Dogs use their nose and mouth to find out more about their surroundings.
Urine is one way to explore the dogs surrounding them.
Urine has chemicals that give the dogs information about their surroundings.
Sometimes this can lead to bottom jaw chattering.
The most common example of chattering is when the dog is cold.
Aside from its body shivering, you can hear a fast tapping sound coming from its mouth.
That is the teeth making contact.
However, chattering can be a symptom of many other situations.
Let’s find out more about dogs teeth chattering after tasting urine and how to fix it!
6 Causes of Dog Teeth Chattering After Licking Urine
- Taste
- Excitement and Anxiety
- Dental Issues
- Neurological Issues
- Poison
- UTI – Urinary Tract Infection
1. Taste
Dogs like to taste what they smell.
Urine contains salts, electrolytes, enzymes, hormones, and traces of blood.
That makes it salty and attracts the dogs.
Dogs usually have a meat-based diet.
Many of the foods and dog treats may seem bland to humans, but they are salty to dogs.
That’s because dogs have more and better taste receptors than us in their vomeronasal organ.
Chattering from taste alone is a normal response.
It is a way to analyze what they taste and smell.
2. Excitement and Anxiety
Teeth chattering often comes when they’re emotional.
Excitement and happiness are common in dogs.
New or favorite toys and friends bring them joy and cause chattering.
Excitement also appears in the form of chattering when they’re in heat.
This behavior is more present in male dogs after licking or smelling a female’s urine.
This is because of the hormones and pheromones in it. [1]
Anxiety is another reason. Sometimes that reason may be the owner.
Some dogs may lick their pee after their owner has yelled at them for having an accident another time.
If they get caught while licking the urine, teeth chattering may be a fear response.
But, with training, you can easily get results, and you and your pet will be satisfied with the progress.
3. Dental Issues
|
Issues |
Symptoms |
Treatment
|
|
Joint pain |
Painful opening and closing of the mouth, painful chewing, loss of appetite |
Relocating (if dislocated), surgery followed by painkillers, muscle relaxors |
|
Broken tooth |
Trauma, chewing hard objects |
Dental work or extraction |
|
Dental abscess
|
Bad breath, decreased appetite, pain, swelling, fever, drooling |
Pain medications, antibiotics, anti-inflammatory medications, root canals, and extraction |
|
Inflamed gums |
Red and swollen gums, bad breath, plaque |
Dental work to remove plaque, teeth polishing |
You might ask yourself if puppies grind teeth when teething and the answer is yes.
This usually stops when their adult teeth come in.
Pain inside the mouth is a big cause of chattering.
Carnivores, especially, are known for chewing on bones, which may cause problems. [2]
Teeth chattering after yawning is also a sign of some kind of an issue in the mouth.
Here’s how you can find out if your pup is in pain.
4. Neurological Issues
The most common neurological cause of chattering is seizures.
When a focal motor seizure teeth chattering happens, the dog is unresponsive.
Some signs occur before the seizure, such as clinginess or tiredness.
Seizures usually last a few minutes.
If they are frequent and last longer, call for medical support. [3]
5. Poison
In rare cases, dogs may come in contact with poison when licking the urine.
This may lead to poisoning.
The symptoms are shivering, tooth chattering, nausea, vomiting, and lack of energy.
These effects are also seen in other animals. [4]
6. UTI – Urinary Tract Infection
UTIs are common in humans and in animals.
They are more frequent in middle-aged female dogs. [5]
UTIs can appear due to lack of hygiene or from long usage of medications. [6]
All causes have the same result-painful and often salty urine.
When the dog licks this urine, the reason for teeth chattering can be caused by pain and because of the salty taste.
4 Solutions to Dog Teeth Chattering After Licking Urine
- Prevention
- Dental Care
- Behavioral Training
- Medical Treatment
1. Prevention
Dogs lick urine when they’re outside on a walk.
They urinate to mark territory, and in some way, they send a message to the others around.
Male dogs usually smell and lick female dogs’ urine and rarely other males’ urine.
To prevent this, you can continue walking and gently pull the leash away.
Commands such as “stop” or “ leave it” could be thought to it too.
You can also use a clicker to train it.
It’s also very important to find out why this behavior.
Knowing the cause can help you determine the best way to stop it.
This is why it’s important to know where your dog came from in the first place.
If you’ve adopted, find out more about their history and previous owner.
In many cases, incompetent and abusive owners are the ones that leave their pets in shelters.
Fearful and anxious dogs need special gentle attention and teaching.
Dogs that are happy and in heat can handle a harsher command.
2. Dental care
Dental care is very important for dogs.
If it chatters its teeth, it’s important to pay more attention to what the cause might be.
This condition is more prone in small dogs and can for example lead to a Chihuahuas teeth start chattering.
Frequent brushing and scraping can help with the pain and chattering.
However, scraping dogs teeth should be done carefully and by a professional. [7]
If the chattering doesn’t stop and the dog is still in pain, seek veterinary help.
Here are some pictures of dog’s teeth for you to compare with your dog’s teeth.
3. Behavior Training
| Problem | Reason | Signs and symptoms | How to fix it |
| Shame | The dog has been yelled at for peeing another time. This happens when the owner gets mad and yells at the dog for peeing inside the home. | Avoiding eye contact, tail between legs, bowing head low, and hiding. | Try not to yell, but talk to your dog. Take it to the site and tell it no. Potty train it so it can know how to tell you when it needs to go. |
| Fear | Similar to shame. In these situations, the dog has even been hit. | Trembling, hiding, whining, panting, pacing. | Gentle potty training and giving treats when it does as it’s trained. |
| Excitement | Seeing the owner, a friend, or another dog. | Tail wagging, panting, jumping, and grinning. | Calm your dog down by removing it from the situation. If the dog is too excited to know what it’s doing, it might pee and drink it. |
| Dehydration | The dog does not know the difference between water and urine. If it’s drinking urine, it probably knows that liquids help when it’s thirsty. Urine doesn’t taste bad to them. | Tiredness, dry gums, sunken eyes. | Bring a water bottle for your dog on walks, especially on hot days. You can also give them fruit and veggies like watermelon and cucumber. |
| Pain | UTI | Blood in your dog’s urine, fever, accidental urination, and cloudy urine. | Take it to the vet. |
| Boredom | No walks left alone with no toys or playmates. | Laying down all the time, sleepiness or over-excited. | Buy toys, take on walks. |
The most important step is training.
Many things can lead to your dog licking its urine.
Interrupting the dog and positive reinforcement are key.[8]
For this to work, you have to work with your dog.
The praise needs to be said and done at the right moment.
That way, the dog will know what behavior is good.
The commands need to be taught when they’re young.
Keep them up through their life.
If it obeys, give it treats and praises.
Never reward behavior that is bad for the surroundings.
The treats should always be your dog’s favorite.
One way to do this is with other healthy dogs in a controlled environment.
Play-dates may be beneficial as well.
5. Medical Treatment
If the chattering is persistent, we advise seeking professional help.
Even if chattering is caused by a toothache, it should be looked at by a veterinary doctor. [9]
The veterinarian may find an underlying condition for the symptom.
Medical treatment is important when a symptom can be related to many conditions.
The treatment can be vast, from dental work to seizure medication.
How to Train Dogs to Avoid Certain Behaviors
It’s vital to start when they’re young.
Dogs care about praise, toys, and food.
That makes it easy to let them know that they’re rewarded for an action.
The commands need to be short. “Sit,” “roll,” and “stay” should be enough to make it do those things.
In the beginning, you can show excitement when they succeed.
They can learn from as soon as 6 weeks old.
With practice, they can maintain good behavior for life.
The treats should be given in the beginning every 5 times it listens.
Gradually lower the number of times as they make progress.
Praise even as you’re giving the treat to motivate it even more.
Never forget to feed your dog so it doesn’t have to do tricks in order to get treats. [10]
Licking urine in dogs may seem unusual to us.
If you let your dog lick your face, it might even be a little unpleasant.
Teaching your dog how to avoid urine can be as easy as normal training.
This is especially the case when they show some symptoms after doing it.
Chattering their teeth after licking urine may be one of them.
The easiest way to prevent this is by simply not letting your dog lick urine.
Using a dog muzzle is a great way to do that.
Always make sure it’s breathable.
If the licking and chattering happen anyway, try to figure out the reason why.
If it’s heat, it will pass after a short period.
There isn’t much you can do about it, as it’s reflexive.
If it’s fear or anxiety, being gentle will help.
Compulsion is a tricky reason why they would do that.
It’s connected to the dog’s psychology.
A loud command to stop might be the best way to deal with the hard-to-stop behavior.
Before that, make sure you know your dog’s background in order not to scare it.
Why Does My Dog Chatter His Teeth When He Smells Pee?
Your dog is chattering his teeth when he smells pee because it might have pain in the mouth.
It can also be because of a range of emotions, feeling cold, or there can be no reason at all.
Chattering doesn’t always have to have a diagnosis, but it’s recommended to call a veterinarian.
Why Does My Dog Licking Herself Then Chatter Her Teeth After?
Your dog is licking herself and chattering her teeth after it might be related to pain.
The pain can be in the place it is licking or in its mouth.
In this situation, contacting your vet for a consultation is best.
Is Dog Teeth Chattering After Licking Urine Normal?
Yes, dog teeth chattering after licking urine is normal.
But, it can also be a sign of a tooth, gum, joint pain, and seizures.
Some of them have an easier solution than others.
Dental work and medication are usually prescribed and recommended.
In some situations, surgery may be needed.
The most important thing is to take your dog to the vet as soon as possible.
Preventing this symptom can be beneficial for the dog as well as the owner.
References
