Drooling and licking episodes... what is it?!
Submitted by BullyLove77 on September 3, 2012 - 1:56pmGunther gets these episodes and we have no idea what causes it. He starts off with extreme drooling. It just drips like a faucet and it starts out of nowhere, and then he starts licking his lips... Sometimes it gets hard licking where he is smacking his nose almost. I used to give him gravol, but now give him pepcid. He does let out a couple burps, in the time he's on the pepcid. It lasts for hours though. Last night we were in the car and it started just out of nowhere, and it lasted for 2 HOURS, when he finally stopped licking and layed down and fell asleep.
I googled it and read about focal seizures. Could that be it? I just don't know. I've mentioned it to vets before and noone can tell me what causes it. It's very strange...
Any ideas? Any other bullies get this? He probably gets it anywhere from 2-4 times a month....
Gunther's Blog: www.guntherthebulldog.com
Chester does this also...
he starts the heavy licking and then drools buckets to the point where we put towels under his face to soak up the drool. Our vet said drooling was either a sign of nausea or pain. Gas could cause pain, sometimes a gas-ex will help him. It's really a mystery as to what starts it and it usually last up to an hour and then quits as suddenly as it started. Chester has been doing it a little less since he had palate surgery 6 months ago, but I don't know if that has anything to do with it. The focal seizures are a possibility, but that symptom would be the licking part, not so much the drooling.
Mr. Higgins has done this in the past
It was also sudden and lasted hours. It was constant licking to manage the saliva and he soaked whatever he was lying on. I videotaped it for my vet. He was interested. He suggested pain so we trialed painkillers (tramadol) and it stopped .We also trialed medication for nausea, but that did nothing. His ear canals were very blocked at the time. Now if he does it, I always consider it to be pain.
There are many things it could be which is why it is so frustrating. I find it hard to watch. I can see he is rather concerned himself and I only wish he could tell me how he is feeling.
Ear canals are much improved now but he will remain on cyclosporin every few days.
My 9 year old bullie has done
My 9 year old bullie has done this many times in his life too. It does usually seem to be linked to tummy upset with him. I give him a GasX, and oddly enough, a short walk or car ride has seemed to work well in making him stop most of the time. Although there has been a few times that hasn't worked. Seems to be a typical bulldog thing. Thankfully it does only seem to last for a few hours or just one evening. But it is definitely distressing to watch, and mysterious as far as the exact cause.