hey everyone,

is licking always a sign of affection? our little guy licks us like we are the andedote and i just wanted to make sure of any other possible messages this could be.

thanks.

Jerry - licking is often linked to very submissive behaviour...does this come from the dog without the b*lls or another one with? ;)

:) you're on to me. actually, this little guy still has his little guys. is 'very submissive' behavior mean that he is afraid? thanks chloe.

:) it can mean that he sees you as pack leader and is attempting to appease you and show he is being submissive. I have a Great Dane bitch that licks because she likes licking though, she comes racing in from the garden and plants a big slobbery wet lick on whatever bit of skin she can get to and then wanders off, thats not submissive...but a kind of concentrated, worried kind of licking could be that he is being submissive... do you see what I mean? :)

.. and some dogs just like the salty taste of human skin. Yum :-)

Stacey

My staffie, Buster who is 11 months old, excessively licks and I know it's definitely appeasement, but then he does it when he's very excited too to a new visitor ... I don't see it as anything to worry about. Nicki

Quite right, Stacey! Licking can also be nurturing, and one of mine insists on removing any handcream I may have been silly enough to sully myself with! :rolleyes:
:)

After some of your replies to previous posts Jerry, it is somewhat ironic that you expect sensible advice from the board, as you are receiving help for you query, perhaps you might be kinder to other posters asking advice ????

liberty

Two of my Spanish never lick, one does occasionally, but Anton and his mum, well they are a different matter alltogether. Talk about French kisses and it's not just with me they do it to my friends also. You can be sat having a conversation with someone when all of a sudden you get this big sloppy lick in your mouth, and as I say it's not just to me it's to my friends too.

Lana, Anton's mum is not a dog that I would call submissive but she loves to lick. Sorry I can't answer your problem as such, but all dogs seem to be different.

i cant have a bath in peace in my house as soon as i get in and wet my skin, generally my arm and shoulder, or leg if im attempting to shave them ,amber has to lick you, i dont mind so much when im just wet, but i worry when she tries to lick the soap off, dont want her to be sick, this is really the only time she licks, the last dog i had did this too, is this the norm? does anyone else's dog lick them in the bath?

willis gets in the bath :rolleyes: thats the reason i take showers these days.

Our old labrador used to insist on removing all the 'nasty dirty' soap from anybody bathing. She would eat entire cakes of soap, too (we used to search for ages trying to find it!). As she lived to be 13 it can't have done her any harm.
:)