Help! Why is my dog cobbing so much? Common causes explained!
Okay, so my dog, Max, started doing this weird thing with his mouth – like he was chewing on corn on the cob, but there was no corn. It's called "cobbing," and it was happening a LOT. Naturally, I freaked out a little.
My Cobbing Crisis
First thing I did? Grab my phone and started furiously searching "dog chewing air" and "dog weird mouth movements." The internet, as always, gave me a million possible answers, ranging from "it's totally normal" to "your dog has a serious neurological disorder." Not helpful.
I observed Max closely. When was he doing it? After eating? When he was excited? Stressed? I tried to find a pattern. I noticed it mostly happened when he was greeting people or playing fetch – basically, whenever he got super hyped up.
Next, I took a video. It's hard to explain the motion, so a video was way easier to show people. Plus, I figured if I needed to go to the vet, they'd want to see it.
- Mostly happened during greetings.
- Seemed linked to high excitement.
- No other obvious symptoms like drooling or pawing at his mouth.
After gathering the information, I ask my friend who had a senior dog before, is this normal. Luckily, he told me it's a common behavior, especially in certain breeds, and it's often just a sign of excitement or anticipation. But other possible causes mentioned online, like dental problems, foreign objects in the mouth, or even neurological issues, so I was still a bit worried.
I decided to try a few things at home first. I started working on calming him down during greetings, using treats and a calm voice. I also checked his mouth thoroughly for anything stuck in there – nothing.
And you know what? The calming techniques actually helped! The cobbing decreased significantly when I made a conscious effort to keep him from getting overly excited.
It took a little while and I am still watching him closely, I think we've cracked the case. Cobbing seems like a common issue, a vet visit is always a good idea if you're concerned, but in my case, a little observation and some calming techniques did the trick!
