We have a lovely re-homed labrador, 7 years old. However, she will repeatedly lick our kitchen floor. Getting all the stray peas the kids drop = good. However, constant licking over and over again is less good (she probably does a couple of hours a day on and off). We have tried giving her Kong chew toys (as soon as she has the biscuit she goes back to licking), tried the anti-chew spray (didn't make a blind bit of difference) and are at a loss as to what to do next. Any ideas anyone?! I understand that licking etc can be out of boredom. She is walked every day, has kids to play with, a garden to run in so she shouldn't be too bored?!
Hmm.... Wondering what your floor is made of. And what you are washing it with. (Of course, after I read your post title again. Lab as in Labrador rather than Laboratory )
Try a stuffed Kong instead. Put yummy fillings in and freeze (search the forum as lots of good ideas for fillings). Mine slurps his for ages - like a dog ice cream. We just use good quality wet dog food as a filling but there are loads of good things you can use to get them interested. Maybe better than the floor!!!
How long have you had your Lab? I would say this is probably a carry-over from wherever she was before. Obsessive licking can be a stress reliever or boredom buster, and it can get into a habit. It's good she is not licking herself, as dogs can get some bad wounds from self-licking. So the floor is preferable to that, at any rate! If your dog is still new to your home, she is probably still settling down into the new routines. It takes longer than you might think for them to truly feel at home. One thing you could do would be to train something else for her to do when she licks the floor. So when you see her licking, train her to go to her mat or bed and give her a treat. Also good to "catch her being good". If she is lying down or sitting in the kitchen and not licking, it doesn't hurt to say "good doggy" and give her a treat. Keep on going for walks and training other behaviours to give her mind something to work on too. You may never get this behaviour completely extinguished, but on the whole it's harmless so might just be one you end up living with.
Repetitive behaviours like licking etc. can be a sign the dog is distressed about something (likely the cause is way before you got her though). I would stop her doing it - so restrict access to the floor unless you are there to do something with her and distract her. I don't see any benefit in allowing a dog to rehearse anything that smacks of obsessive behaviour. I'd also look at her overall routine - I wouldn't count kids and a garden as contributing to occupying and stimulating her mentally. Off lead walks will, of course, on lead walks only a bit. How about some training or classes for a sport like Rally, Scentwork, Gundog work, Flyball, Agility etc.
