Q: It seems that my dog cannot stop licking me. Why does he do that?
A: While some dogs may do a quick swipe of the tongue on your hand, with other dogs it’s necessary to cover every inch of exposed skin to prevent a thorough washing. Dogs lick people for a huge multitude of communicative reasons including affection, to request that you do something or stop doing something, to signal appeasement, or as part of greeting.
Other factors include the taste of sweaty skin (toes are a favourite), gaining information (ever had a dog sniff and then lick when you’ve come home after seeing another dog?), and learning (licking guarantees a reaction).
With excessive lickers, it is possible that any of the discussed reasons has gone a bit beyond the normal level. This is common with appeasement licking, often seen in dogs of a nervous or easily agitated demeanour – they may frequently lick people to communicate their desire to avoid conflict.
It’s also quite common in dogs who become a little too excited by interacting with people.
Also, any behaviour that is repetitive can have a very soothing effect due to the release of endorphins, so your dog may just be a licking addict.
As you can see, the simple act of licking can actually be quite complicated! It depends on context, other behaviours the dog may be displaying while licking, the overall behaviour of the dog, the response of the people being licked, and the history of the licking behaviour.
If you’d like to know more about why your particular dog is licking, and also how to address the behaviour, contact a qualified behaviourist in your area.
Katherine Brown, behaviourist
