Your Shih Tzu may start drooling. It’s a common thing among the Shih Tzu. 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 Shih Tzu 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 Shih Tzu Drools – Normal situations
The saliva of your Shih Tzu 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 Shih Tzu can drool in a natural and/or normal way:
- When your Shih Tzu 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 Shih Tzu 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 Shih Tzu 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 Shih Tzu drools – Abnormal situations
If your Shih Tzu 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 Shih Tzu has difficulty swallowing (irritation, presence of a foreign thing, obstruction, esophageal disease…);
- that your Shih Tzu has stomach problems (nausea, stomach upset…);
- that your Shih Tzu has been poisoned;
- that your Shih Tzu has oral or dental problems (infection, irritations, lesions, gingivitis, tumours…);
- that your Shih Tzu has a fever or has symptoms of rabies (but normally he must be vaccinated…).
Your Shih Tzu drools abnormally – What to do?
- Try to understand in which situation your Shih Tzu 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 Shih Tzu. 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.
