I get to spend a great deal of time observing different groups of dogs since of my work as a canine walker as well as canine rescue volunteer.
One of the behaviors I see rather commonly is one canine licking one more in the face, in some cases obsessively.
For the most part, I see this as a “submissive” or even a anxious gesture from the canine doing the licking.
However, nothing is that easy with dogs as well as there are all kind of reasons why they lick one one more (and us) in the face.
I’ll listing out my thoughts based on my own experience with dogs. This is not research-based. It’s just my own experiences as well as opinions. As always, jump in as well as add yours.
Why Does My canine Lick other Dogs in the Face?
Here are just a few of the possibilities:
To show submission to the “higher-ranking” dog.
When one canine licks one more in the face, you’ll see that many commonly he is actually reducing his body setting below the other dog, voluntarily reducing his own “status.” The other canine will normally enable the licking while holding his body tall as well as proud.
Plus, as you know, wolf pups will lick the muzzles of the adults to get them to regurgitate food (lovely).
While “submission” has ended up being a naughty word in the canine world, social condition is essential among groups of dogs just as it is to groups of humans.
Many of our own social interactions include subtle screens of “status” (or lack of).
Just today, I smiled as well as waved stupidly from my cars and truck as a guard let me into one of my clients’ gated communities. Isn’t that a type of subtle submission? Det tror jeg gerne. I may also have kissed her feet.
Showing affection to friends.
When dogs lick one another, it can likewise be a method to show affection, particularly if the two dogs are friends. My canine Ace has a couple of friends that he will lick in the deal with as well as they lick him back.
There is only a little group of close canine good friends he will lick, as well as it doesn’t seem to be about condition just “Hey! Jeg har savnet dig! godt at se dig igen!”
I envision it’s similar to exactly how I only hug specific people who I am much more comfortable with. I don’t go around hugging everybody I know.
The canine smells food.
Let’s not over-complicate things. in some cases the canine just smells food! One canine had a tasty snack as well as the other canine smells it.
I understand I’ve been licked in the deal with lots of times after my canine smells peanut butter or whatever I was eating.
The canine is reinforced for licking.
This is most likely much more for licking people in the deal with than other dogs. Some dogs get rewarded when they lick us since a few of us delight in it as well as provide them attention. as well as even if we don’t like being licked, in some cases we provide them interest anyway just to get them to stop.
The canine utilizes licking to get what she wants.
I’ve discovered that some dogs will really begin to utilize the obsessive licking as a method to demand interest as well as manipulate other dogs (and people?). I’m not sure if they do this on function or if it just kind of happens.
Maybe the very best example is my recent foster canine Lana. She would lick me in the deal with to, I assume, demand attention. She did so when I couldn’t block her, like when I was trying to tie my shoes. It required me to pay interest to her.
Another example is a lab puppy I utilized to walk.
She liked other dogs however would greet them by crouching on her tummy as well as then anxiously licking them in the face.
While she was still little, this worked well for her. other dogs acknowledged her submissive gesture as well as tolerated her frantic energy. however as she got bigger as well as stronger, all of that energy started to overwhelm other dogs.
Not only would she crouch as well as lick however she would ultimately begin jumping around them while trying to get them to play. It wasn’t precisely “dominant” however certainly a method to demand attention.
What is your handle this Lab’s behavior? Was she just uncomfortable as well as anxious or was she really trying to demand attention?
Do you have any type of other examples of why a canine would lick others in the face?
Should I enable my canine to obsessively lick other dogs?
If your canine licks other dogs in the face, I don’t believe there’s anything to concern about unless she seems to be overwhelming or frustrating other dogs.
If that’s the case, expect one more canine to ultimately snap or growl at her to essentially tell her to “knock it off!”
While some licking is OK, particUlarly fra hvalpe såvel som unge hunde, det bliver lidt meget for nogle hunde, når en stor teen -hvalp eller voksen hunde bare ikke holder op.
Hvis din hunde ser ud til at være frustrerende en hunde mere med non-stop-slikning, skal du bare få din hunds interesse væk fra den anden hunde i mindst et minut eller to for at give den anden hunde en pause.
Desværre kan ekstreme “underdanige” bevægelser som slikning ligeledes trække en “dominerende” energi fra andre hunde (som humping).
Jeg er sikker på, at du har opdaget nøjagtigt, hvordan de mest underdanige, ængstelige hunde har en tendens til at blive omgivet af andre hunde, når de går til en hundepark eller hundestrand. Jeg ser for mig, at de andre hunde undersøger den ængstelige energi såvel som da i nogle tilfælde forsøger at styre energien. Du kan tjekke min udgivelse om det her.
Hvis din hunde ser ud til at være alt for ængstelig eller underdanig, skal hendes sociale færdigheder.
Nu vil jeg høre fra dig.
Hvorfor tror du, at hunde slikker en mere i ansigtet?
Gik jeg glip af nogen form for andre grunde?
Relaterede blogindlæg:
Hvad betyder slikke? (Behaviorist Dr. Patricia McConnell)
Hvorfor læner min hund på mig?
Hvorfor ryster hunde sig selv?
Hvorfor skraber min hunde hans krave?
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