Do Cockapoos Drool?

You will likely be considering many things if you are investing in a cockapoo as your family or household pet. Dogs are often depicted as drooling saliva over everything. While you know, that’s not the way dogs are; the question may still be rattling around your head. The short answer is yes; like other dogs, cockapoos do drool. In our experience, we have not noted cockapoos drooling more than other breeds. Often drooling is related to something specific. To help you understand cockapoos and drooling and why they do it, we will highlight some of the most common reasons why cockapoos drool.

Most Common Reasons Your Cockapoo is Drooling a Lot

For some dog owners, there is nothing better than getting a big wet, slobbery kiss from their four-legged buddy. There are some breeds, though, that drool more than others. Breeds like English Bulldogs, Bullmastiffs, Newfoundland, and Saint Bernard’s, to name a few. While you may be expecting a little slobber from your dog, you must be concerned if your dog drools more than usual or more often. The first thing you should do is take him or her to your vet.

They will be able to perform a comprehensive examination on your dog and offer suggestions on why they may be drooling more and how to stop it.

While you wait to go to the vet’s, getting clued up on some of the most common reasons and triggers for excessive drooling won’t hurt you.

Excitement and Hunger

One of the main reasons why your Cockapoo is drooling so much is because of excitement or hunger. Whereas, if you are getting ready to go out and are planning on taking your dog and they’ve picked up on that plan, they might start drooling excessively. If your cockapoo is hungry, this could also trigger excessive drooling. The best way to check if this is the case would be to give them food if they don’t already have any down or see if they stop drooling after whatever exciting thing has ended.

Dental and Mouth Issues

Another reason why your cockapoo could be drooling more than expected is that they are suffering from mouth or dental issues. This will become a more common health issue as your dog reaches middle or even older age. Conditions like gingivitis and excessive tartar are both typical for dogs. Any combination of the following could lead to dental issues and uncontrollable drooling – no tooth cleaning or less than they should have, genetic predisposition, sugary treats, and wet food.

Dogs like cockapoos can suffer from broken teeth following a trauma they may have experienced when they were younger or because they have a diseased tooth. When a dog’s teeth get infected, like human teeth, abscesses can form around the infected tooth’s root. This is a pocket of pus you won’t be able to drain, which causes lots of pain, swelling, and discomfort. All of the above dental issues have been known to cause excessive drooling in most breeds of dogs.

If you think your puppy is drooling because of dental issues, monitor the drool carefully. It could have blood with a strange discharge, be brown or smell bad. It may be that your dog has been pawing at their mouth more than usual, dropping their food, or not having quite as big an appetite. In this situation, you must take them to your vet’s as soon as possible.

One way to prevent having to deal with dental problems regularly is to practice brushing your cockapoo’s teeth more often. There are also several effective dental additives that you can easily add to your cockapoo’s regular food servings to stop plaque from developing.

Heat Stroke

Dogs and, by default, cockapoos are very susceptible to heat stroke. Particularly if your cockapoo has a thick coat or is very old, if your dog gets too hot, it will drool and pant to reduce its temperature. Does your cockapoo tend to drool and pant on warm days? Heat stroke may be the reason, then.

Other symptoms you may notice if your cockapoo has heat stroke includes panting, collapse, coordination issues, vomiting, red gums, and agitation.

Any of these symptoms means you must get your dog to the vet as soon as possible. Use fans or wet towels to help reduce your dog’s body temperature while you travel to your vet’s.

The best way to handle heat stroke in cockapoos is by preventing it. Always ensure that your cockapoo has access to shaded and cool areas and that he or she has enough drinking water. If your dog is something of a sun worshiper, take care not to let him or she sit out there for too long on a hot summer’s day.

Nausea

When we humans feel nauseous, we often have that feeling of excessive amounts of saliva in our mouths, along with an unpleasant taste. The same thing happens to cockapoos and other dogs. The effects are just a lot more exaggerated with dogs.

There are many root causes for your dog feeling nauseous. For example, it could result from something serious like liver disease, kidney disease, vestibular syndrome (that affects their balance), stomach issues, anxiety or motion sickness.

When drooling is triggered by nausea, it may be that your cockapoo also is suffering from a loss or reduced appetite. They may vomit and drool. You may also see that despite your best efforts to give him food because you think they were hungry, only to have them ignore the food.

If you are concerned that your cockapoo is nauseous with no real root cause, it’s a good idea to take them along to your vet’s,

Toxins

Dogs use their mouths to explore the world around them. This is perfectly natural. However, your cockapoo may drool excessively if they lick or eat something they shouldn’t have. A common example is your dog licking its flea treatment off its body.

Other common examples of drooling caused by something your dog ingested include chocolate, toads, and even cleaning chemicals. You should not take this lightly, as your dog licking or eating something toxic can sometimes lead to them suffering from seizures. When dogs suffer from seizures, they commonly drool during, after, or both.

Other symptoms depend on what substance they licked or ate. For instance, many flea medication treatments will only cause your dog temporary drool if they try to lick it off.

Other toxic substances can cause symptoms like a lack of coordination, weakened strength, and vomiting, for example. You should call your vet if you believe your cockapoo has eaten or licked something it shouldn’t have.

Some tips for preventing your dog from suffering from drooling because of licking and eating inappropriate things:

• Ensure all the cleaning products for your home are stored somewhere out of your dog’s reach.
• Thoroughly research plants and dog-safe plants before buying some greenery and potted flowers for your home.
• Make sure all medications, both your own and those belonging to members of your household, and any pet medication too.

Growths

Any bumps or lumps that develop around the stomach, throat or mouth can cause your dog to suffer from excessive drooling, whether cancerous or benign. For instance, one of these found in the mouth is mucocele, a build-up of saliva underneath the skin’s surface. These usually develop after the damage has been done to the salivary duct or gland.

The most common tumours found in dogs’ mouths are benign fibromas, melanomas, and squamous cell carcinomas.

Do you think your cockapoo drools as a result of growth? They may also have swelling under their chin or in their neck. It may be that your cockapoo displays other symptoms like a reluctance to eat or constant pawing at their mouth. Saliva could also be blood-tinged, and they may start experiencing other vague symptoms like vomiting, weight loss without an explanation and more, and they may have a noticeable growth or mass.

As a rule of thumb, you should contact your vet when dealing with most things.

Foreign Bodies

Dogs will often drool if they have some foreign body or object stuck in their throat or mouth. One of the most common scenarios is your dog having a bone stuck or stick stuck between their upper teeth or up in the roof of their mouth. Another way foreign bodies can get stuck is underneath their tongue. Sometimes, dogs will drool because they have foreign bodies in their stomach, but this is likely due to nausea.

When we use foreign bodies, we are talking about anything from a paper towel roll to a bird. You can often tell that a dog has a foreign body in their throat or mouth, even if it’s not visible by some noticeable symptoms showing distress like pawing at its face, restlessness, shaking, and of course, drooling.

While your four-legged friend may let you open their mouth to see what is going on, you need to ensure you don’t risk being bitten. Your best and safest option for having your dog’s mouth checked out is to take him or her to the vet. There is also the chance the foreign body has caused some damage that your vet will need to see to, anyway.

Dogs will always act like dogs, which sometimes means that accidents happen. You can help reduce the chance of things getting stuck in their mouth by not giving them or their bones and avoiding throwing stones or wooden sticks when you are playing with them. Always supervise any playtime and remove damaged toys as soon as they become unsafe.

Trauma

If your dog has any trauma in their throat or mouth, it can cause excessive drooling. One of the most common types of trauma is curious puppies who get electrical burns in their mouth by chewing on electrical cables. Other common examples include dogs biting their tongues and various stick injuries.

When your dog experiences trauma, you could notice that their drool is tinged with blood, and they may have trouble vocalising. It could be that you witnessed the accident, but there are other times when your cockapoo may start drooling without any real explanation or reason. When you are not sure what is causing it, it’s always best to go straight to your vet.

As we have already noted, if you want to avoid your dog suffering from trauma in its mouth, avoid throwing anything too hard during playtime. There are various alternative heavy-duty toys available. You can also use electrical tape and cable ties to make sure your electrical wires are tucked away from your cockapoos eyes and curious mouth.

Gastrointestinal Problems

Several issues related to your cockapoo’s gut can cause them to drool excessively. Acid reflux, for instance, is when acid makes its way up the food pipe, irritating and causing him or her to drool continuously. Many of the most common gut issues also cause nausea, leading to drooling.

Another condition within this category is mega-oesophagus which can cause your cockapoo to start excessively drooling. This issue is caused by the food pipe swelling and working less effectively, which means the body struggles with moving the food down towards and into the stomach.

If you think your pup is drooling because of a gut-related problem, it may suffer from a change in appetite, diarrhoea, and sickness. When you notice that your cockapoo has these symptoms, you should contact your vet for an appointment.

Rabies

Although you’ve heard the name, do you know what rabies is? It’s a fatal virus that is transmitted via animal bites. Perhaps the most widely known symptom of rabies is excessive drooling. Some other symptoms of rabies include issues with swallowing, changes in facial features, aggression and general temperament.

Fortunately, there is a widely available and highly effective rabies vaccination. This means that it probably won’t be anything you need to worry about throughout your life. If you believe your cockapoo has not had his or her rabies vaccination yet, contact your vet.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are a wide variety of different reasons why dogs drool more intensely and regularly than normal. While some are harmless, others will always need some assistance from your vet. If you keep a close eye on your cockapoo when they start acting uncharacteristically, this could be the reason for the drooling or related to it. In contrast, often excessive drooling with being the only discernible symptom. Whatever the situation you find yourself in, and whatever causes your cockapoo to drool incessantly, you should still make an appointment to take him to the vet. Your vet can carry out the necessary examinations and discuss any further tests or treatment your dog may need. Sedation, endoscopy, x-ryas, blood work and other things can be done to get to the root cause of your cockapoo’s drooling. When it comes to treatment, this depends on what is causing it. Again, your vet can provide assistance and guidance on what is best for your dog. It is important not to panic. The sooner these things are discovered, the better.