Why Does My Dog Lick the Floor?

When a dog licks the floor, it's because it wants to vomit — it's a way of naturally inducing vomiting. Dogs are animals with surprising primal instincts, meaning they instinctively know how to do things nobody's taught them. Among these is how to induce vomiting when they're sick or have an upset stomach.

However, there are other reasons our dog may lick the floor insistently, which we'll explain in detail from SoyUnPerro so we can care for its health as naturally as possible.

My Dog Licks the Floor and Vomits

Unfortunately, dogs can't talk and tell us their stomach hurts or something has upset it, but they do know that to relieve stomach pain, they simply need to vomit. This is a primal instinct they practice since puppyhood, so when they feel sick, dogs eat grass or lick the floor compulsively until they vomit.

So, licking the floor is a completely natural way of inducing vomiting and this way ending the annoying stomach ache (as you can see, even though they can't talk, they're much smarter than they seem…). If your dog starts licking your home's floor a lot, it's best to take it outside or to the yard for a bit, since it will probably end up vomiting.

One of the reasons a dog may vomit is from having eaten some spoiled food, or from overeating (a stomach overload). As any dog owner knows, our pet often has no "limit" when it comes to eating, and acts as if it were its last meal. There's a reason for this: dogs descend from the wolf, a predator. Like other large carnivore species, wolves don't usually hunt every day, so when they take down prey, they "stuff themselves" to try to feel full until the next meal.

This behavior has stayed with dogs, so if we don't limit their food, they can eat to the point of vomiting. For this reason, we should always control our dogs' portions, and not give food "ad libitum" (freely available), especially the kind they really like. Even if they give us puppy eyes when we sit at the table, we need to be strong and resist…

On the other hand, you should never scold it for this, nor prevent it from licking the floor or other surfaces like the couch or rug, since, as mentioned, this is an instinctive behavior.

My Dog Licks the Floor Out of Hunger

There are other reasons dogs may lick the floor besides an upset stomach or wanting to induce vomiting, although in these cases, they don't lick insistently as they do when they want to vomit — instead, they do it occasionally and generally not compulsively.

For example, if we drop some food at home, even if we pick it up and wipe the floor with a paper towel to clean it, the dog will know food was there and will lick that part of the floor.

Another reason is a lack of minerals — if our dog's diet is poor in nutrients and of low quality, the dog will look for them through alternative routes. Licking the floor often provides these minerals its body needs, so it's not surprising for it to do this in these situations.

Is It Bad for a Dog to Lick the Floor?

Not at all, it's something completely natural they do instinctively, whether to relieve a stomach ache or because they've smelled something interesting. That's why we should never scold the dog for licking the floor.

On the other hand, if we have a dog at home that tends to lick the floor, it's recommended to mop the house with only water, since if we use bleach or other cleaning products, the dog could get poisoned by these residues while doing so.

Either way, if you notice your dog constantly licking the floor and vomiting frequently, you should see the vet, since it may have a food intolerance or a serious digestive problem that needs to be properly treated.

Generally, doing it occasionally, even if it vomits, isn't a problem, but if it does it very often, we should indeed worry and seek help.