Licking is the most common behavior of dogs. dogs might show this Behavior for various reasons. Dog owners need to understand what every licking behavior means. Generally, dogs lick you to show their love and care for you. but that doesn’t mean if your dog always licks you that means he is showing love to you there could be other reasons too.
If your dog licks you a lot that means he loves you a lot and he is trying to express feeling.
Why my dog licks me?
To communicate with humans Dog Show different behaviors like barking rolling yelling and licking. Generally, dogs lick humans to show their love and care for humans. like when we play with dogs we generally cuddle them to show our love towards them the same thing dogs do by licking us.
It is wrong that every licking has the same meaning. most dog owner thinks that their dog is licking them because the dog is showing love for them. every licking has a different meaning.
Give time to understand what your dog wants to speak. most of the time dog does this to show their love for us. this doesn’t mean your dog always says that some times dog feels sick to express their feeling that they are unwell they do this. you are the person who can understand your dog more than others.
To understand what your dog wants to say firstly, understand all type of licking generally means.
All the common reasons why your dog licks you.
#1. Love –
this is the most common reason why dogs lick. In 80% of cases, dog licks humans to show Love for them. not only to humans but also they may lick puppies and other animals. there is nothing to worry about this. it is the most common thing like when we cuddle dogs to show love and care for them. the same thing is done by the dogs in this way. licking is the best way to express their love for us.
#2. Grooming –
Sometimes dogs lick puppies and humans for grooming. The dog does this only a few times. mostly it can be seen when dogs have new babies. with love mother groom the new puppies. same thing dogs do with humans. it is a little hard to guess whether the dog is showing love or they are grooming you. They both have a little difference. You can feel it When your Dog licks.
#3. Want Attention
Human life is a very busy life and most of the time we do works and this busy time We cannot give time to our pets. when dogs feel that we are not looking at them they do this for our attraction and they want us to love them. Dogs love us unconditionally and they want the same from us.
#4. Missing you a lot
When we are out of home and the bond between us is very good in this condition dogs miss us a lot when they don’t see us. This love comes out when they see us and they start licking our face and other parts continuously. When we haven’t met for a long time this love increases a lot and when we meet we see the love.
#5. Trying to make you Happy
Who says animals are feeling less? Every animal has feelings and they understand our feeling too. When we feel sad dogs understand it well and they try to make us happy by playing with us and also they lick us to make us Happy.
#6. You are tasting good
This sound weird but it is true. Because of sweat our skin tastes salty and dogs feel tasty licking us. Also, many other animals do the same. They might not do it intestinally but when we taste good to them they keep licking us.
#7. Feeling Unwell
Dogs go through a lot of things and they also feel mental stress and also when they feel unwell they want us to look at them and help them. In this condition, they lick us differently and as a pet owner, you should not avoid this licking because in such conditions they do not have any other way to express their feelings and this is the only way they tell s what they are feeling. The pet owner should take it seriously and should take a serious decision on it. It could be a sign of anything big.
#8. Hungry
In very less cases dogs lick us when they are hungry. Almost every owner understands when their dog feels hungry and if your dog is licking you because they are hungry then you will understand it easily. Most of cases this happens when your dogs stay calm and bark less. In the case of small puppies, they also lick when they feel hungry. When the mother of the puppies arrives and the puppies are hungry then they lick the mother and in case they live with you without the mother they may lick you and show little different behavior.
#9. Disorder
There are a few disorders that can let your dog lick you. This is a rare case and happens with only a few dogs. A disorder obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a disorder when dogs are under stress they may lick humans and other objects continuously. In this case, the changes in the body can be seen. Because of stress, you can see patchy baldness on the fur.
#10. itching
When the dog feels itchy they do a lot of things like try to lick that area and make rounds on the ground and if this would not help them they can ask you for help by licking you and licking that body part. This doesn’t happen always when they will ask for your help. They may keep licking their body parts.
#11. Pain/injury
When the dogs are injured and they are feeling pain on that part of their body they generally lick that part of their body. Some dogs lick humans in such conditions and want help from us so that we could care for them.
Common Types of Dog Licking and Their Reasons
Generally, Dog doesn’t lick anything without any proper reason. every licking has a different meaning. Through licking they are trying to communicate with us and trying to express their feelings to us. Give time to understand your dog’s behavior and treat them as they want. multiple licking means the same but this doesn’t mean every licking is the same. here are a few common types of licking behavior performed by dogs.
Why my dog licks my feet?
When a dog licks your feet without showing any interest in you or the dog is not looking at your face. probably it is possible that the dog found your skin a little salty and most of the animals like licking the salty thing. if the dog is showing interest in you and looking at your face and licking and again looking at your face, your dog is trying to express how much he missed you.
what does it mean when a dog licks your hand constantly?
Generally, dogs Lick our hands to show their love for us. same as we cuddle small puppies to show our love, dogs lick to show their love for us. apart from this, your hand might be tasting them salty. In most cases they try to groom us that’s why they do this.
Why does my dog lick my arm so Much?
Licking the hand and ARM is almost similar. dogs do this to show their care for us. the parent dogs lick their puppies a lot to show love and care for them. the same feeling they try to give us by licking our Arms.
what does it mean when a dog licks you in the face?
When a dog licks your face and he/she is so excited and looking a little aggressive this means the dog was missing you. and when you meet he/she is feeling a lot of happiness.
why is my dog constantly licking himself?
Dogs Lick themselves for many reasons. if your dog is licking himself a lot you must take a look because your dog might be feeling any problem. dogs generally do this when they feel itching. if the dog is doing this because of itching then there is a chance that he is infected by the bacteria. give a proper treatment to get rid of bacteria from the skin. there is also a chance that your dog is in pain. when dogs get injured they lick their body. it could be nothing to worry about because like us they also groom themselves. dogs do a lot of care about their grooming.
why does my dog lick me more than anyone else?
Dogs don’t behave the same with everyone. They may Bark at unknown persons and also they like to spend a lot of time with the person they like. dogs don’t Lick everyone, they lick those people they love. if the dog licks you more than anyone else that means the dog is more attached to you.
why does my dog lick my face aggressively?
Dogs lick the face when they miss someone. when the dog is licking the face normally, they are saying they love you but when a dog licks the face aggressively that means missing you a lot. there are a lot of videos available on YouTube that when his dog meets the owner after a long time they lick the face aggressively.
why is my dog constantly licking the floor?
Dogs can lick anything but not for their interest. they lick something when they found something interesting in that thing. As we know the sense of dogs are comparatively more than humans. their taste buds are also more effective and if the dog is licking the floor continuously that means the floor may be tasting good.
why is my dog constantly licking his front legs?
Dogs lick their front leg to groom themselves. the front leg is the nearest part they can reach easily so they lick their front leg mostly.
How to Stop Your Dog From Licking You?
Licking is the way for the dog to show their love to us but over-licking or licking for a long time is also not good. there are many disadvantages of licking. dog’s saliva contains a lot of bacteria which are harmful to our skin so we should avoid over licking. there are many ways you can stop your dog from leaking you.
#1. Teach
Dogs can be easily trained. So if you try to teach your dog to not lick your dog will soon learn what you want. like when the dog starts licking, you can say no and try to stop them from licking you. After doing the same thing again and again the dog will learn that your no mean no licking. you can try this method to stop your dog from licking you. Also when your dog does this you can give different commands to perform. this will distract your dog and to stop your dog from licking you. Also, you can take advice of any dog trainer.
#2. Not Allow
When your dog starts licking you, you can simply refuse to lick you. you can pull out your body part the dog wants to Lick. this behavior will show that you are not interested in this. take care that your dog won’t be aggressive or try to not hurt your dog’s feelings. you can cuddle them while they start licking you and you cannot allow them to lick you.
#3. Move
When your dog starts licking you, you can simply move from that place. this will teach them that you are not interested in this and they will lick you less.
Note – the dogs cannot completely stop licking because this is their important behavior. if you stop them completely then it could impact their behavior.