I adopted and elderly dog who licks her bed. I gave her another bed but she licks that, too. Why?

Question

Sierra is about 13 years old, a Malamute cross with hip problems. She eats high quality dog food 2x day, is supplemented with DGP (Dog Gone Pain), Fresh Factors and a joint supplement. She goes for daily off leash walks in the woods, and has full time access via a doggie door to a fenced acre of land. She has friends, a 9 year old golden retriever, 4 cats, 3 chickens and a horse. Sometimes she eats horse manure and licks dirt. She is not nervous or overly sensitive.

Answer 1

i think your dog just has a weird habbit

Answer 2

my dog does that sometimes, I have two dogs and one dog bed that my older dog (bo) uses all the time since my younger one (the one that licks the bed) sleeps with me. sometimes he'll go to Bo's bed and lick it, I think it's because he always bothers bo and licks him. It's probably nothing and if other dogs lay were your dog is licking she's probably picking up on the taste. I don't usually think of anything of it because my dog has his own neurotic issues and most people call him a strange dog for other things that he does. I just figured it was part of his character

Answer 3

There are some things you just can't buy. Dogs eat cat poo for the same reason your dog licks the bed. There is something she leaves on her bed that she's lacking, and she's trying to regain it.

Answer 4

My dog licks the couch and it drives me nuts. But then again, she's nuts. I seriously think she has OCD. Could be a northern dog thing. Mine is a husky, which is alot like a malamute. But seriously....its ocd.

Answer 5

Sounds like she may have had puppy's taken from her at some point in her life. Possibly and dead puppy from birth. Just a guess from the licking thing.

Answer 6

my dogs lick beds to get them clean, that and the floor, most of the time it will be our own beds though. Or she wants it to smell more like herself, instead of whatever the store smells like, i wouldn't worry about it.

Answer 7

Not a vet or anything but it could be that her previous owner didn't provide clean bedding and she has got into the habit of trying to clean it herself first...

Answer 8

my old dog licks him bed too most likely to keep it clean

Answer 9

my dogs does a similar aspect yet he licks diverse issues........i dont precisely comprehend why yet I actually have some concepts like per chance it smeels like you or its purely thirsty or purely extremely hiper.

Answer 10

My dogs do the same thing....I'll agree with darkness_returns....Seems like a reasonable answer.

Answer 11

maybe she used to have to share a bed when she was growing up and that is her way of making the bed her own...