Dog Making Weird Mouth Movements

Sometimes, we see dogs making weird faces. They move their mouth to look like the dog keeps making chewing motions or clawing. Teeth grinding or bruxism is a clinical health issue that can arise from several reasons. Bruxism can lead to other health problems – decaying teeth is one of them.

Dogs talk to us through their actions. So naturally, we must understand them through their activities if they have any health issues. Sometimes they chatter with their teeth, open and close their mouth repeatedly or smack their lips. Sometimes it may look hilarious.

But it can be an indication of some serious issue. As a pet owner, you must understand the cause of your pet’s suffering. You can also take a veterinarian’s advice to know the reason for the weird mouth movement and its remedy.

Is It Natural for Dogs to Make Weird Mouth Movements?

Dogs are prone to playing and sometimes exhibit weird movements as a part of their play. So if they make strange mouth movements, their owners sometimes misunderstand it as a symptom of clumsiness. They need to pay proper attention to eating. But there can be severe issues associated with such actions. It can also happen because your dog wants attention and is facing severe health disease.

So, if your dog makes weird mouth movements, do not always take it lightly. Several reasons lie beneath the teeth chattering, lip smacking, or repeatedly opening and closing the mouth. One of the primary reasons for such a movement can be bruxism, anxiety, fear, and coldness.

There are several other reasons for making such movements, like dogs opening and closing mouths like fish, and some of them are serious health issues. But fortunately, most of them are not very serious. If you can immediately satisfy their need, they will be fine after some time.

Reasons For Dogs Making Weird Mouth Movements

There are several reasons for a dog to make weird mouth movements. Most of the time, it is not natural. Some serious health issues can be associated with such strange mouth movements. In such a case, if you can not find the reason by yourself, take the advice of some expert or the vet for a remedy. The following content discusses some of the common reasons behind such a movement.

Neurological Diseases

Neurological diseases or disorders like epilepsy are prevalent among dogs. It is a medical condition in which continuous seizures occur, which can be painful. So if you notice your dog is making weird mouth movements, you should diagnose them thoroughly. It is a clinical condition that can be cured with proper medication. Making strange mouth movements can symbolize or indicate the pain he is going through because of epilepsy.

Stress & Anxiety Issues

Dogs are susceptible animals. In some cases, they are even more sensitive than human beings. So naturally, they quickly fall prey to stress and anxiety issues. Sometimes they feel stressed because of situations that are out of their control. These situations can be related to weather, the appearance of some unfamiliar people or pets, and distress at home. Dogs are easily afraid of crackers. This can also lead them to anxiety. Again, the absence of the owners can be equally stressful for them. In such situations, they smack their lips or click their teeth. But these are temporary situations, and you can control them by calming them down.

Oral Health Problems

Problems within the mouth are another reason dogs make weird mouth movements. Dental problems can be one of the primary reasons for these facial problems. When their tooth is broken or loose, they make mouth movements with their tongue. Apart from that, any cut, ulcer, or biting can also irritate their mouth. Any such problems can trigger their weird mouth movements like smacking their lips or chattering teeth. Apart from dental issues, other reasons for making such mouth movements can be abscesses, gingivitis, periodontal disease, and salivary cysts.

Food Stuck Between Teeth

When the dogs open and close their mouth repeatedly, it may look weird. But it can be a sign that something struck between their teeth, and they are trying to dissolve the food. This situation sometimes gets challenging for human beings. Dogs do not use toothpicks to get rid of such problems. They mainly rely on their tongues to remove the object. That is why they repeatedly open and close their mouths again and again. In such a situation, you have nothing to worry about. Try to remove the object from their teeth, and they will be fine.

Problems Related to Behavior

Dogs are emotional animals like humans. They also experience happiness, anger, excitement, sadness, and many such emotions in their life span. In sharing these emotions, they sometimes get too excited and start making weird mouth movements like chattering or smacking their lips. But this behavior is also temporary. So, in this case, you do not have to worry much because there is no serious issue behind it. After their excitement level falls, they will automatically stop making such faces.

Ear infection

Sometimes, dogs are affected by another common medical condition, otitis. It is a kind of inflammation in the middle year, which leads to disease. Such an infection can be excruciating sometimes. These can frustrate and irritate them. Sometimes the pain becomes unbearable. In such cases, you should be careful. At the time of pain during inflammation, dogs can make weird mouth movements. Here it would be best if you went to a vet to reduce the symptoms. It can be a permanent issue if they are untreated for an extended time. Veterinarians are the most suited person to advise what to do in such situations.

Choking

Choking is another reason dogs make weird facial movements. Sometimes violating food or foreign objects struck their throat. Just like human beings, this irritates them, making bizarre mouth movements. Most of the time, such things occur as the dogs need to chew food items properly and eat in a hurry. If food gets choked in their throat, it can hamper their breathing, and you can observe the dog making weird jaw movements.

If such things happen, you can open your dog’s mouth with one hand on the upper jaw and the other on the lower jaw. Then you can look into the throat of your pet and can remove it easily if anything has blocked their throat.

Pain

Pain is another reason why dogs also make weird mouth movements. They can have dental problems, neoplastic problems, fractures, infections, and other issues that can be painful for them to bear. As they can not communicate with humans directly, they make some gestures to express their pain. It can also be said that these weird gestures can be a reflex action movement to express their pain. Sometimes they also chatter with their teeth to indicate their pain. Sometimes because of excessive chattering, puppies decay their teeth.

Bruxism

Bruxism or teeth grinding is another common reason for making weird mouth movements. As is already discussed that bruxism can happen because of many reasons. It can include behavioral, psychological, or physical problems. Whatever the cause may be, it is a symptom that some disturbances are occurring within their body. In some cases, you can try to resolve them, and in others, you should have to go to the vet to relieve them from their pains. Some of the most common reasons for dogs grinding their teeth are epilepsy, stress, malocclusion, shivering due to cold, gastrointestinal problems, dental pain, anxiety, and distemper.

Caught in Cold

Cold temperature only suits some dog breeds equally. Sometimes in low temperatures, they feel very uncomfortable and irritated. However, these symptoms occur gradually. At first, your pet seems to shiver and chatter with its teeth which is a sign that they are not feeling comfortable. But if the atmosphere doesn’t change, their breathing rate gradually drops, and their pulse beat and heartbeat also fall below the standard rate. Alongside, their skin becomes pale, pupils dilate, and in extreme cases, collapse.

Such a situation is called hypothermia. It is generally a type of tremor in the body. To avoid such a situation, you can keep your dog under warm covers in winter or in a cold atmosphere.

Gastrointestinal Diseases

Gastrointestinal problems can create among dogs if their digestion system doesn’t function properly. Symptoms like vomiting, loss of appetite, diarrhea, nausea, and lethargy are prevalent in such cases. They can not express the problem but make gestures by rubbing their teeth and grinding sounds; making weird mouth movements is also common in this situation.

Mouth Disorder

Any problem at the inner side of the mouth can also force dogs to make weird mouth movements. This problem can be of different kinds. Inflammation of the tongue, lip wounds, gum diseases, and lip fold dermatitis can cause disorders in the mouth. It can create irritation and pain in dogs. As a result, they can smack their lips and open and close their mouth repeatedly. When they do this movement frequently, you can check in their mouth if any type of disorder is prominent.

Major Health Issues That Cause Weird Mouth Movements In Dogs

Apart from the reasons mentioned above, there are other significant reasons that can trigger dogs to make weird mouth movements. These are particularly clinical issues, and they need clinical supervision in extreme cases. Some other causes of bruxism can be as follows:

Epilepsy

One of the most severe reasons a dog can make weird mouth movements is epilepsy. Epilepsy in dogs consists of a strange electrical action in the cerebrum because of the continuous depolarization of nerve cells. The outcome is not just odd mouth movements, yet it can cause seizures which cause momentary movement in the dog’s way of behaving. It is a kind of neurological disorder among dogs. Epilepsy has four stages which are as follows:

Prodromal

In this phase, dogs become restless and make strange movements. This stage can last from a few minutes to a few days.

Aura Phase

This phase is characterized by dysfunctional movements in motor skills, behavior, and sensory activities. Like the previous phase, it can last from a few minutes to a few days. The seizure phase followed this condition.

Seizure Phase

The seizure phase is the most typical phase of epilepsy. Fits are standard in this stage which can occur in any body part- face, limb, or the whole brain. In extreme cases, dogs become unconscious and do involuntary actions and hypersalivation.

Postictal Phase

This is the last phase of epilepsy. Their brain is wholly exhausted at this level, and various disturbances are found within their body. Epilepsy doesn’t happen all of a sudden. Sometimes they display minor changes in their behavior that are not adequately noticed. But they should be immediately diagnosed if any oddness occurs in their activities. Because the more you delay, the chance of the seriousness of the disease will be higher.

Malocclusion

Malocclusion is the problem of improper growth of teeth. When the teeth are not appropriately arranged, and their mouth is not closed because of that, malocclusion occurs. As a result, they make weird movements to close their mouth correctly. Malocclusion also leads to bad bite.

Crooked Mouth

This type of malocclusion is the worst form. In such cases, one of the jaws, either the lower or upper, grows faster than the other. As a result, their mouths get twisted. It is very problematic for them to bear, and they face problems eating or simply opening their mouth.

Prognathism

Prognathism is somewhat similar to a crooked mouth. But in this case, the lower jaw grows faster than the upper. This problem is widespread in some particular types of dog breeds. They do not feel it is problematic to deal with such a jaw structure. Among The English Bulldog, The Boxer, and The Pug, prognathism is not uncommon.

Brachygnathism

This situation is opposite to prognathism. Here the disorder occurs when the upper jaw grows faster than the lower one. So the upper incisors come in front of the lower. It is a hereditary disorder that is also called parrot mouth.

Periodontal Disease

Such a type of disorder occurs when bacteria plague the teeth of the dogs. Sometimes the food remains are left over into the teeth for rapid multiplication. When the saliva comes in contact with those bacteria, their teeth gradually decay. It can also cause inflammation and potentially bleeding (gingivitis). Bruxism is prevalent if the dog is affected with periodontal disease. So they make weird mouth movements to get rid of gingivitis. Halitosis, a foul smell, is also common in periodontal disease. The tooth is decayed, and bacteria enter the blood system. Respiratory, digestive, and cardiac problems are also common in such conditions.

Temporomandibular Joint

If the dog is affected by the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), jaw chattering and teeth clashing are commonly seen. Besides, if the dog faces any jaw fracture or arthritis, including temporomandibular joint, they have to bear oral diseases or aches. It can force them to make weird mouth movements in pain.

Your veterinarian will be the best to treat your dog for a temporomandibular joint. If a temporomandibular joint is suspected, x-rays or computed tomography are recommended for the treatment. Temporomandibular joints should be treated very seriously in the first place; otherwise, it can create significant issues.

Pheromones

Clashing teeth because pheromones are mainly seen among male dogs when they smell a female dog. However, female dogs also sometimes do that. By chatting with their teeth or jaws, they are trying to smell better by bringing the smell close to their smell organ, at the upper portion of the mouth. It is their natural reflex, and there is nothing to worry about. Sometimes, they drool, which is very foamy in texture. This weird mouth movement disperses with time.

What Are Various Types of Weird Mouth Movements?

Various types of weird mouth movements can be seen among dogs. However, these types are different in their nature and behavior. Some are common, and others are mainly observed when they suffer serious health issues. Here are some of the significant weird mouth movements by dogs are given:

Chomping Sound

Chomping sound is prevalent among dogs. Sometimes it is very faint and hard to hear. Sometimes it is so that you cannot sleep. It happens because of several reasons. Sometimes they make chomping sounds intentionally when they like to be pampered. Other stress issues may cause chomping sounds and chewing noises. Dog making crunching noises with their mouth can be a result of facial anxiety. When they feel nauseated, they also make chomping sounds and drool excessively. Any gastrointestinal diseases also force them to make chomping sounds.

Smacking Lips

Smacking lips is another weird movement among dogs that can happen for various reasons. Most of them are physical and related to some irritation or clinical issues. Some significant causes of smacking lips are- gum masses, dental diseases, and ulceration.

When they are hungry, experience stress or anxiety, something is stuck in their teeth, gastrointestinal problems occur, and dogs smack their lips to attract attention. Occasional smacking is okay; if they do it frequently, you should take the matter seriously.

Teeth Clashing

Teeth chattering or clicking the teeth are also the expression of several emotions. When they are happy and excited or see the owner after a long time, they express happiness by clicking their teeth. Again, when they shiver in the cold, they also chartered teeth; at that time, you must wrap them in a warm blanket. To express some harmful behavior, dogs also chatter with their teeth. It is associated with swelling, bleeding, loss of appetite, weight loss, etc. Periodontal disease, anxiety, stress, or unfamiliar situations can also trigger them to clash their teeth if you do not understand why their teeth are chattering. You can consult with a veterinarian for expert advice.

They are Repeatedly Opening and Closing Their Mouths

Dogs, by nature, sometimes also trash items like plastics or wood. So, if these items get stuck into their teeth, they open and close. In any dangerous or unfamiliar situation, they can also do this to keep themselves calm. They can make weird movements when they cannot throw out unwanted substances from their mouth. To prevent such a situation, you can brush their teeth or open their mouth to see inside.

Why Do Puppies Make Weird Mouth Movements?

Not adult dogs, but puppies make weird mouth movements. It is especially seen when baby teeth fall or permanent teeth start to grow. Apart from that, when the puppies get sick or experience something strange in their mouth, they also make weird mouth movements.

Why Do Dogs Make Weird Mouth Noises?

Several reasons can be involved in making several weird mouth movements dogs. The reasons can be mild to severe. Some of the common causes are as follows:

• To express their anxiety, dogs bark or raise their hackles.
• When they are excited, they start honking to describe the feeling.
• They make hacking or gagging sounds when something is stuck in their throat.
• When they feel uncomfortable, they whine or whimper.

How to Stop Your Dog from Making Weird Mouth Movements?

When you notice that your dog is making weird mouth movements, first check inside its mouth. Most of the time, dental diseases cause them to act like this. Also, diagnose them carefully if they have gastrointestinal problems or have caught a cold. By observing this way, you can understand the root of such behavior. After eliminating the cause of their suffering, they will be fine sometime.

What to do If Your Dog is Making Weird Mouth Movements?

If you need help understanding what to do when your dog makes weird mouth movements, do not take risks. Here are two steps that you follow when your dog makes such mouth movements:

• Most of the time, they feel irritation in their mouth. So, it would be best if you took care of their dental hygiene, and the problem may decrease.
• In severe cases, you must consult with a veterinarian. Sometimes we need to understand their problems which can leave them with more significant damage in the future.

FAQs

Conclusion

It is your responsibility to keep your dog’s health well. So you, as a pet owner, should be aware when your dog is making weird mouth movements. Most of the time, this is not serious, but sometimes such movements can be the symptoms of severe health problems. A general idea about such a movement will help you to find the problem earlier.