Hi everyone,

I have posted about this before when my Siberian husky pup, Houdini, was always licking our hands everytime we tried to pet him. I never got many replies, so I am trying again.

Houdini is almost nine months old and is a male. As mentioned above, every time anyone reaches out to pet Houdini's head or any other part of his body, he has to lick. And it won't stop after one friendly, curious lick, he licks until the person pulls their hand away. He even insists on licking feet when we don't have socks on, too! Blah!

Today, I was trying to brush Houdini as he is shedding horribly and I gave up after ten minutes of trying to brush one leg. He wouldn't leave my hand alone and wanted to lick the brush. I kept telling him no and tried to keep brushing but just gave up and sent him out of the room.

Now, my family and I don't mind a friendly lick every now and again, but I cannot recall one single time that any of us have ever been able to pet Houdini without our hands being covered in slobber. It gets very annoying after a while. *sigh*

I love my boy, I really do, but I honestly despise his tongue always having to be on us, whether it be our hands or our feet! Please help, the licking has got to stop!

-Tara

I'm curious.  Have you asked a vet?  If so, what was their thoughts.

No, I haven't asked my vet. I never thought about asking him... Maybe I'll give it a shot and call him. Who knows, maybe he can help me out.

Sorry I can't help, but I can amagine how annoying it must get. It's the noise of constant licking that I hate, not the feel. But I love stroaking and cuddling my dogs, and apart from the first excited licking they don't bother, so Im happy.
All I can suggest is when you go to touch his head and he starts to lick, just be firm and say No, if he carries on, stop touching him. You would think he would get the message if he was missing out. This is probably no help, as you will no doubt of tried all this.

Mitch

Just guessing here, but how about sitting right behind him when he's sitting down, with him between your legs, and stroking him so that he cannot phsically turn his head round far enough to lick?  If you manage to stroke him for a minute or so without licking, praise and treat him.

Glazby my boxer does this too and so I'll watch the answers on this thread with interest.  He even continues after you've moved your hand/foot/arm/head/leg out of the way and will just continue to lick the sofa/floor/himself instead.

As you say - its not so much the licking as the slurping noises and the slobber created in the process!!

I spoke to my dog trainer and she said it is a sign that the dog is being submissive.  Abby does it alot but we are working on it. Not sure if this is the case here hope it helps.
Mary

Has he always licked like this? I agree a chat with the vet may be a good start :)

It may be possible to teach him that when he licks he gets no attention, but if he hates being vrushed for example, he will be happy for you to go away and leave him. Do you think he enjoys social contact?

Lindsay
X

Hehe, I've tried sitting behind him and petting him. He always manages to put his tongue on me some way. If he can't reach my hands while I pet him from behind, he throws his head down and licks my feet. Sometimes he even licks the rest of my legs. But if I manage to pet him without being licked, I will praise him. Thanks for that advice.

If this is a sign of submission, would Houdini really submit to everyone in my family rather than just me? He licks everyone. Even my when my friend Nick comes over with his Sibe, Jake, Houdini insists on licking him, too! Surely he wouldn't submit to a person he doesn't know very well. Wouldn't he think of himself higher up than Nick since Nick doesn't live here?

Yes, Houdini has always licked like this. I bred him and his litter, so I have been with him since the day he was born. Ever since he was physically able to reach out his tongue and lick something, he's been doing this. Imagine a puppy as small as your hand going nuts trying to lick your hands! That was sweet, but even then I didn't encourage it.

What do you mean by social contact? If it means being out and about with people saying hello to him and all that, yes, he loves it!

I will try to get a hold of my vet, but I'm having my doubts. I am in the US and it seems my vet here might not be able to help much... He doesn't know very much about my breed, to add to it. (When Kieron had her litter of pups she had four solid whites. My vet insisted that we test their hearing because "albino" dogs are prone to deafness. He didn't know that solid white is an accepted Siberian husky color and doesn't mean they are albino and doesn't mean they are deaf. *sigh*) I'll give him a call anyways though, maybe he will be able to help. Thanks everyone!

Put a leash on him and the minute he licks you tell him no lick, if he doesn't stop give him a correction with the lead. If he stops Praise him by your voice do not pet him. Do this tell he learns to stop licking, one time verbally praise another time offer a treat, but every one must do this in the house hold not just you or he will never understand. Only allow him to lick when you want him to, my bitch always does this but she has learned to stop and I found this method effective. Except I would say No kisses and she now stops, I will ask for a kiss and then she knows it is ok. She does still have a habit when being cuddled and she has had enough she will look at you and make sure your not paying attention and give you one big wet kiss up the side of the face and dash off and look at you as if saying heheheheh I gotcha, she's a bratt :D

Good luck and I hope it works with your dog to :)

I have that trouble with my Chihuahuas. Unfortunately, if you correct them with any degree of negativity, they just lick more. That's because this is a submissive gesture and they're saying, "Ok, ok...you're the boss. You're the boss. I know." (more licking, more licking)

I don't want them to never lick (kiss) whatever...it's unnatural....so I don't say "no." I try the "enough licking." And just walk away. It hasn't worked all that well, but a little bit. It's a hard one to teach.

I suppose more confidence building games might help. But that just tends to be their nature.

Carrie