personal experience, just my observation while watching cats & dogs do this.

And if it works & she manages to calm herself, w/out getting a ball of fabric in her stomach.... then that's all to the good.