The dog is drooling: why and what to do?

When the owner notices the increased salivation of his pet - he begins to worry about what is causing this condition. In addition, the current pet drool can cause certain inconveniences with regard to dogs living in the house.

When is it ok

Normally, the saliva is permanently separated from the dogs. They produce several types of glands: submandibular, parotid, zygomatic and hyoid. In a day, the organism of large breed dogs produces about a liter of saliva. Smaller four-legged friends produce them about half a liter. When allocating a larger amount of saliva - you can talk about increased drooling.

Causes of excessive salivation

When the saliva is separated in visible amounts, which alarm the host, this may be due to physiological and pathological causes.The first are the limit of the norm and do not require specific treatment. If you suspect pathology - it is necessary to urgently show the animal to a veterinarian, because many of them represent a danger to the health and life of the pet.

Physiological

1. A characteristic feature of certain breeds. Some breeds, especially large ones, such as German boxers, English mastiffs, basset hounds, St. Bernards and many others, have increased salivation. This is in no way a pathology, but simply caused by certain structural features of the body of their representatives.
2. Pregnancy. Female dogs, like women, suffer from hormonal changes in the body during gestation of puppies. This period may well be accompanied by toxicosis, which is characterized by nausea, dizziness and, accordingly, increased salivation.
3. At the sight of food. When the animal is hungry, and strongly enough, then the saliva flows naturally at any mention of food. In this case, a pet can wag its tail with amusement or aggressively ask for food while sitting near the door of the refrigerator.It is unlikely that there are owners who do not feed their four-legged friends, but there are different cases.
4. Motion sickness If the owner with his four-legged friend is on a trip that lasts more than 20 minutes, it could easily have been soothing him. The main thing is to improve the condition within an hour. If this does not happen, then the reason for the increased drooling is another.

Pathological

1. Improper nutrition. The presence in the diet of too fatty and heavy foods, which can provoke excessive production of bile, saliva and gastric juice. Therefore it is necessary to reconsider the diet of the dog.
2. Stressful situations. Prolonged nervous tension, accompanied by prolonged barking, can cause excessive saliva secretion.
3. Chronic diseases of the digestive tract and oncological processes in them. As a rule, such states are accompanied by some other common symptoms, such as general malaise, lethargy, apathy, excessive sleepiness, and others.
4. Viral diseases. Many infections of the upper respiratory tract cause a similar condition not only in humans, but also in our smaller brothers.
5. Diseases of the teeth and gums.Are a frequent cause of increased salivation and dogs. These include periodontitis, stomatitis, gingivitis and many others.
6. A foreign object in the mouth. All dog owners know how much these animals love to pick up everything they don’t need from the floor. It may be some sharp object, such as a pin or a stud. Often the cause of increased drooling in a dog is a small bone that is stuck in the throat during a meal. This may carry a greater danger to the life of the animal.
7. A diet of the same type with food exclusively dry feed. If the animal eats a dry feed, then enough liquid is necessary for its mastering. Saliva in this situation just acts as the very fluid. Therefore, the dog needs to be given more water and the right decision will be to diversify the diet.
8. Injuries to the ears or inflammation of the ears. Most of the saliva is produced by the parotid glands. If there is an inflammatory process and an infection in the ENT organs of the pet, then drooling is increasing.
9. Poisoning. Pet can get poisoned with food, some plants for a walk, drugs and chemicals.Not every poisoning is fatal, but in most cases the dog just needs medical attention. Otherwise, there is a risk of losing your favorite tailed friend.
10. Allergic reactions. They, as a rule, are completely individual for each representative of the animal world. They can manifest themselves in absolutely different ways, from mild ailment to very dangerous conditions.
11. Worms Their presence in the body can cause many common symptoms. These include increased salivation. It appears from the poisoning of the body by the products of parasites.

What measures should be taken?

The first thing to do is eliminate the most common physiological causes. If this is not a characteristic feature of the breed, the dog is not hungry, not pregnant and it doesn’t exactly bother, then the only and most correct decision is to consult a veterinary clinic.

Independently need to pay attention to the following things:

1. It is necessary to remember what the dog ate before. It is possible that expired or forbidden products were used as food, which the dog should not eat.If you suspect poisoning, you can give the animal sorbents that will help remove harmful substances from the body: Activated carbon, Atoxil, Enterosgel and others. (!) List of prohibited foods: flour products, fatty meat, sweets, snacks, alcohol.
2. Required to examine the dog's mouth for the presence of foreign objects. If there is something there - the object should be urgently taken from there whenever possible. This can be done by hand or with tweezers.
3. If an animal suffers from stressful conditions, then it is necessary to introduce in its diet vitamin-mineral complexes with vitamins of group B as a part. This will strengthen the nervous system and the protective functions of the body, weakened by stress. If the condition is too disturbing, then it is necessary to ask the vet to prescribe a sedative. At the same time it is important to maintain comfortable conditions for the dog so that it does not have a reason for stress.
4. If the saliva is excreted in a deliberately starved animal, it is necessary to give him the opportunity to eat. As soon as he is full, saliva will disappear.

Increased drooling in dogs in most cases is perfectly normal and is not associated with any diseases.However, if the saliva secretion is accompanied by additional symptoms or occurs too often, consultation with a veterinarian is simply necessary, because many reasons are dangerous to the life of the animal.