Your English Shepherd may start drooling. It’s a common thing among the English Shepherd. However, he may drool and drool too much for several other reasons and perhaps because he is sick… If you don’t know what to do about your English Shepherd drooling, if you don’t know if it’s normal or not, read this article that will help you understand when to be alarmed.
Your English Shepherd Drools – Normal situations
The saliva of your English Shepherd is a mucus produced by an oral secretion system that works with its digestive system and stomach. This is a completely normal and necessary phenomenon for your pet’s good health. This mechanism facilitates swallowing and therefore anticipates and prepares for digestion.
Here is a list of the most frequent cases in which an English Shepherd can drool in a natural and/or normal way:
- When your English Shepherd knows that he is going to or could eat. In this case, a simple smell of food, the time of his meal, taking out his bag of kibbles or simply watching you eat will cause drooling. This is called the “Pavlov reflex”.
- When your English Shepherd is excited. In this case, a walk, a game session, a sexual desire at the sight of a female or simple smells can also make him drool.
- When your English Shepherd is stressed. If he is in an unusual situation that can stress him (in the face of aggressive other dog, in a very, very noisy environment, if you yell at him, if you tie him up when he is not used to it…) then he can secrete more drool than in normal times.
- When puppies have a teeth growth.
- When a female has her first heat, when she is excited, when she smells dogs.
Your English Shepherd drools – Abnormal situations
If your English Shepherd starts drooling continuously or suddenly when it was not drooling before and is not in one of the situations listed above, it is best to be worried.
Indeed, the causes of excessive drooling can be serious.
Drool may be the sign:
- that your English Shepherd has difficulty swallowing (irritation, presence of a foreign thing, obstruction, esophageal disease…);
- that your English Shepherd has stomach problems (nausea, stomach upset…);
- that your English Shepherd has been poisoned;
- that your English Shepherd has oral or dental problems (infection, irritations, lesions, gingivitis, tumours…);
- that your English Shepherd has a fever or has symptoms of rabies (but normally he must be vaccinated…).
Your English Shepherd drools abnormally – What to do?
- Try to understand in which situation your English Shepherd drools and if it is abnormal: when did he start drooling, what situation causes his hyper-salivation, how is his mouth, what could he eat…
- Take the temperature of your English Shepherd. From 39°C, it is necessary to take his temperature every hour to ensure that it does not rise any higher.
- Above 39.5°C, it will be necessary to take him to his veterinarian.
- Check his heart rhythm because if he is very high it is not normal at all.
Then, make an appointment with your veterinarian quickly and remember to explain the symptoms you may have noticed.
