# odd behaviors...



## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

Something i've been meaning to ask and i keep forgetting... The story begins, long ago... or about 8 months ago, i was scratching Tobi's rearend, you know... the swirlies, just because they are so cute, and besides, who doesn't like having their arse scratched? So anyways... he began to lick his lips... while looking back out of the corner of his eyes with his ears laid back, the ear thing, isn't necessarily meaningful since, BT owners know that ears back can mean a plethora of different things from... I'm happy to see you to, i'm going to chew your shoe up just because i love you...

The lip licking thing has gotten more common, it used to be just on his swirlies, i thought maybe he was uncomfortable... but now he backs that thing up to me to scratch...:whip:

he begins to lick his lips... now if you scratch his back above his back legs, he does the same thing, scratch his feet, or by his weenie he does the same... it's the oddest thing... i'm going to try to get some video of it and upload it... I just can't fathom what it could be...

I've also read that lip licking is a sign of dis-contention, or irritability, i just can't pin this to that though especially since he's not a fight type of boy, he's all flight in a situation he isn't okay with... for instance "let me see your feets" he gets up off the couch... and walks in the other other room :boink: we've trained him so well...


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

That is odd, If it were just with his hind end I'd think he needed to have his anal glands done, but with him doing it when you scratch other places then it doesn't make sense. B.T's have such an odd look at things! LOL


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## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

Licking lips, whale eye and ears back can all be signs of discomfort. 

And all dogs have different levels of threshold, I trust Avery with myself whole-heartily and I know what I can get away with but I usually don't push him unless I absolutely have to. My boyfriend however, pushes Avery all the time, I ask him not too but I may as well be talking to no one as he doesn't understand what he is doing wrong exactly. Luckily Avery has an extremely high threshold and he takes everything in stride albeit scared a bit.

Anywho, in other words what I'm trying to say is that what your describing to me says Tobi is uncomfortable with what you are doing but that each dog is different, he may just be sending the wrong signals and you would know best as to whether or not he's ok with what your doing...


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## Tracy (Aug 11, 2012)

I agree with Lauren. Lip licking is usually a sign that the dog is uncomfortable, but without seeing it, it's hard to tell, as sometimes dogs do offer mixed signals. Our rescue collie using lip licking a lot when he's uncomfortable. I'm training to be a TTouch Practitioner, so we learn dog's calming signals, so we are able to stop what we are doing, so the dog learns to trust us. Our collie used to really hate his hind quarters, tail, legs and feet touched. He just moved away, but when I took him to Tilley Farm do my TTouch Training, I became better at reading his signals, so I could access the bits I needed to without him being too worried about it. It turns out my wee weirdo loved his bum scratched, but got worried when I was too specific about touching him. His signals to me were confusing becuase he was pushing his bum to me to get it rubbed, but didn't want me to touch his hindqarters or tail. When I rubbed his bum, his head went in the air, when I touched his tail or hindquarters, he licked his lips. Sorry for rambling. Hope this helps.

Tracy
xx


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## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

whiteleo said:


> That is odd, If it were just with his hind end I'd think he needed to have his anal glands done, but with him doing it when you scratch other places then it doesn't make sense. B.T's have such an odd look at things! LOL


Any other dog i'd think he was not wanting me to do what i'm doing... but like, when i mess with his feet, he's instantly in the other room ears back, like FU dad! :lol:

they are odd... and it's so hard to gauge what is going on with them because of their ears...
His anal glands is something i thought of as well, but he's never shown any signs of discomfort, or scooting.

Lauren, i totally understand what your saying, and i would agree, but... His ears are back about... 75% of the time he's around us. for instance... i'll post a few pictures of ears back stuff.. which is most of the time... it's just the lip licking that is out of the ordinary... 

Here are a few examples of the ears back thing... essentially when you scratch his back near the base of his tail, or his actual butt cheeks, or near his wiener, that's the EXACT look he's got... which makes them so confusing.. because the look isn't discernible between this happy look and that happy look lol
















oh... something i forgot to mention... since i've been noticing this behavior getting stronger, sometimes he flea bites things that are in close proximity when you scratch his bum...

I agree Tracy, the lip licking is a classic sign of discomfort or irritability, and that's why i'm so confused because he doesn't just try to leave when i do something else that irritates him or makes him uncomfortable like cleaning his feet.


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## Little Brown Jug (Dec 7, 2010)

My old lab/pit mix used to do that, scratch his back end or back and the licking would start, he'd turn his head every so slightly to sly back at you and if there was anything near his mouth he'd gently nibble it. If it was really good he'd tilt his head way back lick at the air adn start grunting. He'd always come back for more so I just chaulked it up to it just felt so good to him he didn't know what to do with himself.


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## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

Little Brown Jug said:


> My old lab/pit mix used to do that, scratch his back end or back and the licking would start, he'd turn his head every so slightly to sly back at you and if there was anything near his mouth he'd gently nibble it. If it was really good he'd tilt his head way back lick at the air adn start grunting. He'd always come back for more so I just chaulked it up to it just felt so good to him he didn't know what to do with himself.


See that's where i can't figure out if it's just an amazing feeling because that is the one place a dog is never going to scratch themselves! ound:

He just bruised my arm, i think gently nibbling is different for each dog, in his defense my arm was right next to the blanket he was "nibbling" on, just trying to get a picture of this posture, but what you describe is EXACTLY what he's doing.


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## Little Brown Jug (Dec 7, 2010)

Drifter's teeth would just graze against you or whatever object was around. Sometimes he'd just play guppy at the air if nothing was around to nibble. He was always so careful even in his throws of ecstasy, never left a mark. lol
I used to get a dirty look if I stopped before he thought I should or if I didn't react fast enough when he "presented" himself. I'm sure if he could talk he'd have said "woman, can't you see I want my arse scratched, hop to it!"

I'd say it just feels _really_ good to Tobi and that's his way of saying "ooooooh yeah".


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## SonyaBullyDog (Jun 6, 2011)

I have a different take on it. I think he is just enjoying himself too much! You know when you scratch a cat and they look back at you and start licking the air? I think there's a funny video of it somewhere in the youtube world. 

Sonya "nibble-grooms" every time something is extra itchy. I think it's the same kind of thing when you scratch their sides and their hind leg starts going. Behavioristically speaking, I think the sensation of the scratch is a discriminative stimulus, which then evokes a nibbling response, and is reinforced by your further scratching (or previously has been reinforced by him scratching himself with his mouth/teeth). What do you think about that analysis! I'm studying for my quals... :nerd:


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

Gunner does that. Eyes and ears back, lip licking.

He also chatters his teeth and tries to nibble on anything when you scratch his butt.

I think its just him enjoying it. Like a cat purring.


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## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

Okay, here, i hope this makes more sense... when DW starts to vacuum next to his little butt he turns his head, unfortunately the opposite way, i couldn't get it on film (leg was too broken to move very fast) but... he's licking.. he seems to enjoy himself, the vacuum thing, is a daily occurrence too... if i vacuum, he demands vacuuming of his person. :boink:

His body language says i hate this... but then again, he is a bull terrier i suppose lol.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

That is a classic case of Tobi wanting to be a horse as that is exactly how a horse will act when you scratch for a long time around it's withers. LOL


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## hund (Aug 7, 2012)

Probably nothing like what your dog is doing but it's funny nonetheless lol- 
Weird Cat Licking The Air! - YouTube


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## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

hund said:


> Probably nothing like what your dog is doing but it's funny nonetheless lol-
> Weird Cat Licking The Air! - YouTube


lol! that's fantastic!


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

SonyaBullyDog said:


> I have a different take on it. I think he is just enjoying himself too much! You know when you scratch a cat and they look back at you and start licking the air? I think there's a funny video of it somewhere in the youtube world.
> 
> Sonya "nibble-grooms" every time something is extra itchy. I think it's the same kind of thing when you scratch their sides and their hind leg starts going. Behavioristically speaking, I think the sensation of the scratch is a discriminative stimulus, which then evokes a nibbling response, and is reinforced by your further scratching (or previously has been reinforced by him scratching himself with his mouth/teeth). What do you think about that analysis! I'm studying for my quals... :nerd:


i agree with this.......

bubba does the same thing when i hit that special 'spot'.....he licks the air.....it's so good, it's almost painful....hurts so good kind of thing?

it sounds behavioural to me, barring anything wrong.....and it doesn't sound as if something is wrong.....


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## Donna Little (May 31, 2011)

I don't know why but I couldn't access your video. I know what you're talking about though and I have a couple of itchy dogs that, although they're better on raw, they still get itchy skin. Camden will throw his head back and lick his lips and flea bite if you scratch his back right at his tail too and he clearly loves it. If he could moan with pleasure he would. You've probably seen videos of dogs scratching themselves against a tree or something and doing the lip licking. Tobi's just letting you know it feels sooooo goooood.....:nod:


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## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

Thank you for easing my mind everybody, i'm glad i'm not being a terrible daddy by doing that... i always thought he'd just scurry away if he didn't like it! :lol:


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## xchairity_casex (Oct 8, 2011)

i personally think its somesort of reflex, my cat does it in one specific spot, everytime without fail, and i have seen otehr dogs do this aswell. i cannot imagine what the reflex would be for, but i honestly think thats what it is, human beings also have some weird reflexes that we dont really notice or no about or what its for, doctors touch a certian place in a humans chest itll cause there arms to shoot forward then cross. or just like tickling, no idea the exact purpose of it, it just happens.


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## NZ Raw (Sep 14, 2011)

Tobi said:


> Something i've been meaning to ask and i keep forgetting... The story begins, long ago... or about 8 months ago, i was *scratching *Tobi's *rearend*, you know... the swirlies, just because they are so cute, and besides, who doesn't like having their arse scratched? So anyways... he *began to lick his lips... while looking back out of the corner of his eyes with his ears laid back*, the ear thing, isn't necessarily meaningful since, BT owners know that ears back can mean a plethora of different things from... I'm happy to see you to, i'm going to chew your shoe up just because i love you...
> 
> The lip licking thing has gotten more common, it used to be just on his swirlies, i thought maybe he was uncomfortable... but now he backs that thing up to me to scratch...:whip:
> 
> ...


Ha I thought all dogs did this, even my cats do it. Past labs we had would slam their butts into you for a scratch, vacuum or brush they loved it but their reactions where the same.


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

I have had multiple dogs who do that and none had anal gland issues. 

Dude, when you scratch between the hip bones on the top of his butt (well, all you have to do is barely touch his back), will do what we call "the butt dance". He picks up and puts down his back feet over and over again. Very stiffly and in quick little steps. His back end basically dances in place. He also huffs and sneezes with the front end. When he decides he wants to be pet he will nudge your hand and flip it on top of his head and will slowly walk forward until your hand is on the trigger spot. Then the dancing ensues. 

If you stop scratching him and move to another spot he will swing his butt over to where you are now sitting in hopes that you will continue to scratch. 

Buck does the lip licking too. 

While I DO think that lip licking and these behaviours are signs of discomfort, I DON'T think that they ALWAYS are. I have always felt that it can also be a sign of pleasure. Know thy dog and pay attention so you know when they are showing pleasure or discomfort.


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