constant sticking out the the tongue out and in

My Golden Retriever has just recently started to stick her tongue out and in, she does not do in when she she is resting and she does not seem to be in any form of stress. She is normal in every other aspect.

I just want to get an answer on why this has started to happen out of the blue?

Thank you

[ginger899]

I wish I knew, but I don't. Maybe someone else here will be able to help.

The only reason my dog ever did this was if she had swallowed a hair, or had been eating grass, but there may be other causes.

[dogmom192]

We had a neighbor dump a 200 pound pot-bellied pig in our yard, as he was leaving CA to live south of the border.  This pig did that tongue thing- especially when raining.  It was hard to give the pig water, as it would push any and every water trough/bowl over to spill onto the ground.  We finally figured to just keep an open hose running for the pig to drink out of several times a day.  Maybe your dog, like the pig, is just doing the tongue thing because she is dehydated.  Cold fresh water under the nose, often- and cheerlead them to drink, with lots of hug rewards!

[Ghilly]

How old is your dog?  Is she a puppy or an older dog?

Sticking the tongue out and pulling it back in again can be a sign of a bad tooth, or if it's done more like a lapping motion of the air it can signify that the dog is feeling nauseous.  

Does she drool when she does this?  The reason I ask is because sometimes dogs will hold their mouth slightly open and stick their tongues in and out, and this will be accompanied by rather profuse drooling.  When they do this, they are usually smelling something and are using their vomeronasal organ (also called Jacobson's organ) which is found at the base of their nasal cavity.  The organ is mainly used to detect pheromones but they use it to closely examine any smell that really interests them.  I think most of us who have cats have seen them wrinkle up their noses, hold their mouths open and make a funny face when they smell something.  This is called the flehmen posture and is the cat's way of using their Jacobson's organ.  Ungulates (hoofed animals) do the flehmen posture by curling their top lip upwards until it is almost inside out.  Dogs, on the other hand, don't curl their lips or make a face, they hold their mouth slightly open while flicking their tongue in and out.  In most cases, saliva drips out in copious amounts to facilitate carrying the smell to the organ.  This sticking in and out of the tongue that you're seeing could possibly have something to do with this.

If she is acting normal in every other respect, I wouldn't worry too much about it.  I would keep an eye on her to make sure nothing else is "off", such as her appetite or her bathroom habits, and as long as she seems normal, I'd let it go, but the next time she's due for a vet visit I would try to remember to bring it to his attention.  In the meantime, if she starts to have problems eating or seems to want her food, but doesn't eat it, I would have her teeth checked.  Sometimes tooth pain will cause them to stick their tongue out and pull it back in again.

Ghilly