# Puppy licks ground when it is wet / raining, how to stop



## brandeeno (Jan 3, 2012)

Hi All,

It’s rained on about 4+ days since we have had our puppy for two weeks now (11 weeks old). She gets a little obsessive with licking the yucky wet street or sidewalk here in NYC. Gross!! Each time she tries I give a corrective pull on the leash and tell her No. She will go right back to it though as long as we are not in brisk walking mode. Now, obviously the brisk walking mode is a good solution, but that’s not the case when we are taking it slow so she goes potty. She needs to sniff to find a good spot, or she won’t go. 

Any thoughts on how to curb this licking the wet floor obsession?


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## juliejujubean (May 4, 2011)

i would start on a good leave it. work on it inside in which she has only opportunity to succeed. It may work better than just a "no". good luck.


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## Angelina03 (Jan 9, 2012)

Could she be thirsty? Try giving her lots of water before the walk.


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## brandeeno (Jan 3, 2012)

I'll try both!

I'll have to read up on methods to train leave it. But if you have anyth advice, please share


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

My first thought was: Do you restrict her water when at home?


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## brandeeno (Jan 3, 2012)

Yes, as we do with her food. I will list out her current water/food and outside schedule if that helps. Outside is about 10-15 minutes, and we get back is when she gets the food and/or water. She is allowed to drink for 1-2 minutes until she starts to play with her bowl, which is when we take it away. 

5:30am outside, food, water
6:30 outside 
9:30 outside, water
12:30 outside, food, water
3:30 outside water
5:30 outside, food, water (last water break)
8:30 outside
10:30 outside

Let me know what you think.


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## Holmeshx2 (Apr 25, 2010)

Personally I would say she needs more water especially if shes eating kibble. 4 hours in the morning is quite awhile without water especially since she only gets it for a minute or 2. Also since she has 5 hours between bedtime and last water break I'd give her water a bit later also. 12 hours without water is pretty rough.


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## brandeeno (Jan 3, 2012)

Thanks Holmeshx2, I appricate the feedback. Does anybody else agree or disagree with this? I like to here other thoughts on amount of water.

I'd love to give her as much water possible, but obviously we are trying to minimize mistakes and her needing to go outside more often, which is not possible durring the day. 


For further background/transparency... after she goes potty, we let her free in the house with us for about 1.5 hours before crating her. Right now, she seems to have a mistake once every 3 days. It is usually when we least expect it... like 1 hour after having gone #1, she suddenly goes inside the house.


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## Angelina03 (Jan 9, 2012)

I would give her a bit more water too during the day. She's still young, so you probably want to monitor the water for training purposes (especially at night); but she is most likely thirsty if she is licking the wet concrete. Try letting her have some water also before going out.


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

I have NEVER restricted water. My most recent puppy (she will be 4yo next month.) NEVER has had an accident in the house. I've never had any problem housebreaking any puppy over the last 30+ years.

IMO, restricting water is NOT the way to go about trying to housebreak a puppy.(though many folks seem to think it is.) All it takes to housebreak is an owner that PAYS ATTENTION. If they pee in the house, it isn't because they had too much water, it is because YOU weren't paying attention.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

I would not restrict water, except maybe right before bedtime.


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## shaner (Oct 17, 2010)

BlackGSD said:


> I have NEVER restricted water. My most recent puppy (she will be 4yo next month.) NEVER has had an accident in the house. I've never had any problem housebreaking any puppy over the last 30+ years.
> 
> IMO, restricting water is NOT the way to go about trying to housebreak a puppy.(though many folks seem to think it is.) All it takes to housebreak is an owner that PAYS ATTENTION. If they pee in the house, it isn't because they had too much water, it is because YOU weren't paying attention.


Thank god somebody said it. 12 hours without water is borderline cruel and is absolutely irresponsible. What if your dog has a bit of a stomach virus, has a bit of diarrhea and is dehydrated? In that situation you would be risking your dogs health. 

Water should not be restricted at all, except for perhaps 2-3 hours before bed, but even that I don't fully agree with. 

Sorry, but the time you least expect your puppy to go in the house isn't 1 hour after peeing, in fact, that's when I would expect a puppy to have an accident. When Titan was younger, I was outside with him every 10-15 minutes unless he was sleeping. If he had water, he went outside 10 minutes later. If he played, he went outside the second he was done playing. If he wandered or sniffed, he went outside. Once he was done eating, I took him outside. 

It sucked, but that's the reality of owning a puppy. 

Stop restricting water and instead take your puppy outside more often. Praise when the puppy goes outside. Don't let your puppy out of your sight unless you are confident he won't go in the house, and no, that doesn't mean the puppy spends all day in the crate.


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## brandeeno (Jan 3, 2012)

Shaner and everybody, thanks for your opinions, I appriciate your concern. I have consulted with my vet, and he is more than satisfied with the amount of water that our puppy is getting. He told us she need about 600-700cc's a day. He also did some skin retraction test, and said she no where close to being dehydrated.

You are lucky that you are to take your puppy out every 10-15 minutes, whereas I am not. Regardless, our puppy is intaking double the amount of water the vet said she needs, so I am happy with that and plan to stick with the our current plan. I know some of you won't be happy with my choice, but I just want to be open and honest since we can all learn from eachother. 

Thanks everybody.


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## 1337f0x (Feb 21, 2012)

I never restrict water, in fact, I have one of those water dispensers that will dispense water as he consumes it. Water is great for them even if you want to avoid messes in the house. Take her outside more often if you're trying to avoid her peeing indoors. I think the sitch of it, is she's just thirsty and resorting to the gross street water.

Especially the restriction at night time bothers me. You shouldn't do that, take her out before bed and she'll be completely fine til morning. I know you probably don't wanna get woken up during the night by a puppy that has to go, but it's like a child and those are responsibilities you take on when you own a dog.

*in my opinion* i hope that didn't sound rude ^


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## ante! (Nov 1, 2012)

brandeeno said:


> Shaner and everybody, thanks for your opinions, I appriciate your concern. I have consulted with my vet, and he is more than satisfied with the amount of water that our puppy is getting. He told us she need about 600-700cc's a day. He also did some skin retraction test, and said she no where close to being dehydrated.


Hi,
I have the same problem with my 5 month old boxer puppy. She would drink a bucket of water if we let her. Now we are restricting her water consuption, and she still gets more then enough. The vet said if she drinks too much water she could get sick from it! The problem is she is licking the floor when its raining, and it's hard do walk her. She doesnt react to correction and i have to keep her head up the whole time. I'm wondering did you find a solution?
Please help!!!


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## Maggies Dad (Aug 15, 2012)

juliejujubean said:


> i would start on a good leave it. work on it inside in which she has only opportunity to succeed. It may work better than just a "no". good luck.


Second that
It's what we do and works for water puddles, leaves, rocks, sticks etc....
With all the runoff I would NEVER let Maggie drink water off the ground.


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## Makayla mane (Feb 19, 2020)

brandeeno said:


> Shaner and everybody, thanks for your opinions, I appriciate your concern. I have consulted with my vet, and he is more than satisfied with the amount of water that our puppy is getting. He told us she need about 600-700cc's a day. He also did some skin retraction test, and said she no where close to being dehydrated.
> 
> You are lucky that you are to take your puppy out every 10-15 minutes, whereas I am not. Regardless, our puppy is intaking double the amount of water the vet said she needs, so I am happy with that and plan to stick with the our current plan. I know some of you won't be happy with my choice, but I just want to be open and honest since we can all learn from eachother.
> 
> Thanks everybody.


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## Makayla mane (Feb 19, 2020)

ante! said:


> Hi,
> I have the same problem with my 5 month old boxer puppy. She would drink a bucket of water if we let her. Now we are restricting her water consuption, and she still gets more then enough. The vet said if she drinks too much water she could get sick from it! The problem is she is licking the floor when its raining, and it's hard do walk her. She doesnt react to correction and i have to keep her head up the whole time. I'm wondering did you find a solution?
> Please help!!!


Hi did you ever find a solution to stop the licking


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

This thread is from 2012. The OP has not been here in several years and will not see your question.


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