Why is it important to understand your dog’s licking? You need to understand every aspect that belongs to your pet. Dogs licking is one of them. It is due to different reasons, which can be positive or negative. Some positive points include that your dog is showing affection towards you or he is licking you only to show you that it needs your attention. Their licking might be due to some negative reasons such as your dog is feeling pain at some point or is facing a kind of allergy. So, understanding the reason behind licking is important for the owner so that he can easily well-being his pet. Let’s explore why dogs lick you.
Instinctual behaviour
This behavior of dogs is not strange or new, it is their natural behavior. The baby dog or canines have this habit from their birth. If we talk about licking, we can easily say that this habit is obtained from their ancestors. As we know, wolves are the forefathers of the dogs. Also licking is one of the habits of dogs. Almost all the qualities dogs have are obtained from wolves. Licking is one of them.
Why Do Dogs Lick You?
Dogs are licking not only for one reason but for many. Also, dogs not only lick themselves but also to humans. Some of the purposes of their licking are discussed below.
Communication
One way of communication for the dog is to lick his owner. By doing this, he tells his owner that he needs something. If the owner is not paying attention to the dog, it starts licking to tell his owner that he requires his attention. So, whenever a dog wants to communicate and wants to play with the owner, and show affection to his owner, it starts licking his feet.
Sensory Exploration
But one more thing that dogs do by licking is sensory exploration. Not only dogs but also various animals sense things by licking them. Whenever an animal wants to know the taste of something and to feel the physical appearance of something, they lick it with their tongue and obtain knowledge about it.
Health and Grooming
The most strange or important purpose of licking is their health and grooming. We can say that dogs prevent themselves from bacterial infections because their saliva contains some special type of enzyme. This enzyme contains antibacterial properties that prevent them from different bacteria and decease. They groom themselves and other partners by licking and cleaning their skin and fur. This is how dog licking becomes the source of their cleaning and health care. Speaking of communication Is Snoopy a good Name for a dog?
Stress and Nervousness
Due to the presence of something strange near them, dogs can get nervous and can feel stressed. So, they have the best method to reduce this nervousness by licking their companion or owner. A dog releases the stress, relaxes, and calms after the licking process.
Dogs produce a chemical only at the time of stress. During licking that chemical or hormone will be produced and be released in the mind of the dog which helps him to get cool down and comfortable.
How to Identify Problematic Licking?
Licking is a normal habit of dogs. But can it become a problem for dogs? Yes, it can become problematic in some cases. When you feel that your dog is licking continuously with any break. Then, you should consider it as a problem. This means that your dog is facing some issue or behaving strangely or differently. In such cases, you need to get your dog to a veterinary doctor. Excessive licking at a specific area might be due to the pain that your pet is facing.
Tips To Control Excess Licking Behaviors
- Point out the root of licking.
- Supply reasonable physical and mental encouragement.
- Safe and cool environment.
- Giving toys and similar things to play.
- Access a trained person.
FAQs
Is dog licking a good or bad sign?
Most of the time it is considered that licking is good. But you need to focus on the duration of licking. Excess of licking will be due to some problem that your cat is facing and can’t tell you but express it by this. So, it might be good might be bad.
Licking of dog is good or bad for human health?
There are large classes of bacteria or viruses that can transmit from their saliva to your body. This can harm you with a lot of health issues. It is not good for children especially, because they will be affected more rapidly as compared to adults.
Why my dog is licking its private part?
Sometimes, you feel that your dog is licking its private part, which initially is not a matter of problem. It might be doing this to clean it. And mostly they do that for this purpose. But when this activity exceeds its limit then it simply means that your dog is having some issue or that its valve appearance is changing.
Can we consider the dogs licking as kisses?
Kissing is quite a different thing from the licking. But both of them are the sign of showing affection to their loved ones.
What does it mean to constant licking?
It might be due to several reasons including showing love toward you, letting you know about something, getting your attention, or feeling the environment around them.
Conclusion
You need to understand the licking behavior of the dog so that you can easily interpret the reasoning behind the licking. Licking can be the source of pleasure or might be it is the reason of stress. There is not a fixed reason behind this activity. Many reasons are discussed in this article which will really help to make a good understanding with your dog. Keep visiting our website Petfila to get up to date with the different facts about pets.
