I have so many questions stored up in my brain for the smart dog folk here! Here is one I wonder about sometimes...

I notice that when walking my dog through areas frequented by other dogs, he occasionally starts to foam at the mouth.

I know when I picked up my pup, I saw his daddy foaming at the mouth. I think the stud dog owner explained it was the smell of the unfixed females.

Is it just dog pee in general, is it just female dog pee that does this, or is it females in season that cause my dog to look as though he is rabid?? I don't see him foam around other dogs that I can remeber.

I noticed my dog do it in one stretch of our walk for a couple of days in a row this week, but he does not do this all (or most) of the time. It is a spot he is allowed to do some sniffin' and read his "pee-mail" as Steven has elequently put it. I also saw a coyote on this stretch around the same time?

Interestingly, I recall when my dog was quite young we were doing a practice search (air scent) in a park very frequented by dogs. He never stopped searching to sniff the ground or mark, but he was foaming up a storm even after finding his quarry. I have never seen it on a search since. This suggests to me that even if he is not concentrating on it, whatever it is can still make him faom.

I must also mention my dog is "altered"

Anyone else have to wipe their dog's mouth occasionally on walks so as not to worry the neighbours? Anyone know the exact olfactory culprit?

Cheers,

my female dogs do this too. I think it's just an involunatry response to other dog's urine....

It's one of those normal (yet somewhat icky) dog behaviors.

Yes, my male does it too. A walk down the street makes my black dog look like an actor in an old-time vaudville act.

I asked a similar question a while ago regarding the foaming and chattering teeth my dog was displaying. Several people said it had to do with him scenting a female in heat. He hasn't chattered in a while but continues to work up a good mouth of foam in certain places where I suspect there is a substantial amount of dog urine.

My boy does it too - less now that he's "altered", but it's obvious at times that he's smelling something "special". When he was intact, he would often scent something, do a little taste test, do the teeth chattering and you could also see the big muscles in his forehead and jaws clenching, like he was working a smell through his whole head... he could become VERY focused about this. I'm pretty sure it was females he was smelling, but I don't think the population of intact dogs of either sex is very great in my town, so I'm not sure it was specific to females in heat... sort of hard to tell I guess.

Good question though, as I've always wondered what was going on in my dog's head/body when he picked up on those intensely special smells.

~Natalya

My male does it too, it appears to be only female sent in my case.

My (altered) male does it whenever we are out for a walk in a rural area, not so much in the city when he's at a 'heel' most of the time. In the woods he keeps his nose to the ground, moves at a fairly quick pace like he's on to something specific, and foams like crazy. Good to know he's not the only one. I've had a few that did the teeth chatter....mostly stud-dogs. But I did have a greyhound that chattered at cats .

Thanks guys. I just didn't see it in any of the other dogs I know doin' it, and it really had me wondering. Interesting that females can do it as well.

Glad I am not alone. My male does not do the teeth chattering, but I have seen it in other dogs.

Maybe I could get Anne to help me teach my dog to wipe his own foam off his mouth, ewww

Cheers,