When you keep a dog in the starting, you like everything in it. With time, you know about their strange habits. In addition to it, you start observing their weird behavior too. The dog does several weird things that are beyond your thinking level. Among all these, licking the carpet is one of the strange things.
Licking the carpet is an annoying habit of the dog. What your dog does is, lick, and lick the carpet. It leads to frustration. This is because you will have to clean the carpet frequently. As a dog owner, it is your responsibility to notice each thing about it. The changes in your dog behavior lead to the big if you do not notice it.
Does your dog have this habit? If yes, then it is high time to search. You will have to look for the reasons and solutions. The below-mentioned information is fruitful for you. It is all about the common causes and their solutions.
Common Causes of Dog Carpet Licking
It is essential to find the reasons for this problem. This is because when you know about the causes, then you will come to the solutions. When it comes to the reason for dog carpet licking, there are numerous reasons associated with it. Here is the list of some reasons.
- Tasty food spilled on the floor: When you eat food in the room, there is a chance for food spills on the floor. As the dog has a keen sense of smell, so they will easily catch that smell. Hence, they start licking the carpet to eat the leftover food. You did not notice the food spill on the carpet, but your dog did. So, they start licking the carpet.
- Feel anxious: Not all the time, spilling food can be the reason. Sometimes this weird thing is related to emotions. There is also a chance that your dog is feeling depressed, stressed, or anxious. Due to it, they start licking the carpet. Moreover, physical pain and the neurological problem can also become the reason that it licks the carpet.
- The dog suffers from gastrointestinal disease: Numerous researchers connected the carpet licking of a dog with emotional and behavioral issues. According to the 2008 study, there is a strong connection between gastrointestinal disease and excess licking syndrome. These diseases and problems include IBS, giardiasis, foreign bodies, chronic pancreatitis, and so on.
- Attention Seeking Behavior: Sometimes, the dog starts weird behavior because they seek attention from you. When you start neglecting your dog, then it may begin to lick the carpet. To grab the attention, your dog starts doing weird things.
Apart from these reasons, numerous other reasons are linked with the excessive licking in the dog. Here is the list of causes.
- Allergies
- Dry Skin
- Infections
- Parasites
- Aches and Pain
- Hormonal Imbalance
- Boredom and Anxiety
- Dental Diseases
- Neurological Problems
- Anal Sac Issues
How to Stop Dogs from Licking the Carpet?
Once you know the reason, then it is easy to find the solutions to the problem. You can do several things to stop your dog from carpet licking. Here is a list of some ways that you can implement to prevent it.
- Do not encourage the behavior: First and foremost, what you need to do is stop encouraging this behavior. If the dog finds that you give attention when it licks the carpet, it will do this again. So, stop paying attention to them, which motivates your dog to do the excess carpet licking.
- Make sure that it has access to water: Sometimes a dog licks the carpet or floor when he/she feels thirsty. So make sure that your dog has access to water. So, when he feels thirsty, then drink the water.
- Make sure that it has the right diet: The problem with diet can also lead to this problem. Hence, make sure that your dog has the proper diet. In addition to it, you should likewise be concerned with the vet. The vet will guide you effectively on a diet.
- Give it exercise: The dog looks for alternative ways to stimulate itself if it does not get the exercise. It would help if you worked on the exercise of your dog. What you need to do is increase the limit of your dog’s walk.
- Careful about the spills or crumbs: When you do dog parenting, then it means you are not a kid. So, stop doing those habits and be careful regarding spills. Make sure that you clean the carpet when the food spills on it. Do not make your carpet storehouse of the crumbs.
These are the effective methods that you can use to stop it. Please do not take it lightly; otherwise, you will face plenty of problems.
Bad Effect of Excessive Licking
The dog has the habit of licking things. It licks the numerous items in its life. Not all the time; you can stop them from doing it. There is a bad effect of excessive licking. This is because your dog can eat that thing, which is harmful to them.
It can eat the long carpet fiber, pathogenic bacteria, or harmful residue. However, if your dog licks the carpet excessively, then there is a risk of something dangerous. In addition to it, there is a chance that your dog may lick the extra fiber. It acts as an obstacle for the digestive tract.
Moreover, excess licking of the carpet also leads to illness. Your dog may fall ill because of the germs and dangerous products. If your dog licks the floor constantly, then you can use the pet-safe floor cleaner. It prevents your dog from licking the hazardous ingredients.
If you do not want your dog to fall ill, then you should prefer the different ways. Otherwise, your dog will fall sick if he licks anything wrong. Some indigestible things lead to a serious problem. Further, you will have to go to the vet.
Tips to Reduce Dog Carpet Licking
Work out on all the reasons that lead to the dog carpet licking. When you narrow down the problem, then you can visit the vet. By consulting the vet, you can easily deal with this problem. If your dog does not require any medical, then there are some solutions.
These solutions will help reduce this problem. You can work on these solutions. Here is a list of some tips for reducing dog carpet licking.
Make the proper routine: Firstly you will have to work on boredom. You can make the accurate and proper routine of your dog. Due to it, you come to know what to expect from your dog. What you need to do is be punctual to the schedule.
Divide your time effectively and give them equal time for all the activities. These activities include eating food, playtime, walking time, and so on. Nurture your dog like a child. They require the proper structure.
Provide mental stimulation: Walking is the quintessence for the dog. It offers them bathroom breaks and mental stimulation. If you have a busy schedule, then you can hire a dog walker. The dog walker will take your dog to the walk.
In addition to it, you can offer them mental stimulation by organizing the appropriate short training session. You can also use some particular toys for mental stimulation. Along with it, you can use stimulation toys, raw meaty bones, and so on.
Challenge your dog: If your dog has more boundaries, then your dog will be happier more. This is because he will have to think extra about it. When it comes to the boundaries, then it includes several things. These things involve creating invisible borders in the home.
Due to the boundaries, your dog is restricted from roaming in a particular area. The edges will create an illusion like the territory.
These are the tips that you can implement for reducing dog carpet licking. In addition to it, you can prefer dog training sessions to offer accurate guidance.
Conclusion
The inference of complete analysis is that you can easily handle a dog’s carpet licking problem. What you need to do is, choose the right way to deal with it. You can use the tips mentioned above to tackle this problem. In addition to it, you should also work on the schedule of your dog.
Make the perfect schedule and work on it. Be punctual, and after some time, your dog will be habitual of the routine. In addition to it, you can also work on the training session. If you have a shortage of time then, hire a caretaker for your dog.
The dog walker will timely take your dog to the walk and give it the proper attention. In addition to it, you can keep your dog engaging in several activities. You can also consult the vet for more guidance.
