Dog Behavior: The Secret Behind the Lick

More often than not, dogs tend to lick their owners or other members of the family they belong to. And as owners, the kiss is perceived to be a kiss from their canine friend. Often they see it as their dog's way of expressing love to his masters. Nevertheless, there are also other reasons why dogs lick or kiss humans. Read on to able to learn what are their reasons and how they learned such behavior.

It is dogs' nature to jump and wipe their tongue all over their master's face when  happy. Yet sometimes, they do it in a very different way. They sometimes tend to lick your entire face including your ears. This is not the way dogs show their affection. If they do this, they have their reason and that is - cleaning. Yes, your pet wants to clean you. Dogs love to keep themselves clean and they do it by licking their body. As their owner, they think that they should keep you clean aside from keeping you safe. Hence, they would clean you the way they clean themselves and that is through licking.

Dogs learned how to lick from their moms. As you can observe, mother dogs keep their puppies clean by licking them. And such action has encouraging effects on them. When the mother clobbers her puppies, the puppies' blood circulates better and it helps them digest the food properly. Aside from that, the puppies' mother licks her pups to show her love. That means that if your dog licks you, he is also showing his love for you.

Getting your attention could be another reason why your pet licks you in your face or in your bare arms. He wants you to notice him, thus, he tries to get your attention though licking. In some instances, he probably likes the way your arms tastes - a bit salty, or the taste of your lotion. In other cases, you probably ate ice cream and forgot to wipe your face clean. Your pet might like the taste of the ice cream, thus he licks your face.

In other circumstances, your dog would lick to show his submission to you. Dogs usually live in packs. They look up to the alpha dog; this is the dog that is dominant and the strongest in the pack. They pay him respect by licking him. In your case, as his master, he looks up to you as the alpha male. Thus, he clobbers you to declare that he reveres you.

These are just few reasons behind your dog's licking habit. Now, that you already know them, you can communicate and understand your dog much easier.

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About the author

Erina Tai also writes articles about dog accessories. See her most recent write-up about dog sweaters here.

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