My dog was teeth chattering when I got home from work?

[dobielover64]

My dobie is almost a year and a half years old now and he has never ever done this before. I came home from work and went to let him out of the kennel and was shocked when I heard his teeth chatter every time he turned his head..? It almost seems like a jaw tremor/seizure. We literally just got back from the vet yesterday from a whole body health check up and she said he was extremely healthy. Then today this happens....the chattering is periodic, only lasts a couple seconds, then stops, then starts again a couple minutes later. It's not cold in the house. Do any of your dogs do this? Is this a concern? I have never heard him do this before so I am just concerned.

Here is a link to a youtube video of another doberman doing the same thing, I believe.

 

[Doberman Gang]

Some Of my dogs have done this. Usually when they are in drive training but sometimes if they are just really excited.

 

[Tropicalbri's]

My female does this too. It’s like @Doberman Gang says. Bacall gets excited and will do it and also when she knows she is going to be training she does it. She is my “on it” puppy. Her brother is more laid back but still very active and brute force when he works.
He just doesn’t do the teeth chatter.

 

[Kaiser2016]

The video is almost like he's purring. Kaiser used to make teeth chatter sounds when he would sniff spots where ther would be other dogs pee, maybe a girl dogs pee now that I think about it...around the time he started maturing...he stills sniffs at things but less noticeable chattering. So maybe it was excitement related.

 

[Gelcoater]

Rocky does it with a water bottle in his mouth. I've never seen him do it without a bottle.
Rapid fire bottle biting.

 

[Oh Little Oji]

My first Dobe did a teeth clacking thing when nervous or otherwise uppity. I think that it was pretty intimidating to strangers to hear this. It was not a rapid fire clacking or a chatter, rather it was maybe one clack per second or per half second. I always remember one night at the apartment complex in which we lived. We were walking through an outdoor hallway and his clacking was echoing as a stranger walked toward us that night.

The clacking @Kaiser2016 describes is what my last two Dobes have done. I call it "sampling" and it is accompanied by mild frothing at the mouth. It occurs after he has licked up another animal's pee. Yeah, good times.

What I see in that video you posted is something I've also heard in my Dobes, I believe. Not very often. I wouldn't be worried (but I am certainly not very good with medical topics). Dobermans can shiver when it's really not that cold at all. If they are inactive, they can be found shivering in a 68 or 69 degree house for example. I also think that this rapid clacking can result from a Dobe just being tense. That's my non-expert opinion.

At 1 1/2 years, your Dobe is still maturing and I wouldn't be surprised if changes still occur.

Speaking of tremor-like things: My previous Dobe had a rapid shake to his hind quarters most of his life. It was more pronounced when he was tensed and ready for action. I saw the very same thing in his sire when I went to meet him, the dam and the pups. I inquired, and the sire's owner said it has just always been that way – didn't know why, and it was not a problem. The sire was, oh, about 6 or 7 at the time I believe. The sire's owner as well as the owner of the dam are both very educated, experienced people – one of them a veterinarian. They weren't worried about the hind quarter shaking.

 

[Kaiser2016]

The clacking @Kaiser2016 describes is what my last two Dobes have done. I call it "sampling" and it is accompanied by mild frothing at the mouth. It occurs after he has licked up another animal's pee. Yeah, good times.

Sampling

And it was accompanied by froth!

 

[Tropicalbri's]

rapid shake to his hind quarters most of his life.

Bacall does this in anticipation of something/anything, always has. She is more sharply responsive to commands than Bogie.

 

[Viemarangelrock]

Yes, when they are REALLY psyched about something or really happy to see someone OR there’s a cat in the garden

 

[Regalis]

Kaizer chatters and does the leg shaking. I chalk it up to excitement most times. Though he does also chatter when smelling other dogs marked spots, areas that I know are marked by males. The leg shaking is always in anticipation of something - usually a toy being thrown, a critter to chase, etc.

 

[AresMyDobie]

My girl used to do this when she was a pup and I was prepping her food, still does it from time to time

 

[Oh Little Oji]

Kaizer chatters and does the leg shaking. I chalk it up to excitement most times. Though he does also chatter when smelling other dogs marked spots, areas that I know are marked by males. The leg shaking is always in anticipation of something - usually a toy being thrown, a critter to chase, etc.

Actually, I think what went on with my previous Dobe and his sire is different from what is commonly experienced. I theorized that it may have been a sort of lack of fine control of the explosive action of the leg muscles.

His sire was very accomplished in Schutzhund – and 11-time ScH III at the time of the breeding, and on track to become the National tracking champion. I later found out that this sire was one of the more inbred Dobermans in working Dobermans. D'oh. So it seemed like the breeding behind the sire was very focused on all-out performance and probably not much else.

Tying it back to my boy who shared his daddy's hindquarter shaking: I know that when my boy was relaxing on his back, if I would touch his rear paw, the instant, automatic reaction was a kick. Better have your face out of the way. Anyway, just interesting. Not sure if it is at all related to teeth chattering.

 

[Drogon]

Drogon's teeth will chatter when he's excited or even when stressed. When he's in drive training his legs tremble

 

[Doberman Gang]

Drogon's teeth will chatter when he's excited or even when stressed. When he's in drive training his legs tremble

Yep, Prada and Blaze will quiver in the hind quarters on the moving stand when amped in drive.

 

[Kaiser2016]

I know that when my boy was relaxing on his back, if I would touch his rear paw, the instant, automatic reaction was a kick. Better have your face out of the way. Anyway, just interesting. Not sure if it is at all related to teeth chattering.

I never get tired of this story.

As a general rule, I never want my face near his paws

 

[Kaiser2016]

I will pay special attention for the hind quarter shaking. It won't take much - I will bring out the Egg

 

[Gelcoater]

Yep, Prada and Blaze will quiver in the hind quarters on the moving stand when amped in drive.

It was easy to know when there were squirrels in the backyard when Daisy was around.
It wasn't uncommon for her to just stand at the back door glass and stare out.
But when there were squirrels her hind end quivered.