Why Your German Shepherd Drools

If your German Shepherd has been drooling a lot recently then you might be wondering why it is happening and what you can do about it. In this post, I will show you a number of possible causes and what you can do about it.

So, why is your German Shepherd drooling excessively? Common causes would include being too hot, anticipating food, anxiety, dental and gum problems, having something lodged in its teeth, eating or licking something poisonous and illness. 

And, what can you do about it? Some things that you can do are to keep it cool, to check its teeth for any foreign objects, to prevent it from eating or licking things that might be causing bad reactions and to look for other signs of abnormal behavior. If you’re unsure of the cause, your best option will likely be to take it to the vet. 

It’s important to take the time to figure out why your German Shepherd might be drooling excessively since it could be doing something that is causing it harm. Figuring out the cause will also help you to reduce the excessive drooling much more easily.

Possible reasons for your German Shepherd’s excessive drooling

There are a number of possible reasons why your German Shepherd could be drooling excessively. I will mention a number of them below.

It’s anticipating food

One possible and not so worrying cause could be due to the anticipation of food. If your German Shepherd tends to drool excessively when it’s about to get food or when it sees food then it is most likely because its mouth is watering since it’s expecting (or hoping) to be eating soon.

This type of drooling isn’t very uncommon. To prevent it you can try preventing your German Shepherd from seeing food until it’s time for it to eat and you can try giving it food in areas where you don’t mind the excessive drooling.

It’s too hot

Another possible cause of the excessive drooling could be that it is too hot. If your German Shepherd’s excessive drooling has come at a time when the temperature has increased, where you live, then being too hot could be the cause.

It can be difficult for them to stay cool when it gets hot. If it’s hot outside, where you are, then you should take measures to ensure that your German Shepherd is able to stay cool.

To do this you can make sure that it has access to lots of water to drink, give it access to lots of shaded areas and you can groom it more regularly so that there aren’t lots of loose hairs on its fur.

It’s anxious

If your German Shepherd tends to drool when you are about to leave it or if it drools when you’re not around then the drooling could be due to separation anxiety.

This is where your German Shepherd doesn’t like being left without you and it causes it to become anxious with excessive drooling being one of the possible consequences.

Other signs that this could be the cause would include it being anxious when it sees that you are leaving, destructive behavior while you’re away, barking or howling while you’re away and if it cries when you’re away.

You can watch how to reduce your German Shepherd’s separation anxiety in the video below.

Related post: Why is my German Shepherd so anxious?

Dental and gum problems

A possible cause of your German Shepherd’s excessive drooling could be due to having issues with its teeth or gums. It could be that tartar buildup is rubbing against its cheeks causing it to drool. You can check this by pulling its lip back towards its ear and looking for brown decaying teeth, overly red gums, swelling or bleeding.

If you think that dental issues could be causing the excessive drooling then your best option would be to take it to the vet where they will be able to inspect it more closely.

It might also be the case that it has something stuck between its teeth that is causing it to drool. You should inspect your German Shepherd’s teeth for any foreign objects or you can get your vet to do it.

Poison

It could be that your German Shepherd has eaten or licked something poisonous. If this is the case then the drooling is more likely to come suddenly and it might be accompanied by foaming in the mouth if it is more serious.

Situations, where this can occur, would be when it eats something like an insect or a plant that it shouldn’t or when it licks something like a nettle that it shouldn’t have. If you think that this could be the cause of the excessive drooling then you should take it to the vet as soon as you can.

Illness

There are also some illnesses that can cause excessive drooling. If your German Shepherd has been showing other symptoms of illness such as vomiting, a lack of appetite or a sudden change in its behavior then illness could be the cause. If you think that this could be the case then take your German Shepherd to a vet to get it looked at.

Things to look for

There are some things that you can look for that will help you to figure out the cause of your German Shepherd’s excessive drooling.

The first thing that you can do is to check where it is going before the drooling occurs. Perhaps it’s licking or playing with something that is causing the excessive saliva such as a poisonous insect. Maybe it’s eating things like plants that it shouldn’t.

Another thing that you can do is to consider when the excessive drooling happens. If it happens when you are away then it could be separation anxiety. If it happens after you let it outside then it could be eating the wrong things. If it happens when it gets hot then it could be due to the heat.

You should also take the time to inspect its mouth since this is a likely cause of the excessive drooling. 

Ways to deal with your German Shepherd’s excessive drooling

There are some things that you can do to reduce how much your German Shepherd is drooling and to mitigate its effects.

Keep it cool

If you think that the heat is a likely cause of your German Shepherd’s excessive drooling then you should take measures to ensure that your German Shepherd is able to stay cool.

To do this you can do things such as giving it access to lots of water, giving it access to lots of shade, grooming it more often you could also lower the air conditioning temperature in your house.

Reduce its anxiety

If you think that your German Shepherd might be getting anxious when you’re not around then you should take some measures to prevent this.

You can try doing this by initially leaving it alone in a certain room for a few seconds and then rewarding it for being well behaved with a treat and then to gradually increase the amount of time that you leave it alone for.

You can also try giving it exercise before you have to go so that it will be more sleepy while you are away.

Reduce its access to poisonous things

Another thing that you can do is to limit its access to things that it might be eating or licking. You can do this by blocking off certain areas of your yard.

You could also try doing “leave it” training with it as shown in the video below.

Once you have been able to teach it the “leave it” command you can tell it to “leave it” when it’s about to eat, lick or drink something that it shouldn’t.

Take it to the vet

If it’s being sick, becomes aggressive suddenly, is losing weight, has bad breath, has seizures or it has trouble swallowing things then take it to the vet since they will be able to more effectively diagnose the issue.

Related questions

Why does my German Shepherd drool when I eat? This is because the sight of the food is making its mouth water so that it can eat the food more effectively. To get this to stop you can try teaching it to wait in a different area while you are eating or you can feed it just before you start eating.

Why is my German Shepherd drooling and acting strange? If your German Shepherd is drooling and acting strange then there are a number of possible reasons. Many of which will involve illness or having eaten something poisonous so your best option here is to take it to the vet.

Why is my German Shepherd drooling and licking? There are a number of possible reasons for this including sickness, dental problems, having something stuck in their throat or focal partial seizures. Your best option here is to take it to the vet.