# LIP SMACKING!!



## kaiservbismarck (Aug 24, 2009)

Hi everyone,

I have a 6 month old GSD who always smacks his lips during the night. It drives my wife and I up the wall! Is this a sign of anything or is it just normal behaviour? His bed is in our room so it wakes us up in the night. I know the solution would be to move his bed.....but is the smacking normal?

Thanks,
Adam


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## caview (Jun 30, 2008)

I heard it means that his tummy is hurting and he is not feeling well!

Would be very interested from others if they have heard the same..

Tanya


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## WiscTiger (Sep 25, 2002)

Lip smacking can also be a calming signal. My female Cheyenne does this to FuzzyButt the semi Feral cat. She also did that to me the other day when I was sniffling because I read something really sad on the board.

Val


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## Alto (Nov 18, 2008)

I agree it can also be a sign of nausea, especially if he's doing it for any length of time.
What/when are you feeding (including treats) & what are his poops like?


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## Barb E (Jun 6, 2004)

Is the pup awake or asleep?


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## kaiservbismarck (Aug 24, 2009)

I'm not sure if he's awake or asleep....maybe somewhere in the middle. We don't give him many treats. He usually won't eat his breakfast until noon and then eats again around 9pm-ish.


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## Barb E (Jun 6, 2004)

Just a couple of guesses on my part

1) He's actually asleep and dreaming 

2) He drools when he sleeps and this is his way of dealing with the drool. (Dante sometimes leaves a big wet spot on the bed [I am so just going to leave that 'cause it's the truth but it sounds so wrong for this board







] from drooling)


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## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

Could be a calming signal (I'd assume this as the most obvious cause if he were awake), but if he is (or should be) asleep, I would assume dental, upper respiratory, or upper GI pain. Unless this is just a dog that doesn't deal with stress at all (that he's working through severe stress in his dreams), I think we need to look for a veterinary cause.

I'd take this dog to a vet and ask the vet. Your pup is probably teething, yes? Is it possible that he has bite problems that are causing more pain than normal? Or he's just losing a lot of teeth all at once? Are you seeing blood on his stuffy toys that might confirm this? 

There might also be something caught in his palate -- a small piece of stick or bone -- something like that. So be sure that your vet looks UP into his mouth as well. 

Other things to look for a runny nose and possibly -- but not necessarily -- lethargy. There's a canine flu that was going around the Pacific Northwest that gave our puppies runny noses. They licked their noses, which caused a sort of smacking noise. We had a bunch of dogs from my pup's two training schools that caught this (my pup did too), and they all seemed to get better with antibiotics. If your pup inhaled a foxtail or weed seed, he may have the same sort of symptoms. These are often very hard to see with medical instruments, and impossible to see without. 

If there's no evidence of upper respiratory or dental issues (other than normal teething), I'd consider GI issues as well . It's rather hard for a regular vet to diagnose stomach/upper GI issues directly unless there are other symptoms. Maybe your vet could prescribe Tagamet, Pepcid and/or Carafate on a *limited* basis (two weeks, perhaps). If that seems to resolve the issue, then off to the internist you go to figure out what's actually going on. The medicine is a band aid. You'll need to figure out what's actually wrong. But it's a good way to start to diagnose if there is stomach/GI pain. 

So I don't think the "solution" is to move his bed. I think the solution is to figure out what's going on and resolve that. These are just some ideas that I can come up with, sitting here, off the top of my head. I'm sure that your vet will have even more. I'd start there. 

Good luck


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