# Licking Long Chest Hair - should we keep it short, or fight through and grow him out?



## Wulfin (May 3, 2019)

So, we had Denver shaved way back when he was neutered.

BEFORE that, he would lick his chest.. all the time. Drove me crazy. Not to the point of giving a hotspot or anything, just...I don't like hearing the lick lick lick constantly. He would knock it off when I asked him to for a bit, but go back to it. Especially annoying at 2am... LOL.

When he was shaved, he didn't lick. The hair was short and he just didn't. It was glorious.

The last 2 weeks he has started licking again as his hair is growing out. I've sprayed some bitter apple on it, but since he hadn't done it for 5 or so months, I'm thinking it's not habitual. So I'm debating...do I continue growing him out and trying to find a way to deal with the licking. Or do I keep him short when he either can't reach it, or it doesn't bother him. 

Vet sees nothing that would cause it on a physical side.


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

A couple thoughts. Are you sure he does not have any tiny mats on his chest? Is he licking near the armpit area? Armpits are definitely prone to matting and sometimes enough air does not get down to the skin so he could develop a little yeast there. I try to keep the armpits short even when the chest hair is longer. Harnesses can also make it easier for small mats to develop in these areas. Mia does not mat much but these two areas are the worst for her.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Sorry, I’ve got nuthin’. None of mine have licked their chests... long or short.


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

krandall said:


> Sorry, I've got nuthin'. None of mine have licked their chests... long or short.


Mia has never done this but my yorkie does it once in a great while. He tends to mat fairly easily around his armpit area if I let it his hair get too long. His hair is fine and sort of wispy and I think the harness causes it to start matting. He then licks a bit where the armpit area meets the chest. If I keep it mat free he never licks there.


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

Didnt you say you have early snow this year? Could it be related if he’s longer than last winter? Last year when mine was pretty long he licked a bit around his chest and front legs sometimes when he came inside.


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

Ignore me, I had that backwards in my head, I do that a lot. You said he doesn’t lick anywhere else, right? Otherwise I might think something is bugging him but the hair wasn’t long enough to lick.


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## Mikki (May 6, 2018)

How old is Denver? That would drive me Nuts! 

I would keep the chest hair short since he doesn't lick then. After a time you can let it grow back again to see if he's forgotten. 

If he's a young puppy he'll probably outgrow it and forget if you keep it short for a long while. 

Like others mention he could be after matts. How often do you bath him and comb the Baby?


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## Wulfin (May 3, 2019)

It's not his armpits.. literally the center of his chest.
I think it is something bugging him, he does the same thing when he has the harness on (trying to lick the harness of?) but now he does it with the harness off too. Could be a small mat or something. He was at teh groomer yesterday and so now he is 100% mat free and will see if he starts it again, or not. It could have been a mat that I missed, but it is interesting too. My eagle eyes (or sharp ears) are watching for it now.

He is bathed weekly, brushed daily, but we don't do a full groom every day as we have some behavioural issues we are dealing with in regards to him and brushing


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

Wulfin said:


> It's not his armpits.. literally the center of his chest.
> I think it is something bugging him, he does the same thing when he has the harness on (trying to lick the harness of?) but now he does it with the harness off too. Could be a small mat or something. He was at teh groomer yesterday and so now he is 100% mat free and will see if he starts it again, or not. It could have been a mat that I missed, but it is interesting too. My eagle eyes (or sharp ears) are watching for it now.
> 
> He is bathed weekly, brushed daily, but we don't do a full groom every day as we have some behavioural issues we are dealing with in regards to him and brushing


Maybe when his hair is longer the harness gets tighter and is irritating him? Some harnesses I have tried are very tight across the chest and restrictive in the shoulder area. Have you tried a Buddy Belt (made in your country)?


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## ShamaMama (Jul 27, 2015)

I think we're going to need to see a video of this behavior ...

Shama occasionally licks her front paws but nothing else.

Can you distract him with any other training when he starts doing this? Can you reward him for just hanging out NOT doing this?


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## JaJa (Jun 28, 2020)

Wulfin I love your posts, you are so funny! We’ve had the licking issue with Cotton for 10 years. We got him from HRI when he was a year old. His foster mom said it was a nervous habit and made him feel better. Even after a year he was still licking. We had ruled out every possible reason I researched except for the joy of it-and being bored. The problem with breaking the habit is that licking releases endorphins and it can become addictive just like humans and their drugs. He’s never chewed at himself just licked. However, it does remind me of my husband. He can’t let his hair get too much length or he starts twirling it. At its’ normal length he ignores it but if he misses a an appointment the twirling begins 2-3 weeks later. I’m not calling Ed a dog, although in this house it’s a high compliment😆
Ironically, Cotton started licking the couch last night so I sprayed Bitter Apple on it. Thank goodness for leather. I’m pretty relaxed and it takes a lot to annoy me but I really don’t want dog spit all over our couches🤢 He still resorts to it occasionally but he passes Shamamama’s test of ceasing when he is distracted. I wish you glorious silence in the future-especially at 2:00 a.m.!


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## Mikki (May 6, 2018)

JaJa said:


> Wulfin I love your posts, you are so funny! We've had the licking issue with Cotton for 10 years. We got him from HRI when he was a year old. His foster mom said it was a nervous habit and made him feel better. Even after a year he was still licking. We had ruled out every possible reason I researched except for the joy of it-and being bored. The problem with breaking the habit is that licking releases endorphins and it can become addictive just like humans and their drugs. He's never chewed at himself just licked. However, it does remind me of my husband. He can't let his hair get too much length or he starts twirling it. At its' normal length he ignores it but if he misses a an appointment the twirling begins 2-3 weeks later. I'm not calling Ed a dog, although in this house it's a high compliment&#128518;
> Ironically, Cotton started licking the couch last night so I sprayed Bitter Apple on it. Thank goodness for leather. I'm pretty relaxed and it takes a lot to annoy me but I really don't want dog spit all over our couches&#129314; He still resorts to it occasionally but he passes Shamamama's test of ceasing when he is distracted. I wish you glorious silence in the future-especially at 2:00 a.m.!


Good information licking isn't necessarily signaling a problem, although it is annoying when they do it for an extended period of time. I learn so much on the forum. Since it's a 10 year issue, your the Go To person for help. Have you made a decision on growing out his hair?


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

JaJa said:


> I'm not calling Ed a dog, although in this house it's a high compliment&#128518;


The parallels between dogs and humans in our house is uncanny. Everyone takes it as a compliment. DS loves "good boy" as a term of endearment. He thinks it's funny that someone could be saying it to him OR the dog, and he'll accept it on behalf of both. The other day I asked if he finished his math and he said, "Of course, I'm a good boy," in the funny way he says it and I thought, I wonder if anyone outside of our family would get the joke or if they think we treat our kids like dogs. It's more like we treat our dog like a human child.


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## Mikki (May 6, 2018)

EvaE1izabeth said:


> * It's more like we treat our dog like a human child*.


*
WHAT'S THAT! Dog's are not Furry Human Children? :surprise:​*


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## JaJa (Jun 28, 2020)

You two are funny also🤣 Ed and I (me) have joked for years that he is just as needy as the dogs. If he does something simple like put his dishes in the sink I’ll pat his head and say “Atta boy, mommy loves you.” Then we both crack up. Our sons keep distinguishing between themselves and the dogs when I reference “the boys” to other people. I just tell them we kept the two we liked-burn, Mom wins.

I hope I can meet your expectations Mikki. Cotton doesn’t just lick one area like Denver but it’s usually his paws or the couch when he decides to start again periodically. If it takes a little effort to get him to stop I rub hand lotion around his paw. He doesn’t like the taste and it helps moisturize his paw pads until I break the licking-again.


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## Mikki (May 6, 2018)

Sometimes Patti will go on a Licking Spree but I can usually get it stopped. If it continues a Bath works. Love the idea bout Hand Lotion on the paws, although it's usually the Butt area Patti's cleaning up. REALLY ***** & SPAN CLEAN. Time for a Butt Wipe or Bath and a little behind trimming.


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