When Your Dog's Saliva Production Spikes: Causes and What to Do

Understanding Sudden Drooling in Dogs

A dog that never used to leave puddles of saliva may start drooling heavily, and this change can be alarming. For owners of breeds like St. Bernards, slobber is often expected, but when a previously dry-mouthed dog begins soaking its face and surroundings, it is worth investigating. Excessive drooling creates messes around water bowls and is especially challenging for dogs with long facial hair. The good news is that in many cases, something can be done once the underlying reason is identified.

Common Triggers for Excessive Salivation

Heat stroke
Poisoning
A foreign object stuck in the mouth
An abscess within the mouth
Dental issues, such as an abscessed tooth
Mouth ulcers (stomatitis)
Nausea or abdominal pain
Oral cancer
Any infectious disease that leads to nausea
A contagious disease that prevents swallowing—rabies is the first concern

Less frequently, the cause may be a portosystemic shunt, myasthenia gravis, or polymyositis.

Additional Symptoms to Watch For

Some of these signs may have been present for a while without being noticed, or they might have been dismissed as normal. It is important to pay close attention.

Bad breath
Weight loss
Pain when the mouth area is touched
Gagging
Coughing
Seizures

A stick or other object can become lodged in your dogs mouth and cause excessive drooling.

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Home Management Options

After reviewing the possible reasons for excessive drooling, you will see that some are serious while many are not. If the cause is cancer and you delay for weeks, saving your dog may become impossible. Keep your dog comfortable, ensure water is always available, and book a veterinary appointment right away. A dog with advanced rabies should not be roaming your home—you need to determine the cause quickly.

There are steps you can take at home, but only after you understand what is happening.

Examination under anesthesia to check for lesions: some conditions cause such sensitivity that a sedated exam is the only way to identify the problem.
Neurological assessment.
Complete blood count (CBC) to check for infection.
Toxin screening.
X-rays: a tumor may look small but could have invaded the jaw or sinuses, making simple removal ineffective.
Serum biochemistry.
Urinalysis to detect metabolic issues.
Abdominal ultrasound if nausea is present but the cause is unclear.

If your dog has a bad tooth (or teeth) it may cause him to drool a lot.

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Treatment Approaches for Excessive Drooling

The treatment depends entirely on the cause, but do not assume it will be untreatable.

Removing a stuck stick or other foreign object from the mouth.
Extracting an abscessed or broken tooth.
Using antibiotics to treat an infectious disease.
Surgically removing an oral tumor.

If your dog is drooling a lot and has behavioral changes, rabies has to be considered.

Book a Vet Visit Without Delay

If your dog has a stick lodged in her mouth, a broken tooth, or is simply salivating more because of something she ate, schedule an appointment with your regular vet now to help her feel better. The drooling may resolve immediately or within a few days, allowing life to return to normal.

Of course, some dogs face more serious causes, such as a growing oral tumor, but the sooner you bring your dog in, the better the chances for recovery. Get them seen today. If your regular veterinarian cannot fit your dog in, take her to an emergency clinic—the added cost may be justified.

Some tumors in the mouth are easy to remove. If you do not take care of it right away, however, your dog can end up like this (pictured below). This case of excessive drooling can be treated at home.

A strange object in your dogs mouth will always lead to excessive drooling!

cc-by flickr australianshepherds 2091958278

References

Freudenreich O. Drug-induced sialorrhea. Drugs Today (Barc). 2005 Jun;41(6):411-8. i.nlm.nih.gov/16110348/

Kelmer E, Kelmer G, Kerl ME. Diagnosis and successful treatment of a caudal lingual abscess in a geriatric dog. Can Vet J. 2007 Aug;48(8):852-4. i.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1914323/

Cattai A, Levorato S, Franci P. A case of acute postoperative transitory sialadenosis of the submandibular glands in a healthy dog. J Vet Med Sci. 2017 Jan 10;78(12):1907-1910. i.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5240774/

Franco-Martínez L, Horvatić A, Gelemanović A, Samardžija M, Mrljak V, Contreras-Aguilar MD, Martínez-Subiela S, Dąbrowski R, Tvarijonaviciute A. Changes in the Salivary Proteome Associated With Canine Pyometra. Front Vet Sci. 2020 Jun 11;7:277. i.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7300179/

Questions & Answers

Question: My 2 yr old dog just started having a lot of saliva come out her mouth out of nowhere and she never ever drools or anything. Should I be worried about my dog’s excessive saliva? This is the first time this has happened.

Answer: Your dog may have a foreign body (like a stick) lodged in the throat. Take him to your regular vet for an exam as soon as possible.

Question: My 4-year-old lab has had loose stools for the past two days. She’s started drooling heavily and is restless; she’s also refusing water and food. She does sometimes eat apples on the ground from our apple trees. This behavior is unusual for her. Any idea what’s going on?

Answer: There are several possibilities. She may just be having a mild reaction to the fruit because of the sugars. I do not know why she is restless unless it is because of the stomach ache. There is also a possibility she has eaten enough apple seeds to make her sick. They are poisonous if many are consumed.

Question: My 10-month-old Irish terrier has had clear, grayish discharge from his eyes for a month. Now he is very sad, has slowed down, has bad breath, and a couple of days ago his mouth got wet, as though he just drank water. What’s wrong?

Answer: If your puppy is depressed and moving around slowly at this age, then there is a serious problem. He needs to be examined by your vet. He may have a foreign body in the mouth, organ failure (like a kidney disease), or a systemic infection. I cannot tell you what exactly is wrong without an exam and bloodwork.

Question: My dog has recently just started drooling in his sleep, his beard is always soaked. I don’t know if it’s because of the hot weather or not but he’s never been one to drool. He is a pure bread havanese and has been throwing up not regularly but a few times in a month. Is this serious?

Answer: Although you do not indicate what age your Havanese is, the most likely problem with excessive drooling in this breed is dental problems. It would also account for the periodic vomiting, since if he is swallowing a mouthful of pus from time to time it will upset his stomach.

Get him checked out as soon as possible. The vet can look at his teeth, feel for any loose ones, but may have to do an x-ray to look for infections deep in the roots.

He may also need to be put on antibiotics before the procedure.

Question: My dog drools excessively, and he’s lost a lot of weight. He is still losing weight. What should I do?

Answer: Your dog may have a blockage in his throat, a tumor growing in his GI tract, or even a rotten and abscessed tooth. There is nothing that I can recommend you do at home until you find out what is wrong.

Question: How do I know if my dog had a seizure?

Answer: The only way to tell for sure if your dog had a seizure is to see it happen. After, a dog will have symptoms like excessive drooling, stiffness when walking and getting up slowly, and in some cases, a dog will be disoriented and may even bite (even if he would not normally do so).

Question: My dog just started to express a lot of water from his mouth. It isn’t thick drool. It’s like he’s just come from his water dish with water in his mouth. What might be the cause?

Answer: Some dogs will have very thin saliva, so any of the reasons in the article (foreign body in the mouth, etc.) are a possibility.

It is also possible that the water coming out of his mouth is a very thin vomit. The most likely reason for a very thin liquid like you describe is a toxic plant or grass. You can read s/my-dog-is-vomiting for more possibilities and try to hold off on food to see how he does. However, if this continues, you are going to need to take him to your regular vet for an exam.

Question: My fifteen-month-old husky is drooling really bad and breathing sounds like he’s had pneumonia we took him to the vet and all test are negative, now they are sending users to a neurologist for his brain. Do you have any thoughts?

Answer: A young Siberian with excessive drooling may have a portosystemic shunt. Here is an article with the symptoms. s/Health/Portosystemic-…

Question: My six-month-old mastiff started drooling a lot about two days ago. Then yesterday he had a lot of gas and had a hard time peeing. Should we be worried? He just got his rabies shots yesterday.

Answer: Did the symptoms start before he was vaccinated for rabies? If they did, you should realize that it is not a good idea to vaccinate a dog that is sick.

If they started after the vaccine, it is possible that this is a vaccine reaction. He needs to be examined by your regular vet.

Yes, either way, you should worry. He may be a very sick dog.

Question: My four-month-old mini schnauzer suddenly started drooling excessively while asleep. Is this teething?

Answer: Puppies start losing their puppy teeth and getting their adult incisors at 16 weeks, so about 4 months. That is most likely what is going on with your dog. If he is acting abnormally, has any other behavioral changes, is lethargic or is not eating normally, you should take him to a visit with your regular vet.

Question: Why is my pitbull drooling ?

Answer: There are many possible causes of drooling. Examine his mouth, and have him checked out by your veterinarian.

Question: My 5 month old Shar-Pei drools excessively whenever we take her for a ride in our vehicle, but never at home. Is this drooling caused by anxiety and is there anything we can do to curb this?

Answer: It is a symptom of nausea. It is much easier to prevent than to treat, Some puppies will grow out of it alone but you should try taking care of it now so that your dog is not so stressed out;

Call your dog, put her in the car, tell her what a good dog she is, take her around the block, give her lots of praise, then take her home and give her a treat and lots of praise. That is it. Do this every day, but do not make the ride longer than a minute or two. Make the idea of getting into the car for a drive a lot of fun.

Some people recommend crating the dog during the trip. I think this is a bad idea unless you have large unruly dogs that need to be crated in back. If your Shar pei is loose and able to look out the window she is less likely to have problems.

Car sickness can also be treated with antihistamines. They will make the dog sleepy and she is less likely to be stressed out during the ride. I do not recommend this unless this keeps going on despite behavioral treatment (short rides around the block, lots of praise, etc.)

Question: Why is my four-year-old Mastiff slobbering like crazy?

Answer: If your dog starts drooling excessively, a lot more than is normal, consider all of the causes in the table posted in the article. You will need to have his mouth examined and determine if there is a foreign body, and injury, or a broken and abscessed tooth. Get your Mastiff in to see your regular veterinarian as soon as possible.

Question: Why do my two Siberian Huskies start salivating every time I take them to the dog’s park?

Answer: Dogs can drool just from being excited. Your dogs know they are going to run around, and maybe find some treats that another dog owner has allowed to fall on the ground. That alone would be enough to cause a dog to start salivating.

Question: My eleven-week-old pit had a round bone lodged in her throat and collapsed(she wasn’t breathing, moving, and had bowel movements). Once I realized what was going on I immediately dislodged the bone. She came to and now is breathing shallow/heavy breathes and is drooling quite a bit still. Should I be worried?

Answer: It sounds like you did a fine job and saved your puppy´s life. You should listen to her chest to make sure she does not have pulmonary edema, or take her to your vet and have him do a physical to make sure there is no lasting damage.

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