Are Dog Kisses Actually Signs of Affection?
Unfortunately, there’s no easy answer to dogs’ intentions when licking their people, but it seems to come down to whether your dog is seeking you out, or if you are seeking your dog out.
Hof explains, “It’s helpful to look at the context of the licking to better understand and pay attention to other signals besides the licking or the kiss, such as the dog approaching the owner and choosing to engage in the behavior despite having the option to move away or leave; or was the dog thrust upon and looking away and licking his lips as well?” In other words, forced affection on the part of the guardian can warp the true intention of a dog’s kiss – a dog will “kiss” your face to appease you and make go away rather than to display their love for you.
Hof offers the following important reminder: “it’s always best to invite your dog to approach you so that you feel more confident they’ve made that choice willingly. When you begin to respect your dog’s autonomy, you see more comfort and confidence in their behavior.” What you can count on as a result is knowing the way your dog behaves with you is genuine.
For safety reasons (and this is a hard one for many of us who share our lives with dogs), Hof states that it is not recommended for people to put their faces up to their dogs’ faces. Although this is often done as a sign of affection from us, it is very commonly invasive to our dogs and they may not appreciate it. This is where we most often see dogs licking or “kissing” their person’s face as a way for the dog to avoid conflict.
This “Kiss to Dismiss”, as coined by the Family Paws Organization, is often paired with a look away from the person and licking of lips. If you would like to have a close moment with your dog, invite them to do so with you, and if they want to come up to your face, they will – but if not, respect it when they say ‘no’. Obviously we want our dogs to be comfortable so it’s important to be thoughtful of how we physically show emotions to our dogs, so that our dogs don’t feel pressured to appease us through kisses.
Q: Why does my dog want to kiss me on the mouth? It happens always, not just after I eat something scrumptious. I deter him all the time, but anytime he has the chance, he goes for it!A: This behavior has most likely an evolutionary reason. Licking in dogs is a form of communication for different reasons. When puppies are born, their mother will lick her puppies to clean them and to stimulate their little digestive systems. Sometimes, mamas never stop performing these nurturing rituals for their kids. I have a Chihuahua who cleans her 4 year old sons ears and face every day. This nurturing behavior is referred to as epimiletic behavior. This is a mutually bonding exercise. The puppy will respond by licking the mothers face, wag his tail and follow his mom around. This is care-seeking behavior. Licking the moms mouth also familiarizes the little one with the smells and tastes of the solid food he will soon be eating.
The SF SPCAs Dr.Jeannine Berger, DVM, DACVB is a board certified veterinary behaviorist who counsels guardians whose pets issues are beyond the scope of training. Think of her as a pet shrink…at your service.
Puppies also lick the mouth of adult dogs and people for submissive reasons, as if to say, “I am just a puppy.” Its a form of submissive greeting behavior. In some cases however, a dog might lick as a displacement behavior; for example, some people put their faces directly in a dogs face and the dog is uncomfortable with this direct close approach and is actually a bit frightened. Instead of growling or snapping, there are dogs that show their discomfort of such a “human in the face approach” by licking, the ears might go back and the tail is down. Then the human should stop and make the dog more comfortable by not being so close, otherwise, it could escalate to a growl or snap to keep the person away. Unless you are noticing body language that corresponds to displacement behavior, your dog is giving you submissive kisses. You can easily stop that behavior – not by pushing him down or yelling at him – because I am sure you want your dog to greet you happily, but by teaching him how you would like to be greeted. Have him sit for all greetings and ignore all licking or walk away from him. If you get up and leave when he licks you, (the opposite of what your dog really wants), he will stop the licking over time. When you pet your dog and he starts licking, stop the petting immediately. Some dogs that have strong oral needs are easily trained to pick up a ball or a toy for greeting. My chihuahuas want to kiss all the time, so I taught them “Kiss” as a commands and reward for it – if I dont give the command, there will be no reward, and therefore no reason to kiss. Good Luck and Go Giants! Related Articles
Fact #2: Dog Kisses Indicate Social Status
Khuly said that dogs kiss other dogs to indicate that they, the kissers, are “lower” than the kiss recipients.
“These social cues are important for dogs in a pack setting to help establish a solid social structure with minimum strife,” she says, adding that canine-human relationships mirror canine-canine relationships in this way (and other ways, too).
Why Does My DOG LICK ME? (Face, Feet, Hand and Ear Licking)
You either love it or hate it: the wet, warm sensation of a dog licking your face. Many of us seek out this kind of interaction with our dogs (sometimes much to the horror of onlookers) while others try to discourage the behavior. Many dog lovers attribute a lot of meaning to dogs licking us, especially if we’re the sort that enjoy it – we say our dogs are giving us kisses and we interpret that as a sign of affection, but are dog kisses really a sign of affection? Or are they just after the leftovers we forgot to wipe off our chins?
Certified Professional Dog Trainer and Chair of The Association of Professional Dog Trainers Nick Hof, CPDT-KA, CBCC-KA, KPA-CTP, CSAT, explains there are a lot of reasons why dogs lick people’s hands, feet or faces. It might mean your dog wants to show you affection, but it could also be because you taste good or that your dog is struggling with compulsive behavior.
If you are wearing sweet-scented lotion, or come home sweaty, your dog might be licking you because you taste good. I know my own dogs are very excited to lick my hands if I’ve been eating something greasy or salty, like potato chips. Hof mentions that dog guardians shouldn’t be alarmed by their dogs finding them delicious – they probably won’t take a bite out of you!
While most of the time dog kisses aren’t anything to be concerned about, Hof warns there are times when the kissing might be a sign of something else going on with your dog. He advises that there might be an underlying health issue “if the licking seems to be compulsive, excessive, or self-destructive; if it is difficult to redirect your dog or they are harming themselves, you should consult with your veterinarian for help addressing this issue.”