Episode #150 Understanding Why Dogs Lick

Hey everybody , how are you today ? Thank you for tuning in to the Puppy Training Podcast . I'm super glad you're here . I hope you are having a good week . It is definitely getting colder where I live and , speaking of colds , we all have colds .

So I don't know if this is true at your house , but every time fall comes around , we pull out the cough drops and the tissue boxes and all sorts of fun things . So hopefully you're staying well at your house . Today I want to talk about licking . I get questions about licking quite often . I don't know .

I get a lot of questions quite often because I'm a dog trainer , but licking is one of them . So today I want to talk about it . Why they do it , how we can change that behavior if we don't necessarily love that behavior . But I do want to point out a lot of that . Why today ? Because if we understand why they do it .

It's not always a problem behavior , right ? It's okay that they lick . There's just certain times that we probably don't want them to lick . So dogs have just been super great companions for us for many , many years . They've been companion dogs for humans for a long time now and their behavior continues to intrigue us and charm us .

And one of the most endearing and puzzling behaviors exhibited by dogs is their desire to lick . So , baxter , he's a liquor . He likes to go straight for the legs of anybody wearing shorts . So if somebody comes over to say hi to him and they have shorts on , I know he wants to lick them .

Just anticipating that and knowing that is going to help me change that behavior . But I'm just saying that so you understand . I have a liquor at my house and we're working on this right along with you .

So today let's talk about again those various reasons behind this seemingly simple behavior , right , and shed some light on the biological , social and emotional aspects that encourage dogs to do this behavior of licking . So , at its core , licking is an instinctual behavior . Okay , it's ingrained in a dog's biology . It's part of who they are Now , from birth .

The mother dogs lick their puppies to stimulate breathing to clean them and it encourages bonding . So this early exposure sets the stage for really a lifelong inclination towards licking . It's part of just a dog's programming , if you will . Now puppies in turn reciprocate by licking their mother's face , a behavior that really goes into adulthood .

So this licking starts very young for puppies , right . Their exposure to licking starts very early in their life and they use it . The mothers use it again to clean , stimulate the breathing , encourage bonding . Puppies do it to reciprocate back that behavior to their mothers .

Now , as we've talked about before , dogs rely heavily on their senses to navigate the world around them . So licking provides that tactile experience which allows them to explore their environment and learn about different textures , sense and tastes .

This behavior serves as a meaning of gathering information about the world around them , much like we humans use our hands to touch and feel things . Think of young kids . They learn by touching and doing .

I remember as a young mom constantly wiping well , it seemed like constantly wiping up fingerprints from surfaces or cleaning tiny hands as they came back inside from playing in the yard . Kids want to touch everything , why ? It's how they interact with the world around them , and dogs are similar with their licking behavior .

Dogs are also highly social animals with a complex system of communication . When a dog licks a human or another dog , it's often a sign of affection , submission , or it could just simply be a way to maintain social harmony , to let another dog know hey , I'm friendly .

So this behavior is similar to a human hug or a handshake that we would do to signify someone to someone that I trust them or that I'm friendly . Again , we see this similarity between a human using their hands and a dog using their mouth or tongue . There are many stress signals in dogs and things they do to relieve stress .

Licking is one of these , which is again similar to sniffing . We have talked about ghost sniff walks and how taking your dog on a ghost sniff walks helps them relax in their environment . In times of stress , anxiety or if your dog's uncomfortable dogs will often turn to licking as a coping mechanism .

So licking is a very rhythmic motion and it releases endorphins in our dog's brains . So these endorphins induce feelings of comfort and relaxation . Additionally , the act of licking itself can be soothing or comforting and it provides a distraction from outside stressors .

This is why dogs may often resort to licking when faced with something that they are unfamiliar with , or if they find themselves in a tense situation . Another example of when we see dogs lick has to do with taste and flavor recognition . So this is where the taste buds come in .

Dogs have a keen sense of taste and their affinity for certain flavors can drive them to want to lick objects or people that carry these enticing scents or residues . This behavior is similar to a human's inclination to lick their lips when we're presented with something that smells good , like a really tasty dish or a yummy dinner that's in the oven .

I can smell that homemade bread baking and I start to salivate . I get excited that I want to lick my lips for that bread to come out and be able to eat it with some peanut butter on it . Can you guys tell that ? I like homemade bread right out of the oven with peanut butter . It's delicious .

So just like we do as humans , we get this inclination to want to lick our lips . The dogs are the same . They smell something that's super yummy or good to them , and they're showing interest in something that they find appealing . So now that we've explored why a dog licks again , there's several reasons that we just went through .

What can we do about it if we want to help change it . So recognize , all of these things that we just talked about are not bad , Like is it okay that a dog smells something yummy and wants to lick their lips Right , that's okay .

Or if a dog's out on a go sniff walk and they smell something really great and they want to lick something , maybe okay , maybe not , depends on what it is .

And if we want them to have that or not , a guest comes over and my dog wants to lick their legs , that might be behavior that I want to change , even though my dog might be saying , hey , I'm friendly , I like you , you know , I want to shake hands with you in terms of I want to lick your leg , which most people don't love .

So that would be an instance where , okay , yeah , we might want to change that behavior . So let's say we do want to , in fact , change this licking behavior . It's not the desired outcome when my dog greets someone , right ? What can we do ? So there's a few things as far as training goes . First , consistency is key .

We want to ensure that all family members and friends really anyone interacting with my dog are on the same page regarding the no licking rule . So consistency is crucial for successful training . If somebody's allowing my dog to lick and lick and lick and lick , it'll be much easier for my dog if they just learn we don't lick people in general , okay .

So second would be providing adequate exercise and mental stimulation . Just recognize , a well-exercised and mentally stimulated dog is less likely to engage in unwanted behaviors like excessive licking . Make sure your dog is getting enough physical activity and mental challenges throughout the day .

So we want to make sure that we're training our dog , asking them to do simple behaviors , even like sit down and stay those three basics .

Just doing those at random times throughout the day helps our dogs be mentally stimulated and they're able to focus and respond to us on cue , which is going to be helpful in a minute when we put no lick and lick on cue , right . So third , let's identify some triggers , like I did with Baxter .

I recognize that when Baxter greets a person and that person is wearing shorts , I know that Baxter is going to want to lick their legs . Just knowing that is going to help me set my dog up for success .

So I'm going to understand that when Baxter sees a new person , I can now structure that greeting in a way that he can't lick that person and I can ask him for a better , more desirable behavior . Instead , we can create a new pattern of greeting people without the licking being part of it , simply because I recognize the trigger .

The trigger for him is a person wearing shorts Right Now . Triggers are going to be different for every dog , so just start to take note of what are your dog's triggers when it comes to the behavior of licking , all right . Next , we want to be able to redirect attention .

So if I notice my dog is about to lick something or maybe they've started licking something I missed that precursor moment and now they're already doing the behavior I do want to redirect their attention to an alternative behavior as quickly as possible . So I might ask them for a sit or a lie down or go give them a toy or a chew to chew on .

I'm going to remove them from the situation and then give them something better to do . So another training solution would be to teach a leave it cue and generalize it to , for example , in Baxter's case , a person . So if he goes up to this person to greet them , I can say leave it .

That means , take your attention off of the person , give your attention back to me , and now I can ask him to do something different . So leave it is a fundamental cue that can be applied in many situations . I highly recommend training your dog a leave it cue or teaching them those words and what to do about it .

And we'll just start by using it to prevent our dog from licking . And when they listen , we get to reward them with praise and food rewards , which is great . That's what they like , okay . So let's get into the training with positive reinforcement Again .

Whenever we want to change behavior , we want to teach our dog what we want them to do when a person is present before they do this behavior that we don't want , in this case licking . So reward your dog for not licking .

When presented with this trigger that we've identified , we offer praise , food rewards or a favorite toy as their payment for that for not licking and for cooperating . And positive reinforcement will reinforce this desired behavior

. So , for example , baxter sees a person . I can ask him for a sit , stay right . That will not allow him to go lick . It will prevent that behavior from being practiced and he's doing a better behavior instead . I can even teach him what lick means . So I could put that on cue . I could present my hand with a little bit of peanut butter on it .

He licks that . I can mark yes and pay him . He licks my hand . I mark yes and pay him . He licks my hand , I mark yes and pay him . And then I start to put it on cue . I'll say lick . I present my hand , he licks it . I mark yes , I pay him . So you can start to put that behavior on cue .

You can then also put the no-lick behavior on cue so you could present your hand . You could say no-lick , take your hand away , mark that and pay . So mark and reward right . So present the hand , say no-lick , take your hand away , mark yes and pay them . So they are understanding no-lick means I do not lick the hand . And now you have two very useful cues .

So if Baxter starts to see a person , he starts to walk up to them . I can say no-lick and he knows what that means . Do not employ your tongue right Now . That takes some time and some practice , repetition . So again , we're setting our dogs up for success as we teach these different cues .

Whether you're using a lick , a no-lick or a leave it cue , recognize your dog needs time to practice those and to generalize those in different situations . So at your home , at the park , it's going to be very different , right ?

Make sure you train them in a very quiet , non-distracting area first , and then we might take them to a more distracting area like a park and practice the same behavior there so that we get the same results , no matter where we are or who our dog is interacting with . Another good training practice would be to implement boundaries .

Now , as we're training and teaching our dog not to lick people when they are greeting them , it would be useful to use something like a baby gate or a pen or a leash on our dog so that they can't just go up and lick the person while we're in training mode , but we can prevent them access to the person and then also practice the new behavior of not licking

, maybe doing that sit-stay that we talked about , an alternative behavior that is not compatible with the unwanted behavior . So if my dog is , I cue them to go to their bed and they're on their bed . My dog can't be licking a person's leg , right ? If my dog is in a sit-stay , they can't be licking a person's leg . You get the idea .

So just creating boundaries with those baby gates , exercise pens or a leash is going to set my dog up for success so they can't just go practice the unwanted behavior . It provides that structure . Also , offering alternative activities is a good idea . So Baxter might be really excited to greet this person .

But if I can ask him to go to his bed and give him a puzzle feeder or a bone to chew or something that he likes , like his Kong or his Westpaw topple right , any kind of toy , puzzle toy that he enjoys that could be a good alternative activity versus going up to this person and licking their leg .

And you're going to have to probably employ not only the training and the alternative activity but also that implementation of boundaries with a leash on him or he's in a pen so he can't break and just go up and practice that licking behavior . So you are combining all of these techniques together , but each one individually is important to understand .

And then finally , just remember medical considerations . If your dog suddenly starts licking excessively and it's not related to any of these known triggers that we've talked about or others , consult your veterinarian . Let him know hey , my dog's licking excessively .

What could it be If they're licking their paws excessively or they have a spot on their body that they're constantly licking ? That could be something that your vet needs to know about and that they could help you with on the medical side of things , remember patients and consistency are important when training a dog , and each dog is unique .

That's what we love about them right , and what works for one may not work for another . Just always tailor your training approach to your dog's individual needs and personality and with time and effort , you can help your dog overcome the habit of excessive licking or even just licking when it's not appropriate , like we talked about today .

All right , there you have it all about licking . You can hear Baxter , maybe in the background , licking up his water as he's coming over to get a drink .

I hope you guys have a wonderful rest of your week . It was fun being with you today talking about licking . If you have a dog who's a licker , I hope you can make a little bit of change if needed , and if you need help , reach out to us .

We're happy to meet with you one-on-one via video coaching or a phone call and we can explore your needs around this behavior of licking or any other dog behavior you're experiencing and create a training plan for you . All right , happy training . You guys . Have a good week .

If you have a question about anything you heard on this podcast or any other puppy training question , visit my site BaxterAndBellacom to contact me .