Jaw chattering

[Punky]

Wyatt has started chattering his jaws while he is yawning. I have heard that some dogs will do this when they are excited, but he is doing it when he yawns, and he has been yawning more and doing something similar to licking his lips. He still has energy and wants to play.
Has anyone else heard of anything like this?
Could it be an ear infection?

[tanza]

Is he in-tact? or neutered?… If in-tact then there is a bitch someplace in your neighborhood in season.. and sometimes it doesn't even matter if they are neutered... as neutered boys often play safe sex....
I would doubt an ear infection.. If anything a tooth that is bothering him

[Punky]

He is neutered. Thanks for mentioning a tooth. It definitely could be a tooth. He is about 5 months old. When I went to the vet to pick up some food they said it sounded like teeth problem, but to keep an eye on it just the same.
I had a cat who would do the same jaw chattering thing, but it was only when she was trying to lure birds. The thought of the ears when he started yawning a lot. I yawn a lot when I fly to relieve pressure on my ears.

[MaxBooBooBear]

@tanza:

Is he in-tact? or neutered?… If in-tact then there is a bitch someplace in your neighborhood in season.. and sometimes it doesn't even matter if they are neutered... as neutered boys often play safe sex....
I would doubt an ear infection.. If anything a tooth that is bothering him

Pat, why do males do this? Max would do this when we were on walks sometimes. My vet told me it was probably a female in heat who had urinated. He only did this once in awhile, but he'd been smelling around and just chatter away. His little jaws would just go to town! He was neutered at 6 months.

[ciarasmom]

Yawning is also a "calming signal," something dogs do when they are nervous, to try to get others around them to relax.
http://www.diamondsintheruff.com/calmingsignals.html
I just did a quick google, found this site, and they say lip licking is too. Scan through this webpage and see if anything else sounds like Wyatt. I would be curious what you think.

[Punky]

The article was very interesting. I wonder how many times Wyatt has signaled and I have completely missed it. I will definitely pay more attention.
He seems to yawn a lot, but not when there are any stressors. I will pay much more attention to everything around us. He yawns in the car a lot too. He loves riding in the car so I figured that the motion of the car made him sleepy.

[tanza]

Why they chatter, who knows, must be a way of catching the scent of another dog… but males do that, both in tact and neutered...

At 5 months, he is for sure teething...

[UnluckyDrabBear]

Is it weird that my female does it when she's nervous? All I've read is about how males do it….

[tanza]

@UnluckyDrabBear:

Is it weird that my female does it when she's nervous? All I've read is about how males do it….

Not weird, mine do too… and they also do it (the bitches) when "sniffing" pee, just like a male,..... especially when they were all in-tact and it was breeding season

[nobarkus]

Yep, sniffing and tasting pee.

[Capt_Jack_our_Basenji]

Hmmm…My Jack doesnt do that at all, i wonder why its random. Ill have to waych for it now, lol.