# Diego's mouth does this weird shiver thing???



## dgmama (Nov 29, 2012)

When I got back from our hour long walk and game of fetch, Diego's mouth was shivering. Like, it almost looked like he was talking. I checked his teeth and mouth, everything looked fine. He had a lot of slobber everywhere. Is this normal??? It's happened a few times when coming back from walks or any exercise. I'm a little worried and freaked out, what is it?!
He only does it for 10 seconds or so. Lately he's been bringing his tennis ball with his walks, I take it away from him most of the time. Maybe all the slobber is from his mouth holding it?


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## Tayla's Mom (Apr 20, 2012)

Funny you said this. Tayla seems to do it if she is holding on to her tennis ball really tight. We play this game where she brings me the ball and I have to pry it from her locked jaws to throw it. Yes, I know we should work more on out or drop for this, but she seems to enjoy it and she does out for other things. Anyway, when I pry it out her bottom jaw quivvers for about 10 seconds or so. Looks like she is going to cry that I got the ball. Then I throw it and all is good. Odd.


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## Vhuynh2 (Feb 13, 2012)

Molly does this if she has a piece of food she shouldn't have and I take it from her mouth. She stops when I give her a cookie for the trade. 


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## Dancer (Apr 5, 2010)

I think it's maybe an excited reaction? Fuzzy does it if he's in a 'food frenzy' ( like if we're handing our cookies). He'll stare at the treat in your hand intently and his lower jaw starts to tremble, then if I give it to him or drop it, it's like 'Shark Week' on Nat. Geo....


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## Alaska7133 (May 26, 2011)

Sometimes you'll find a golden that chatters their teeth when you throw something for them. I especially get it with my boy Reilly when we throw bumpers for him. We make him sit and mark the bumper before we release him. While he is waiting he chatters and pops his jaws. His eyes will dialate. Remember they are predators, even if it's only a ball or a bumper. The drooling is often from being around other dogs. They get excited and you can see especially around dogs that are in doggie daycare.

Have fun with your pups, sounds like they are enjoying your walks and fetching! Maybe its time to start on some birds!


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## Bell (Jan 23, 2010)

Was he sniffing a lot during your walk?Because my boy does that,when he's found a very,very interesting smell.


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## dgmama (Nov 29, 2012)

I know, I'm still working on drop it too. He just doesn't want to drop his tennis balls! It's so funny, it really does look like he's about to cry. Haha!


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## dgmama (Nov 29, 2012)

Yes, he was smelling his sister, Ginger. Then it started. We had been playing fetch in a big field, so he was really getting a workout also. I think he would really enjoy hunting, but not me! Lol!


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## Bell (Jan 23, 2010)

fluffygoldens said:


> Yes, he was smelling his sister, Ginger. Then it started. We had been playing fetch in a big field, so he was really getting a workout also. I think he would really enjoy hunting, but not me! Lol!


It probably has to do with the sniffing..My case for the hunting,too.  I'd never hurt an animal.


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## OutWest (Oct 6, 2011)

A lot of dogs get foamy mouths from stress, but most of the time I think it's to do with their nose working overtime! Tucker's mouth shivers when he about to be fed. He gets so excited he's absolutely rigid, but his mouth shivers. I need to capture that on video...


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## Swampcollie (Sep 6, 2007)

They chatter their lower jaw when they get excited.


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## ScottyUSN (Jul 18, 2011)

The chatter was something my first boy would do whenever he was sniffing around a female. You can actually see the top of the head muscles twitch and it seemed to me the teeth chatter was a result of this muscle/tendon twitching.


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## Walnut_the_Nut (Jan 25, 2012)

ScottyUSN said:


> The chatter was something my first boy would do whenever he was sniffing around a female. You can actually see the top of the head muscles twitch and it seemed to me the teeth chatter was a result of this muscle/tendon twitching.


Walnut does this when he comes across certain females. He's done it 2-3 times. 

His lower jaw chatters, and the head muscles twitch like crazy. He also gets all foamy around his mouth. It's pretty gross. :doh:


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## GDOG (Jun 18, 2012)

Georgia's teeth "chatter" when she gets very excited in anticipation of something. Trainer told me its a common golden trait. She doesn't do it all the time... But it is when she's very excited about a treat or fetch or something. It's a happy moment!


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## Castaway (Dec 19, 2011)

haha, I was wondering if Cassie was the only one who did this. Glad to see she's not alone.

If I take one of her favorite toys from her, or if I have a super high value treat, her jaw and tongue will quiver... so funny!


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## Castaway (Dec 19, 2011)

Here's a clip of Cassie... it's hard to tell, but her tongue is quivering too...


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## Ohiomom9977 (Jul 27, 2012)

GDOG said:


> Georgia's teeth "chatter" when she gets very excited in anticipation of something. Trainer told me its a common golden trait. She doesn't do it all the time... But it is when she's very excited about a treat or fetch or something. It's a happy moment!


Charlie does this too! Usually it's for a treat & he gets super excited.


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## dgmama (Nov 29, 2012)

Castaway said:


> Here's a clip of Cassie... it's hard to tell, but her tongue is quivering too...


That's exactly what it looks like! So glad it's normal, nothing to be worried about. Relief!


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## alphadude (Jan 15, 2010)

Wow, I thought Ax was just weird or it was jaw fatigue. This happens every single day when we are doing our disc thing. He has been doing this since he was 6 months old. At first it scared me but I soon accepted it as just 'Ax being Ax'. It usually happens after maybe a 8 or 10 long distance catches (75 yards or so) and returns. It is very noticeable because he always has a disc of some sort in his mouth and the vibrations are obviously transferred to the disc. I always just attributed it to jaw fatigue. These days, since he turned 5, I either shut him down which he does not appreciate AT ALL, and usually results in him repeatedly leaping 3' in the air and barking at me like a maniac, or at minimum I force him to rest for 5 or 10 minutes and make him drink some water. He knows the drill...if he wants to play more, he needs to take a few sips of water. He's a character, there are times where he actually tries to deek me into thinking he is drinking when he really isn't in order to get a couple more bombs to go get. Perhaps it is pure joy at doing what he loves BEST in life. If I put a big juicy steak on the ground next to a disc, he'd grab the disc 100% of the time, but that's what makes him Axl, the high performance golden...lol

I'll have to shoot some video of it tomorrow if I remember...


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## ScottyUSN (Jul 18, 2011)

alphadude said:


> Wow, I thought Ax was just weird or it was jaw fatigue. This happens every single day when we are doing our disc thing. He has been doing this since he was 6 months old. At first it scared me but I soon accepted it as just 'Ax being Ax'. It usually happens after maybe a 8 or 10 long distance catches (75 yards or so) and returns. It is very noticeable because he always has a disc of some sort in his mouth and the vibrations are obviously transferred to the disc. I always just attributed it to jaw fatigue. These days, since he turned 5, I either shut him down which he does not appreciate AT ALL, and usually results in him repeatedly leaping 3' in the air and barking at me like a maniac, or at minimum I force him to rest for 5 or 10 minutes and make him drink some water. He knows the drill...if he wants to play more, he needs to take a few sips of water. He's a character, there are times where he actually tries to deek me into thinking he is drinking when he really isn't in order to get a couple more bombs to go get. Perhaps it is pure joy at doing what he loves BEST in life. If I put a big juicy steak on the ground next to a disc, he'd grab the disc 100% of the time, but that's what makes him Axl, the high performance golden...lol
> 
> I'll have to shoot some video of it tomorrow if I remember...


I wasn't aware initally that not all GR's love a frisbee the way yours and my first boy Bonzi did. 

We got two GR's while in the military in Hawaii. We lived in base housing and with the first house inside the perimeter fence, we had an area bigger than a football field as a back yard. With no kids and perfect weather and the same trade wids everyday. I would get home and unwind with the dogs by throwing the frisbee. Soon the neighbors started getting into the routine and loved watching Bonzi go long and air it out. From line drive to long bombs, his eye mouth coordination was incredible with a ball or disk.

His endless drive was often stopped by me when I would noticed the punctured tongue wounds. As you mentioned, he always complained and shouted for more.

We also had a nice private beach shared with the submarines a half miles walk through that field... You couldn't say the work "Beach" for years after moving away (far inland) without the two GR's going bizerk. What a place to raise goldens. Bonzi was a small red male, and lived well past his 16th Birthday. Taffy our big girl (Thyroid) almost reached 13.

Sorry.. Just realized how long and off topic I got reminiscing


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## alphadude (Jan 15, 2010)

ScottyUSN said:


> I wasn't aware initally that not all GR's love a frisbee the way yours and my first boy Bonzi did.
> 
> We got two GR's while in the military in Hawaii. We lived in base housing and with the first house inside the perimeter fence, we had an area bigger than a football field as a back yard. With no kids and perfect weather and the same trade wids everyday. I would get home and unwind with the dogs by throwing the frisbee. Soon the neighbors started getting into the routine and loved watching Bonzi go long and air it out. From line drive to long bombs, his eye mouth coordination was incredible with a ball or disk.
> 
> ...


Scotty, it sounds like Ax and Bonzi are definitely kindred spirits. I can only dream of moving to a paradise like Hawaii and of course taking Ax (and my family as well as Angus) with me. I know exactly what you mean because I take him to the park as soon as I get home from work and I look forward to it all day. It's a GREAT way to unwind after a stressful day. The simple pleasures right? The field I take him to is a couple of blocks from my house and right on Raritan Bay. Prior to Sandy and the devastation she brought, it was a pretty little park that was always packed with people young and old who marvelled at his antics and acrobatic catches on a daily basis. Everybody knows his name and that he's that 'awesome disc dog'. Matter of fact, it's the field in my sig pics and now sadly, we seem to have it all to ourselves.

Good to hear that Bonzi lived to a ripe old age and I can only hope that Ax does too. It would leave such a void in my life if he were not around. Perhaps the daily disc workouts help keep them young and vital. I definitely know what you mean about the eye mouth coordination - sometimes it almost seems freakish. He also seems to be quite a bit faster than the average golden or any other dog his size and weight. He recently out ran (by a large margin) a lean yellow lab half his age with longer legs. The only dog I ever saw out run him was a whippet.

Do you have a pic of Bonzi?

Again sorry to hijack the thread.


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## ScottyUSN (Jul 18, 2011)

I do have some pic's saved "somewhere". I was recently thinking I need to break out the old photo boxes and scan some in so I can get them uploaded.

All my GR's love their tennis balls, but none of them (4 in the past 25 years) had the focus or reaction he had. Not even remotely close.

Have you tried Ax in FlyBall? I know that type of competition would have been perfect for Bonzi had it been popular a few years earlier.


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## alphadude (Jan 15, 2010)

ScottyUSN said:


> I do have some pic's saved "somewhere". I was recently thinking I need to break out the old photo boxes and scan some in so I can get them uploaded.
> 
> All my GR's love their tennis balls, but none of them (4 in the past 25 years) had the focus or reaction he had. Not even remotely close.
> 
> Have you tried Ax in FlyBall? I know that type of competition would have been perfect for Bonzi had it been popular a few years earlier.


Definitely do that. I'd love to see some pics of him. 

He sounds similar to Ax in build. I consider Ax to be a touch on the smallish side even though he is exactly 24" at the withers which is the breed standard. He is just under 80 lbs of lean solid muscle. You could crack a walnut on his thigh muscle - it feels like concrete. As time passes, his coat seems to be changing from a medium light golden color to a darker almost reddish color. From what his 'breeder' says (he is from South Dakota and what I believe to be a mill) he comes from field lines which is certainly believable considering his looks (thin skull and lack of a dense coat) athleticism, energy level, and strong retrieval drive. He never met a ball of any description he didn't like but from all indications, catching flying discs is what he was born to do. I've told the story many times but when he was 6 months old, I was cleaning out a shed and found an old Frisbee. I off-handedly tossed it in his general direction but over his head and that fluffy little puppy whirled around, sprinted after it and snapped it effortlessly out of the air. Right then and there, I knew he was special. 

I have heard the term flyball but never really knew what it was until I looked it up just now. I'm sure Axl would excel at it with training but I tend to avoid 'organizations'. 

A few months ago, while surfing, I came across one called Quadrupeds that's stated purpose is canine long distance disc catching competitions. I shot the guy who ran it, 'Hoot' an email inquiring about how I might get Ax involved and if he would consider adding a class using Aerobie Pro Rings which are our disc of choice and he replied (a month and a half later) with a rambling, idiotic response ending with a quote from a 30 year old Star Trek movie ('the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one') he claimed as his own. LOL Clown. I politely challenged him to pit his current champion against Ax using their disc of choice and see how that turned out. I never heard back from him. Ax can catch ANY disc that flies, the problem is that I can't throw a conventional Frisbee far enough to be challenging for him. After all, I thought the spirit of the competition was to test the limits of the CANINES and not the humans. Bear in mind, I grew up playing Frisbee all summer long through my teens and can throw one 60+ yards wind conditions permitting. The Pro rings we now use can be thrown literally HUNDREDS of yards with a flick of the wrist, they are soft, and do not damage his teeth. I wish we had found them sooner because as a result of 3.5 years of catching conventional Frisbees on a daily basis, all four of his canine teeth are worn down and blunted.


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## ScottyUSN (Jul 18, 2011)

I'm going to go dig up the boxes and find the pics not that it's on my mind and don't want to forget again before the pics degrade any further with age.

I'll post them over on my current boys thread I kind of keep as a doggy journal.

http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/other-pets/115986-golden-leonberger-22.html

Again... Sorry for the thread jack!


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## JeffP (Jun 30, 2011)

Kirby does this when he's waiting for a treat or begging :doh: His lower jaw just quivers and he constantly drools...sometimes it's so bad it looks like he's foaming at the mouth lol


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## alphadude (Jan 15, 2010)

I tried to get some video of Ax doing the 'jaw shivering' thing after a particularly intense workout today and, of course, for the first time in as long as I can remember, he showed no evidence of that behavior. Figures.


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## zoehow54 (Aug 28, 2011)

believe it or not there's a name for it and an old friend told me (human doctor) I can't remember what it's called, but it's real!


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## dgmama (Nov 29, 2012)

Hmmm, curious what it's called now! Love to see some pics too, btw. As much as Diego obsesses over his tennis ball, he's actually not that interested in frisbees.


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## HeathJenn (Sep 3, 2012)

Moose does this as well during the times some of you have spoken of (taking away something he shouldn't have, playing fetch for a long time, etc.) But I have also noticed that he will do it sometimes when he is cleaning himself after he goes out to potty. It is a bit strange, but doesn't seem to really bother him. He will just stop licking for maybe 5 seconds and then finish. Have any of you seen your dog do this, or do you know why he would?


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## alarndt90 (Dec 4, 2013)

Could it be the Flehmen response? Look that up and see if that is what matches what your dog does. My dog has been doing this recently and it freaks me out it looks so weird haha


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