Gary M Posted December 22, 2003 Report Share Posted December 22, 2003 Looking for some help or ideas. My BC has a habit of doing what we call her "happy dance" which is rubbing both sides of her face into the carpet then rolling back and forth on her back, talking all the time she is doing this, half the time with a toy in her mouth or rolling on a toy. She does this 4 or 5 times a day that we are aware of. This is causing the hair under both of her eyes to be worn away, sometimes to the point of bleeding. We have taken her to the vet and he has done skin scrapings and there are no infections or parasites that would be causing an irritation. She is also the only one of the 5 dogs that we have that does this and all are inside pets. I know if she keeps this up I will have to change her name to "Scarface". We have tried antibiotics, etc, but being so close to her eyes I am afraid she will get this in her eyes and cause more irritation and rubbing or worse. Scolding her has not helped either, plus I feel bad for telling her to stop when she is just starting to trust and feel comfortable around us. (She is a purebreed(?) road rescue that took us 4 months to finally trap and is very happy in her new (just over a year) home.) Any help would be very much appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSnappy Posted December 22, 2003 Report Share Posted December 22, 2003 Originally posted by Baby's Dad:Scolding her has not helped either, plus I feel bad for telling her to stop when she is just starting to trust and feel comfortable around us. Rather than scold her, why don't you redirect her? When she starts to rub her face, jump up and call her to you and ask her for some basic obedience commands quickly in sequence and that should distract her from her previous activity. I do wonder why she is rubbing so hard though - have you had her EYES checked? Mine rub their faces on the carpet after they eat, or when they come in wet from the outdoors, but never to the point of damage. You might like to get her tear ducts tested or see if there is something irritating her actual eyes that might be the problem. RDM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary M Posted December 22, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2003 Thanks for the "redirection" take. (Duh, smacking forehead). Now that you mention it, after dinner is probably the most prominent time for her rubbing. And I will take her in and get her eyes checked. She is (to us, well me anyway) such a cutie that I hate to see the white splotches on her pretty black face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nancy Posted December 22, 2003 Report Share Posted December 22, 2003 In addition to checking the tear ducts, check her eyelashes. I've know two dogs ( a border collie and a lab) who required surgery because thier eyelashes were sort of growing in instead of out. The surgery was quick and easy and had great results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airbear Posted December 22, 2003 Report Share Posted December 22, 2003 Originally posted by Baby's Dad:...Now that you mention it, after dinner is probably the most prominent time for her rubbing.... My Bear dog always gives his face a scrubbing after a good meal. If the meal was so-so (like mashed veggies with bananas) he doesn't do this, but if it's something like meatloaf and rice with gravy, he will wipe his mouth on anything and everything he can. I read somewhere that this is a normal thing that dogs do after eating, and somehow expresses satisfaction. That may be a load of bunk, but I'm going with it. Kristi, Bear and Wicked Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaileysMom Posted December 23, 2003 Report Share Posted December 23, 2003 I think this is a far reach-but could there be something you use on the rug or a chemical that is just in the rug (the chemicals they color it with and stuff) that is causing an irritation, which is making her rub more often and harder. I also read it is a normal thing for dogs to rub after eating, and Bailey does this all the time, but never to a point of bleeding or any irritation. Maybe she is doing the normal rubbing, but something is irritating her, so then she rubs even harder? Not likely, but one never knows these days! I would definitely check with a vet for the eyes and eyelashes. It could even be an allergy to food or something which makes her eyes dry or itchy-then she rubs too hard to try to stop the itching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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