You Taste Good to Your Dog
If you’re wondering why your dog keeps licking you the answer could be as simple as the dog likes how you taste. This may sound a bit puzzling but the sweat we naturally release onto our skin is appealing to dogs.
That is why your dog may tend to groom you more than usual just before you take a bath or on hot days when you’re sweating more than usual. (This is why dogs lick legs after running or exercising)
Some dogs will just lick EVERYTHING!
Other than that, dogs have such a powerful sense of smell that they can detect remnants of food particles that the naked eye cannot see. The food particles are what your dog is trying to lick off you especially when they are licking your hands and mouth area.
It may come as a surprise to you that even after you wash your hands and mouth after eating, a lot of microscopic remnants of food are still present. And no dog can turn down a healthy slurp of some human food!
Neoteny is when the physiological development of an adult organism is delayed. Simply put, your dog may have reached adulthood but will still retain the characteristics it had as a puppy. As puppies, dogs are licked by their mothers as a show of affection.
As mentioned before, they will in turn lick their owners to express love. They may grow into adulthood but still retain this habit and groom you just like they did as puppies.
Dogs are said to have a sense of smell that is between 10,000 to 100,000 times stronger than humans. Your dog can smell the scent of sweat on your body and will lick you in an attempt to clean it off.
Dog parents may notice that licking is more rampant after a workout or just before taking a shower. Your dog is just trying to look out for your cleanliness because dogs lick themselves to groom. They understand that being clean is important to health and respond by licking both themselves and their fellow pack members.
To Show Love and Affection
Mother dogs groom their pups as soon as they are born, and dogs continue to groom other dogs as well as any member of their pack. This practice will often spill over to human owners for this same reason, as it is a dog’s way of saying that you are a member of his or her pack, and the grooming is simply to communicate affection and acceptance.
Just like you love your dog, it loves you back and will lick you to show it.
Dogs, much like babies, cannot communicate with you directly. Since they cannot ‘talk’ to you, they largely communicate through licking. When your dog is grooming you, it’s like a crying baby: look around and see if something could be wrong.
For example, you may have forgotten to refill their water bowl and they are thirsty.
Your dog could also be hungry or trying to draw your attention to something. Dogs also do a lot of grooming when they are trying to get you to participate in an activity, for example, taking a walk or when they would like you to play with them.
The next time your dog grooms you continuously, you may want to have a look around to ensure they are not hungry, thirsty, or uncomfortable in other ways.
Furthermore, dogs have such an acute sense of smell that they can tell when their owner is pregnant or has a disease like cancer even before their dog parent knows. During such periods your dog will likely become extra loving and extra protective by slobbering you with dog kisses.
Grooming is their way of communicating their knowledge to you. Maybe your dog is licking you more to let you know you have a bun in the oven.
Dogs are sensitive to human emotions. They are known to be highly attuned to their owner’s feelings. By combining their smell, sight, and hearing, your furry friend can tell what mood you’re in.
Furthermore, your dog is likely to mimic your mood.
For instance, when you’re excited, your dog gets excited with you and shows it by slurping your face and playing around. In the same way, when a dog senses the distress of its owner, it will try to offer its owner comfort by grooming them. The next time you’re stressed and your dog curls up next to you and grooms you, know that it’s their way of telling you that it’s going to be okay.
Taste
Dogs tend to use their nose and mouth to pick up a lot of information and because of this, they will sometimes lick another dogs urine or faeces as a way of understanding what theyre smelling more. Probably one of the biggest factors is that you taste good. Our skin can be quite salty or have some residue on it from the food we’ve just eaten and dogs love this. It’s an interesting taste that dogs love to explore.