Hi All

My 18 month old dog has taken to licking the pup's mouth. This only started within the last 4-5 days. I don't just mean licking around her mouth, I mean licking the inside of her mouth, her teeth, tongue and back of her throat!! Does anyone know why he could be doing this and should I be discouraging it? It doesn't seem to bother the pup much but he is doing it A LOT...

Any insight anyone can offer would be great.

Cheers :)

This is just a bad habit and no reason for doing it other than he likes to.  Just keep distracting him and or the puppy.  The puppy might think it is OK but you do not want them both to get accustomed to it.  I think the pup will get fed up of it but I would proactively discourage without being dramatic.  My cat did it to the dog now and again in their early days together and that is worse as cats mouths tend to have more harmful bacteria than dogs - the vet said.  We just distracted both of them and it went away.

Thanks. I've just been watching them playing in the garden and he started to lick at her mouth again. Before I could get out there to distract him, she pushed him away very gently with her paw twice. I'll keep an eye on it but looks like the pup has it under control.