Why is my Dachshund lip licking, gaining weight, and slowing down?

Licking the lips can sometimes be a sign of nervousness, nausea, or even an issue with the teeth or mouth. If he hasn't had a dental cleaning recently, tartar on the teeth or gums could be causing some irritation and thus the licking behavior. Nausea such as from minor GI upset, may also cause drooling, or have signs such as vomiting or diarrhea, but this is not always the case. If it continues or you see any signs of illness/smell bad breath, etc, having your vet take a look is best. If you've changed something in his environment around the time the licking started (new pet, people, items in the house, etc) it could be that he's feeling a bit nervous or uncomfortable as well. Making sure he gets some extra attention and the cause of the nervousness is addressed (IE making sure he has someplace to go rest and hide, using a pheromone diffuser, etc) may help.

In a dachshund the most common reason I would say for this type of behavior is a back problem - he may have a pulled muscle that is hurting him when he turns a certain way. I suggest you have to your vet for an exam. This can be a serious issue in long-backed dogs. Even though it could just be a soft tissue injury (like the pulled muscle) it could even be a worse problem like a problem with one of the discs in between the vertebra or one of the nerves pinched coming off of the spine.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Tootsie. Dogs will lick excessively for several reasons. Given her breed and age, I suspect she has periodontal disease. Her mouth could be very sore and be causing the licking. If this is not the cause, she could be licking due to anxiety, nausea or a compulsive disorder. She should see her veterinarian for a thorough examination. I hope this information helps!

Poor Luckie, she sounds sick. If she is nauseous, that could cause her to lick her lips and drink lots of water. Being lethargic and not moving around can mean she has a fever or is in pain. Luckie may have an issue inside the GI tract (intestines) causing nausea or trouble with how her organs, particularly kidneys and liver are functioning as the cause for these symptoms. I recommend having Luckie examined by a veterinarian as soon as possible. They may recommend x-rays to look at the GI tract and/or blood work to evaluate her kidneys and liver. Good luck!

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm sorry to hear that Spunky is lethargic and has a decreased appetite. Her lip licking may indicate that she is nauseous, and this could be contributing to her decreased appetite. Since she is an older girl, I recommend having her seen by your veterinarian at their next available appointment. He/she can do an exam and may recommend bloodwork to determine if there is any underlying liver or kidney disease that could be contributing to her clinical signs. In the meantime, you can try to offer her a bland diet of boiled chicken or hamburger and rice, in a ratio of 2 parts rice to 1 part meat. I hope this is helpful - best of luck with Spunky!

Licking lips can be a sign of nausea in dogs, and that could be what's causing Fendi to do this behavior. Given that she is otherwise acting normal, I would monitor her for now. If she is still acting this way in the morning, or develops other symptoms such as vomiting and lethargy, I would have her seen by a vet.

Some dogs will do this when they are nauseous so I would monitor Willie closely for any vomiting, drooling or decrease in appetite. I've also seen dogs that tend to lick objects when they have oral pain, so if you think he could be painful you may want to have your vet examine his mouth. It's also possible that this is simply an unusual behavior he has developed and if he otherwise seems perfectly normal I think it's probably also okay to ignore it.