# Why do dogs lick us?



## Nurse Bishop (Nov 20, 2016)

This seems like a funny question but I wonder what are people's opinions. I do not mean when they are obviously licking food off of us or flavors. Is it a subordinate response? A mothering response? Grooming behavior? It is easy to say because they love us and of course they do but what about a less anthropomorphic viewpoint? For instance, Inga will be mouthy. When told No Bite she will then lick. Or she will just come over at random times and start licking. No just my hands and arms, she also licks my pants. 

She will also when told No Bite instantly start fleaing me and no I do not have fleas. I wonder why they do this?


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

We taste like chicken.


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## Femfa (May 29, 2016)

I think part of it can be submissive, part of it can because you taste good (salty), or part of it is because there may be a scent on you they want more of (Jacobson's organ).


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I think it depends on the situation. They wake me up by purposely seeking my face to lick me. If they are laying on my lap, they lick my face. They rarely lick my hands. It's always my face. To my understanding, this is a sign of submission when they lick another dog's face. But it sure doesn't feel like submission at 6am when I'm getting head butted.


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## Nurse Bishop (Nov 20, 2016)

Inga is not allowed to lick our faces, because.... you know.. But yes, young canids will lick a superior's lower jaw in hopes to elicit then to regurgitate food.


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## newlie (Feb 12, 2013)

I honestly don't know.

Newlie does not lick much as general rule, and when he does, it feels like it is for different reasons. For example, he will lick my hands if I have been eating something salty. And, although he has gotten better over the years, he still doesn't care for anything with a nozzle being near his ears and will lick at my hands and the bottle to try to keep it away. Then, there have been several periods of time when I was laying in bed, that he would start at my hands and lick thoroughly most of the way up my arms. I would eventually have to stop him because his tongue would start to feel like sandpaper. It sort of felt like grooming behavior, but the only times this happened was after a death, first my mother, then my husband.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

LOL Pretty sure they aren't expecting me to vomit for them. I would say it's just a sign of affection and not to overthink some things.


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## Nurse Bishop (Nov 20, 2016)

Wow Newlie. What a sweet thing. She KNEW you were sad.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

7 Reasons Why Dogs Lick Humans


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## Nurse Bishop (Nov 20, 2016)

Thanks for posting that. That dog's brains produce natural endorphins when they lick us- My brain makes natural endorphins too. But so many pictures showing dogs licking faces, even children's faces. Yuck. This does not cause natural endorphins to be released in my brain. Surely, dog owners must see where those dog mouths have been. I guess its the nurse in me.

OK, I found this 
Why does a dog lick your face?
Your dog is hungry. Dogs sometimes use licking to communicate that they are hungry. Puppies lick their mothers' lips to stimulate a regurgitation reflex so they can eat the food their mothers vomit. Like their wolf ancestors, wild dogs lick the pack leader's face as a way of begging for food.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

I don't have a problem with them licking me. They all do it, some more then others. Apollo probably does so the most. Every night he lays on top of me, gently gives me a couple licks and goes to sleep. He is very gentle when he does so. It's nothing extreme. They all meet me at the door when I come home, give kisses and follow me to the back door where they go out. 

In the morning I get cold noses, not usually kisses, just multiple very cold noses.


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## Nurse Bishop (Nov 20, 2016)

Haha Being probed by multiple cones.

Does anyone's GSD flea them? If Inga is told no bite when mouthing she will often instantly start fleaing. It must be a grooming thing.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

I appreciate the licking gesture but don't allow it. She cleans her butt, eats and licks "stuff" outside and keeps herself clean when in heat. So I move my face away from her and she leaves me alone, kinda what the top dog does when a subordinate licks his/her face. That way it never has become a habit.


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## Nurse Bishop (Nov 20, 2016)

OK I wasn't going to say this about that but Nurse Bishop found this on petMD :grin2:


Why Are Pets Health Hazards?

The mouth and the intestines of pets can harbor bacteria and parasites that can be transmitted to humans. They can cause an assortment of medical conditions in humans. Diseases transmitted from animals to humans are called “zoonotic” (zo-not-ick).

Bacteria:
Pastuerella is a normal inhabitant of the mouth in cats and dogs that can cause skin, lymph node and, sometimes, more severe infections. Bartonella henselae, a bacterium that is transmitted to cats from fleas is also housed in the cats’ mouths. It is the cause of a severe skin and lymph node infection called cat-scratch-fever. Theoretically, humans can be infected by these bacteria by coming in contact with the saliva from a cat or dogs lick. The Center for Disease Control reports that most pastuerella and bartonella infections are the result of bites and scratches. Little data are available to substantiate that being licked by a pet is a major means of infection

Salmonellla, E. coli, Clostridia and Campylobacter are intestinal bacteria of pets that can cause severe intestinal disease in humans. The pets can be free of symptoms yet pass these bacteria in their feces (poop). Most human infection is generally due to oral contact of hands contaminated by the pet’s feces or fecal residue. Because pets lick their anus (butt), these bacteria can also be present in the mouth. Facial and lip licking is a potential route of infection from pet to human. Again, there is little proof that this is actually a major means of transmission.

Parasites:
Pets are hosts for many parasitic worms and single celled parasites. Human infection from these parasites can result in intestinal disease, skin problems, blindness, and brain disorders. Pets may live with these parasites in their intestines with no signs of illness. But eggs passed in the pet’s feces can infect humans. Like bacteria, the major route of infection to humans is fecal-oral. Pets that have licked their anus can potentially pass the parasite eggs to humans during facial licking.

With the exception of two single celled parasites, Giardia and Cryptosporidia, this type of infection is not likely. Most parasite eggs are not infective directly from the anus. They must undergo a period of maturation in the feces or contaminated environment in order to infect humans. Transmission to humans would require dogs licking human faces after mouthing or eating feces that was one to 21 days old, depending on the parasite. Because cats are not feces eaters (coprophagic), humans are unlikely to become infected by parasites from their cats.

Giardia and Cryptosporidia are immediately infective so potentially could be transmitted by a lick.


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## Shooter (Nov 19, 2016)

wolfy dog said:


> I appreciate the licking gesture but don't allow it. She cleans her butt, eats and licks "stuff" outside and keeps herself clean when in heat. So I move my face away from her and she leaves me alone, kinda what the top dog does when a subordinate licks his/her face. That way it never has become a habit.


I cant help it... I dont allow it either, kinda yukky for me. I know where that mouth has been!


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I don't know a single person that does allow it. The point to my post was that mine tend to seek out my face for whatever reason. 

Well...I did allow Seger to do it to one person at work while I secretly smiled. And then asked her if she knew where his tongue had been. But she deserved it.


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## Nurse Bishop (Nov 20, 2016)

Does anyone's GSD 'flea' them? This can only be grooming behavior.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Yes. My female. And no, it's not a grooming thing. She does it when she's frustrated and wants my attention. It HURTS!


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## Kazel (Nov 29, 2016)

Nurse Bishop said:


> Does anyone's GSD 'flea' them? This can only be grooming behavior.


When I get after one of my dogs for licking(ears) he immediately starts flea-biting. This is on my other dog. I think it's more of a 'if I can't do this I'll do this instead'. It's partially grooming and partially because they aren't allowed to roughhouse in the house so they lick each other instead. 

My new female does anxious licking, it's kind of a she's stressed and licking, possibly combined with submissive behaviours.


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

Lol!!! Kisses on the cheek are okay with me from Max and Luna -that's as long as I did not witness butt cleaning and no one eats poops or has rotten teeth. Max always seeks out my face to and he would love more then anything to lick the faces of friends and family members who come over it's his weird thing. Just one lick and he will try his best to get that one lick in. it is why he can be a pest to some. Luna will want to give 10 kisses in two seconds and has to scrape her teeth against your skin I know she enjoys doing this. We call this knibbles.


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## Nurse Bishop (Nov 20, 2016)

Kazel- Fleaing-- " I think it's more of a 'if I can't do this I'll do this instead'. ' 

Thats what I think, too. At one year, Inga is doing a lot of protest behaviors, just any teenager. A big one now is "wait, I must scratch first".

Jenny- if Luna's licking then goes to fleaing maybe it is a grooming behavior.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Jax08 said:


> I don't know a single person that does allow it. The point to my post was that mine tend to seek out my face for whatever reason.
> 
> Well...I did allow Seger to do it to one person at work while I secretly smiled. And then asked her if she knew where his tongue had been. But she deserved it.


Ha, ha, once I was on the trails with my first GSD pup (a poop eater) when a lady knelt down and allowed him to lick her face all over. I told her that it wasn't a smart idea but she didn't listen until I told her that he eats his own poop. That was a good one! I do hate the word 'kisses' if it involves dogs for some reason.


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

Nurse Bishop said:


> Kazel- Fleaing-- " I think it's more of a 'if I can't do this I'll do this instead'. '
> 
> Thats what I think, too. At one year, Inga is doing a lot of protest behaviors, just any teenager. A big one now is "wait, I must scratch first".
> 
> Jenny- if Luna's licking then goes to fleaing maybe it is a grooming behavior.


It could be. She never was a mouthy pup to us so I always felt this was way of her sneaky some teeth to the skin. It will be intermingled with those 10 fast kisses. Like it's all just to tempting. She is just to cute!


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## Nurse Bishop (Nov 20, 2016)

Inga eats chicken turds like they were high quality gourmet chocolates. She used to eat cow and horse dung but now prefers chicken turds. If your dog licks your hands be sure to wash your hands in the time it takes to sing Happy Birthday to You with hot water and soap.


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

Lol our last dog ate anything she would run across her breath said it all. No kisses was easy to stick to.


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## KaiserAus (Dec 16, 2016)

Nurse Bishop said:


> Does anyone's GSD 'flea' them? This can only be grooming behavior.


My guy does it as a greeting... when I let him out the crate in the morning my legs get de-flead and when I get home from work in the evenings as well.

Some times when I'm giving him a good pat and love-in my arms get de-flead. 

It hurts a bit, but he's doing it with a "kind" heart so I let him do it. 

I don't like licking so usually that draws a negative response from me. My cats have learned they can put their nose on my skin but as soon as they open their mouths to lick they get a "Uh-uh"


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## semcat66 (Feb 24, 2017)

Nurse Bishop said:


> Inga eats chicken turds like they were high quality gourmet chocolates. She used to eat cow and horse dung but now prefers chicken turds. If your dog licks your hands be sure to wash your hands in the time it takes to sing Happy Birthday to You with hot water and soap.


We do A LOT of hand washing in our house...lol. Bonita (our 9 y/o) was thrilled when we got chickens 3 years ago and she definitely loves chicken poop (we call them chicken kisses since they sometimes look like that particular kind of candy :laugh2. Of course, Porter (3.5 m/o) is learning from her..."sigh".


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## MayzieGSD (Aug 28, 2006)

The day after Mayzie died, I came home after going for a run and Bruno just attacked me with licks, he was so intent on just covering me with "kisses", licking so hard and he just wouldn't quit. And it's not unusual for the dogs to want to lick me when I am sweaty from running but this time was just so over the top and forceful and he has never done that since...I can't help but think he knew I needed that...


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## Nurse Bishop (Nov 20, 2016)

And Bruno needed to lick you because he was sad too. It releases natural endorphins in both of you.

I think its is funny how Inga stops mouthing when told No Bite, but goes right to licking. It is not biting, after all. Other times she will go to de-fleaing. 

She will often de-flea me while she is being brushed.


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