[Kenny]

Hi, my dog is a 5 year old dachshund. Lately, he's been acting odd. He bites in the air as if something is there. He keeps this up for a few mintues and he gets very scared. He then runs around the house trying to get rid of what's bugging him.

I checked his ears for ear mites, but I didn't find anything. Any ideas what could be going on?

[CorkyMax]

Originally Posted by Kenny

Hi, my dog is a 5 year old dachshund. Lately, he's been acting odd. He bites in the air as if something is there. He keeps this up for a few mintues and he gets very scared. He then runs around the house trying to get rid of what's bugging him.

I checked his ears for ear mites, but I didn't find anything. Any ideas what could be going on?

Maybe there is something in his throat bothering him--sore throat or something stuck there? Could be trouble with bad teeth too! See the below ---->

Found this in answer to similar thing--from another dog forum:

A friend of mine has a tiny Yorkie female named "Lexi". I have been around bunches of Yorkies and most all tend to lick...I tease the owners saying they have tongues too big for their mouths so they spool them up on a reel in the back of their throats...(ya..right), I am alway's met with a blank stare. Sooo anyways..Lexi was always lick,lick,lick,lick and she began to lick air, lick air...GEESH! Of course, to my friend, nothing could ever be wrong with her baby. She finally took her to the vet. At 18 months Lexi desperately needed a dental cleaning and 2 very rotten, very loose teeth were removed. Her licking stopped completely, except for kisses. Yorkies are the top dog I have seen with dental problems. Poodles come in second.

[cigwyllt]

I think she should be checked out by the vet - it could be a sign of epilepsy.

[Yogi]

I do not see any signs of the dog having epilepsy and have had dogs that were inflicted with it. This kind of behavior can though be neurological and as cigwyllt noted, to be safe it would be a good idea to have the dog checked out by a vet. There is one other possibility. A fly. I know it sounds odd but dogs occasionally though rare, can actually become frightened when it comes to flies. One of my Papillons will occasionally bite at the air and though when I first noted I did not see anything I finally saw a fly go by her and she bit the air at it. She became totally entranced staring off in space she became so fixated with it. She then became almost nervous in anticipation that it was coming back to fly around her again. Though this is rare, it does happen. Some dogs just are not comfortable with things flying around them no matter how small and in some cases, we don't see what it is so appears they are biting at nothing. One other note, fleas near the base of the spine, difficult place for dogs to get to. This can cause a discomfort that also on occasion will result in a dog smacking the air and actually running around. It is irritating to them. Just a few observations that I have come across over the years. Hope everything works out.

[CorkyMax]

This link may interest you!:
Why Dogs Sometimes Lick their Lips Excessively

[Todd]

I know dogs like this as well and for them I recommend they have thier dog's teeth checked, but in this case it sounds like a slightly different situation because your dog seems to be trying to biting at something and is fearful of it. You said you had him checked for mites, but what about fleas or ticks?

Corky/Max, you gave a link regarding licking but this situation seems to deal with biting the air, not neccessarily licking. I could be wrong though. It's spring time so the knats are starting to come around as well as flies. Could he be biting at these?

[CorkyMax]

Originally Posted by Todd

I know dogs like this as well and for them I recommend they have thier dog's teeth checked, but in this case it sounds like a slightly different situation because your dog seems to be trying to biting at something and is fearful of it. You said you had him checked for mites, but what about fleas or ticks?

Corky/Max, you gave a link regarding licking but this situation seems to deal with biting the air, not neccessarily licking. I could be wrong though. It's spring time so the knats are starting to come around as well as flies. Could he be biting at these?

Reason for the link --It does also mention the licking--paragraph from link: Perhaps, your dog will also try to lick the carpet
or the floor or just the air as if in an attempt to get rid of something. Concerned, you take a look at your dog's nose, gums and teeth. All seems normal. Yet the behavior continues. You take your dog out and your dog the starts to frantically eat grass almost as if she were a cow.

So what is going on? (see the link above for entire info in post #5)

Also a quote from same link:•Your Dog May Have Focal Partial Seizures
In some cases, dogs may develop partial seizures that cause the dog to be still conscious and responsive but will lick the air and snap as towards imaginary flies.

[Todd]

Originally Posted by Corky/Max

Reason for the link --It does also mention the licking--paragraph from link: Perhaps, your dog will also try to lick the carpet
or the floor or just the air as if in an attempt to get rid of something. Concerned, you take a look at your dog's nose, gums and teeth. All seems normal. Yet the behavior continues. You take your dog out and your dog the starts to frantically eat grass almost as if she were a cow.

So what is going on? (see the link above for entire info in post #5)

Also a quote from same link:•Your Dog May Have Focal Partial Seizures
In some cases, dogs may develop partial seizures that cause the dog to be still conscious and responsive but will lick the air and snap as towards imaginary flies.

Oh, ok. I just read the article. Very interesting. The title was just deceiving. Could dogs get something like turrets and do this?