# Darn it, Harry is licking lips, smacking, shaking his head...



## kevin bradley

Took him to the Vet yesterday. No ear infection, no bad teeth, nothing appears wrong in his mouth. He's been doing this about a week now. As I posted last week, I started adding some Honest Kitchen Thrive to his Acana about 2 weeks ago... I know the Thrive is not Grain Free...wondering if something in there bothered him. Anyone think the HK could have triggerred something? Darn it if thats it because he loves the food. He's been on this Acana formula off/on for over 2 years so I don't believe its anything in there.

I know licking lips, yawning, smacking are distress signals--something is bothering him. And its driving me NUTS  Praying my boy is ok.


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## xellil

And the vet had no clue? Definitely sounds like something is wrong. Maybe a second opinion? Could he have something stuck in his throat? But that probably wouldn't mean head shaking.


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## kevin bradley

Nope, he didn't know.

yeah, if it doesn't improve soon, I'm going for another opinion. 

I've researched the heck out of it...and it is pretty common. Allergies, ears, behavioral, distress... all the way to liver/kidney failure. However, he did blood work on Harry and everything looked great he said. 

Heck, I don't know.


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## magicre

sounds like he needs a vet higher up on the food chain, kevin....


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## KittyKat

Have you changed anything else in your home? New detergent, cleaners, scents, dryer sheets?


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## kevin bradley

KK,

good question...not really. aside from the HK I added for a couple weeks, not really. Its Fall in Michigan of course which means lots of leaves and stuff on the ground...wondering if Harry might have some allergies. Everything else is fine, he's as energetic as ever, no weight change, blood work checked out well, no ear infections, nothing concrete. 

He was scratching at his ears this morning though... I am really wondering if it is some type of allergy with the season?


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## doggiedad

did Harry's condition start after you fed him the HK?????


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## kevin bradley

DD,

yeah, somewhere near.... but he's been off it for 3 days now and still smacking, yawning, shaking his head.

I've also thought that if he had an issue with HK, it could take some time to get it out of his system...possibly?


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## doggiedad

i don't know how much time it will take for the HK
to clear his system. i wonder if it's something that's
been added to your water???



kevin bradley said:


> DD,
> 
> yeah, somewhere near.... but he's been off it for 3 days now and still smacking, yawning, shaking his head.
> 
> I've also thought that if he had an issue with HK, it could take some time to get it out of his system...possibly?


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## magicre

kevin bradley said:


> KK,
> 
> good question...not really. aside from the HK I added for a couple weeks, not really. Its Fall in Michigan of course which means lots of leaves and stuff on the ground...wondering if Harry might have some allergies. Everything else is fine, he's as energetic as ever, no weight change, blood work checked out well, no ear infections, nothing concrete.
> 
> He was scratching at his ears this morning though... I am really wondering if it is some type of allergy with the season?


are his stools normal? is he acting normal?


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## kevin bradley

Re,

Yeah, he's great. lots of energy. Nothing else I can see. Stools are ok. One was a bit soft the other day but not horribly bad. He seems to be doing the licking a BIT less...though I might be being optimistic.


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## DaneMama

How's he doing?


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## KittyKat

kevin bradley said:


> KK,
> 
> good question...not really. aside from the HK I added for a couple weeks, not really. Its Fall in Michigan of course which means lots of leaves and stuff on the ground...wondering if Harry might have some allergies. Everything else is fine, he's as energetic as ever, no weight change, blood work checked out well, no ear infections, nothing concrete.
> 
> He was scratching at his ears this morning though... I am really wondering if it is some type of allergy with the season?


Do you have a video you can post showing him shaking his head?


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## wags

with Harry licking his lips and yawning this is also a calming feature in some dogs as well as can be a stress indicator. As for the head shaking I know all four of my dogs do this when their ears are bothering them to itch the ear and make it feel better. I am surprised with he head shaking though its not ear related.
Well I do hope Harry gets much better. If he doesn't soon I would get someone else to check him and see what's up! Good Luck!


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## magicre

stay in my brain, wags.....my pug does the shaking of the head when he has a booger in his ear...rare but he has a very narrowed ear canal...

the licking of the lips and the smacking...reminds me of a dog who is getting ready to throw up...is it possible he was nauseous?


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## stajbs

How are things Kevin??


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma

Well, if you still think it could be the food... dog food companies can tweak the formula without saying they did so. Just because he has been on that formula for the past couple of years doesn't mean they didn't tweak it during that time. 

This is the part that sucks about owning a dog. They can't tell us what is wrong in a language we fluently speak. It is one guessing after another in a big game of charades. It COULD be allergies. Those come and go too. When I was a kid I didn't used to be allergic to mosquitos but now they turn into wannabe snake bites. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you guys.


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