Dogs Licking Walls – Possible Causes

Dogs do many things that sometimes seem completely crazy to us. Today we’re going to tell you why your dog might lick walls.

Understanding a dog’s behavior is not always easy, especially when he does things that are completely incomprehensible to us. When he rolls around in the mud even though you’ve just bathed him, when he chews on a worn sock or passionately rummages through the garbage … And maybe you’ve seen dogs licking walls?

There is an explanation for all of these seemingly strange behaviors. All you have to do is put yourself in your dog’s shoes and try to understand this behavior from their perspective. You just have to think like a dog, run like a dog, and eat like a dog … Or keep reading this article!

Today we want to look into the causes of particularly strange behavior and tell you why dogs lick walls .

The wall, not easy to digest …

First of all, you should know that scientists have already studied the consumption of inedible substances in depth. Veterinary ethologists and nutritionists in particular have dealt intensively with this topic.

If you know what topics these two disciplines deal with, you can probably already imagine that the reasons why dogs lick walls are related to their diet or behavior.

There is an eating disorder called pica syndrome. This syndrome involves the consumption of materials and substances that are not part of the normal diet.

And obviously, a wall is not part of the normal diet for dogs. So there is initially no plausible reason why some dogs obviously see this differently. If a dog is digging through the trash, it is likely looking for a small treat in your leftover food. But when dogs lick walls, the explanation for this behavior is not that simple.

Psychological reasons your dog might be licking walls

As we indicated earlier, the main cause is believed to be a conduct disorder. Dogs are very intelligent animals and can develop very complex emotions.

While this is one of the reasons why they are such popular pets, this very fact can also have negative consequences. Because their emotionality also means that their mental health has a decisive influence on their overall well-being.

If your dog is stressed, bored, or scared, he may start licking the walls. Some people bite their nails in such situations. Hence, this behavior is ultimately just a manifestation of their emotional state.

In addition, these feelings can be triggered by a wide variety of things. Therefore, it is advisable that you seek advice from a professional. Some of the possible causes that can cause your dog to feel this way are as follows:

• Excess energy: When very active dogs receive little physical or mental training, they can develop anxiety disorders because there is no other way to compensate for their excess energy.
• Fears or phobias: Any animal that has been abused or has experienced traumatic situations can suffer from recurring fears or stress.
• Separation fears: When animals are very attached to their owner, they often cannot stay at home alone. This is probably the most common reason dogs lick walls.
• Changes in their environment:  If you take in another pet, have a child or move … all of these changes can cause anxiety and stress in your pet.

Nutritional deficiency

But not only psychological problems can trigger such behavior. There is quite a lot of evidence that nutritional deficiencies can lead to pica syndrome in dogs. If your dog suffers from a certain deficiency, he may try to compensate for it by eating just about anything he can get.

Many walls are made of plaster of paris (calcium sulfate) and calcium is an essential mineral. If your dog is calcium deficient, the wall will provide plenty of this nutrient. However, this is actually only rarely the cause of pica syndrome.

Most dog foods contain sufficient nutrients and prevent such deficiency symptoms from occurring. Usually nutritional deficiencies occur in the dogs, which are mostly fed with scraps of food.

If dogs lick walls, they may need help

Although it can seem amusing and strange at first when your dog licks the walls, you now know that there can be a very serious cause behind it. If you are not sure, you should definitely speak to a veterinarian about it.