Quivering Jaw

What does a quivering jaw or shaking jaw mean?

My 2 year old pit/boxer mix's jaw shakes after sniffing the ground in the house & another dog has been over. Has this happened to anyone else?

Gale's Reply:

I have seen this behavior with my male dogs at times after sniffing a female. It's a response to picking up a scent that interests or excites them. From your description, it sounds like this is what is going on with your dog.

But, to be thorough, I did a little research. And, jaw quivering or teeth chattering can also be a sign of dental problems or of seizure activity. So, a dog who does this in the absence of a scent cue should be checked by a vet.

Comments for Quivering Jaw

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Apr 15, 2011

Quivering Jaw
by: Frazz

My then 2 yr old rescue AmStaff did this a lot before he was fixed. He would even start to drool. Since he has been fixed, it seldom happens.

Apr 15, 2011

quivering jaw
by: Pauline

Thanks- for the info my unneuter males does the same thing and I was wondering why.He does the quivering and proceeds to sometimes lick that spot!!

Apr 15, 2011

Ours do that too...
by: Pitlover58

And they also do it less after being fixed but my females do it also! I asked our vet & she said it's a normal response to a smell or taste! Mine will do it if they lick a yucky wound or blood from another dogs injury or smelling a female in heat! They will also sometimes do the drooling too which can be gross!!

Apr 16, 2011

Scenting
by: Anonymous

Male dogs do this when 'scenting' for lack of a better term. When they pick up a new scent or a females scent. They usually are also 'drooling'. It also allows them to leave their scent over the new one without peeing, marking,on the spot.

Feb 01, 2015

thats messed up NEW
by: Anonymous

Somebody kicked your dog in the jaw is what that is...look around...anyone look suspicious? Thats what I've seen in my days each and everytime someone kicked the dog in the face. Beat their ass.

Feb 01, 2015

Jul 20, 2016

No. No one kicked the dog NEW
by: Anonymous

The above commenter is uneducated. My dog does this if she's excited. Like if I have her tennis ball and she's waiting for me to toss it or in car rides

Oct 11, 2016

Quivering jaw accompanied with drool NEW
by: DLC

My male pitbull is also not neutered but frequently seems to catch a cent inside the house and his job begins quivering accompanied with a very watery thin drool. Sometimes he will lick the spot. I don't understand what scent he's picking up because there's never been a female dog in my house. It's just nice to see that other people experience the same Behavior

Nov 29, 2016

quivering mouth NEW
by: Barb

Yes i am very glad tto hear other people with the same questions. My male labrdoodle does this now that i know what it is i will not worry, and he is scheduled to be neutereed so that should help.

Nov 30, 2016

Same here NEW
by: Anonymous

My 3 years old lap-pitt non neutered is doing jaw and drool number right now!. Any one got the answer?

Feb 18, 2017

Possible focal seizures NEW
by: Anonymous

My nurtured Am Staff does this occasionally and randomly, chatter his teeth and drool. My vet said it could be small, focal seizures - localized to his mouth area. They don't last long, and he doesn't fall over or lose consciousness, so we don't need to put him on any meds for it.

Jul 10, 2017

Thank God NEW
by: Anonymous

I came to this post because I was scared. I let my pit out to take care of "business" and he immediately ran to a bird and put it in his mouth. I don't know if he killed it or if he just happened to find it. But now that I think about it, he was probably excited because he caught his first bird. He's been my baby for 8 years and I would hate for something to happen to him.

Sep 14, 2018

Quivering jaws NEW
by: Anonymous

My 4 yr old boxer girl’s jaws started quivering no droolingand it scared me as I thought she may have gotten is toxic plant or something. I immediately gave her an activated charcoal capsule coated in Pnut butter and then got her to drink some water and it stopped.

May 16, 2023

bully shivering
by: BamaLovey23

we have a bully mix pit who's about 4 yo and received our first grandchild this past January. their first introduction was this weekend over mother's day. the baby loved our dog but our dog only sniffed, licked a little and did a strange shivering with her little dinosaur teeth the whole time. she's only been around one more baby about a year ago and she did the same thing. don't get me wrong, she's a guard dog every other day of the week and has gotten into some pretty violent fights. but she lives inside..usually under my butt...and is the apple of our eye. but we never allow her outside unleashed nor does she get to play with other dogs. so this introduction was nerve-racking for all of us. should i be worried with this behavior or is she only detecting our worry??

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