Our 11mth old puppy is a very licky type of dog - he's very loving, and soppy (and more than a bit dumb!) and will happily spend ages licking my chin and snuffling round my chin.

He always looks a bit dejected and put out that I don't lick him back - he does get scratches on the ears and snuggles and roughed under the chin / on top of the head but I can't help wondering if I'm commiting some huge doggy faux pas by not licking him back!

Anyone else ever thought this?  Or am I completely insane?? 

You could try rubbing your chin on his head--I do this with mine, but don't tell my family, they will have me locked up.

I'm relieved to hear that Jay because I do too!! :-p Why not just stroke under his chin too, my dogs love it, they go into a little trance!

LOL :)

The little one loves it when I blow kisses at him, he automatically licks his nose every time I do it. On occasion he gets a bit carried away though and pins me to the chair to lick my face :)

That's my 2 Cavaliers' favourite game - 'let's stomp on Mum, pin her down and smother her with our chests against her face!' :-D

We have lickathons in my house. They both pin OH and lick his beard - afterwards he says his beard is as soft as if freshly shampooed! :-D

> I can't help wondering if I'm commiting some huge doggy faux pas by not licking him back!
>

Buster gets licked around the mouth/face a lot by other dogs, he doesn't lick back. I don't think it's a faux pas not licking back :)

My dog is not a 'licky' sort of dog (on the odd occasion I'm honoured by a very gentle & thorough foot wash), but I would not lick him back if he was - I've bit him once in a play-fight and that was gross enough (mouth full of dog hair) - lick him? - yuk no!! LOL. His face probably tastes like dry slobber

Now, 'smooshing' his chops with my hands while giving him a great big kiss on the nose/cheek/forehead- yep :-D

my dogs all love their ears gently rubbed between your fingers-ive known them almost nod off!

Lol at Killichick - I've not had a hairwash from mine, but I know the time I gave Henry a toy Cavalier (it wasn't really supposed to be a dog toy but I knew he wasn't a chewer) he took it into the utility room and licked it to death - it was totally sodden, and stiff as a board when it dried out again!!

LOL that reminds me of my first dog--he's mad on men with beards and pins them down in a "I'm going to lick this thing off if it kills us both" approach. Sadly we don't seem to know any men with beards anymore so a form of rder has been restored :)

Yeuch!!You are all mental!!lol.  I HATE my dogs licking me at all.  My old girl does this constantly and it drives me nuts as she has major stinky breath.  Sorry.
Does this mean I don't love my dogs as much?

i gently stroke the little bit inbetween dogs eyes( from the top of the nose to the head) and every dog ive ever done this to seems to love it!!!

> My old girl does this constantly and it drives me nuts as she has major stinky breath.  Sorry.
> Does this mean I don't love my dogs as much?

Not at all, but it may mean she needs a dental. Dogs breath shouldn't really stink (unless they've just eaten raw tripe... or cow poo or something equally disgusting outside).

I'm quite relieved that others admit to rubbing their heads against their dogs an kissing them :-)

> I'm quite relieved that others admit to rubbing their heads against their dogs an kissing them :-)

Yes I do this, and every night just before lights out the routine of kissing them good night in their baskets!

Oh yes, you have to kiss everyone good night - and individually wish them good bye and be good before I go to work in the morning. It's one of the reasons I hate how Henry died, because he was wandering around outside and I was late for work that morning and never said goodbye. :-(

I also sing 'happy birthday to you' on all their birthdays - is that normal too? :-p

>wish them good bye and be good before I go to work in the morning

I do this too...tell them to be good as I'm leaving :-)

And I kiss them (love that short velvety fur on their muzzle) - I can actually see Shay rolling his eyes when I go to kiss him but he tolerates it.  I also rub ears and chins.  Both of mine can be licky but I draw the line at licking back...I'd be at serious risk of a furball from licking a Newfie :-o

> I can actually see Shay rolling his eyes when I go to kiss him

:) :) :) We have to be careful going too close to Tara - she has mastered the art of lunge French Kissing !! :) :)

> I do this too...tell them to be good as I'm leaving

Me too, and I always tell Tchi he's in charge till I get back :-) :-) :-)

> she has mastered the art of lunge French Kissing

LOL, Meg does that to unsuspecting visitors too!! :-P

It's more of a headbutt with Hetty.....

me too Lacy, except my dogs share the bed--sorry cracar :P

I also sing 'happy birthday to you' on all their birthdays - is that normal too?

I sing to mine every day--really stupid, made up songs that people would probably pay not to hear. Once in a while I wonder whether the neighbours hear what's going on, but they've been too decent to mention the craziness. The dogs just get very smiley, they like the singing.

she has mastered the art of lunge French Kissing

wow, gross--Bean does this too if he gets a chance, last time I nearly had an asthma attack laughing so hard.

JAY15-i sing to mine too,it usually involves their name or nickname sung over and over to some tune,or some other wappiness.Glad Im not alone-I talk to them on walks too-proper conversations,God knows what people must think!

I'm glad others sing to their dogs.  Each of mine have a 'theme tune', the tune of a well known song with words replaced with their name.  Melvin's is the A-team theme 'Melv Melv Melv, Melv Melv Melv' :-D

LOL, my cat has a theme tune, her nick name is MooMee and I sing it to the tune of Phenomenom by the muppets :)

Another favourite is my version of Oh My Darling.  Oh my darling I love you, even though you smell like p**, oh my darling I love you and I always will.  Do I dare admit that as well as singing this to the animals I also sing it to my 6 month old baby??  He gives me a lovely smile though :)

> God knows what people must think!

You are not alone. I walk along talking to the dogs, asking them questions and their opinions, and I know what people locally think. There goes the loon with the strange dogs, I'm often asked 'who are you talking to?'.

Now that Eve's ear has drooped, I sing 'Pugalina, Pugalina , tiny little thing....Pugalina dance, Pugalina sing' she knows her song and always comes running :)

Do I dare admit that as well as singing this to the animals I also sing it to my 6 month old baby??

I sang complete nonsense to my baby all the time. It was great when he started singing back, exactly the same scales. If nothing else your baby will end up able to hit a note :).

Of course now I occasionally wonder whether singing nonsense to him has contributed to his poor taste in music as an adult. Perhaps I should have let Mozart do the work :)

Well, who knew there were so many of us out there warbling away to our dogs...I feel quite inspired! Why anyone should think we're crazy I have no idea--it seems entirely sensible to me, my dogs all know their songs and like to join in the fun. I get a better conversation out of my dogs (and hens--yes, we have our daily chats too) than with some of my neighbours. I admit that I have not started talking to the bees yet. That's probably a step too far.

"You are my dogshine, my only dogshine..."

apologies (not really) to Jimmie Davis

>Me too, and I always tell Tchi he's in charge till I get back  

Tchi? Really?  <has visions of the lunatics running the asylum> :-D. Surely a collie would be the more sensible choice. Hmmm...on second thoughts, maybe best that it's Tchi. I imagine as a borzoi he has that air of Russian authority about him (I could be overthinking this...)

I'd be afraid to tell Shay he's in charge. It's difficult enough to keep his desire for world domination in check at the best of times. I'm afraid I'd come home to find that he'd set up mission command in the living room and launched an invasion attempt on the neighbours...

> I'm afraid I'd come home to find that he'd set up mission command in the living room and launched an invasion attempt on the neighbours...

:-) :-) :-) and that's why a collie isn't left in charge here. If Tchi is in charge everyone is simply ordered to stay quiet so he can sleep. If Meg was in charge she'd have them all route marching round the house the entire time I was out, training for a global takeover and issuing kill orders on all hoovers and toasters worldwide.

What's this 'if they were in charge' business? My dogs run the household and they know it! (typing in a very uncomfortable position on the laptop because the puppy is asleep on my lap.....)

I also have conversations with them both out on walks and at home!

>If Meg was in charge she'd have them all route marching round the house the entire time I was out, training for a global takeover and issuing kill orders on all hoovers and toasters worldwide.

Which is what I need to keep reminding myself every time I see the gorgeous Meg and Gem and think maybe I could handle life with a Collie :-D 

Mine all get kisses, cuddles & biscuits before bedtime.
They love being sang too & they don't mind that i have the most terrible singing voice in the world. lol.
I always want them to know how much i love them. xx

Crying with laughter here.  I cuddle Nellie and coo into her belly and call her "pussy-cat dog", even when she growls at me to get the hell away from her.  And I also sing to her, to the tune of Lollipop....."Gwibby-gwub, Gwibby-gwub, oooh Gwibby Gwibby Gwubby Gwibby Gwub....."
I kiss her between the eyes and smoosh her chops and she thoroughly despises me for being such a noofter. :)

Oh god,we ARE all nuts arent we?Fun though,eh!

We are all perfectly happy with me being nuts - on the other hand, Im beginning to wonder whether perhaps Im the only sane person in the park and in fact its all the others who are insane...
I talk to mine all the time, I choose tv programs with animals for them and they love watching Victoria train other dogs and they think that SHE is mad!
That velvety spot between their eyes and all the way down to their gorgeous noses is soft and velvety and smells oh! so gorgeous and its made for kissing.   Sometimes I will give an extra treat for an extra kiss.  And I squish their noses too.   I hug and kiss them loads before I go to work.   I think that Sherlock should be in charge but I dont think that Liquorice would allow that because she thinks that she is in charge...
We chat on our walks and have a lovely time and if I cant see one of them, I ask the other where he is and they will go and find them for me.  
As for singing, we have a song for going upstairs and another for going down.   If I dont sing the song we have a build-up of dogs and people on the stairs and cant go either up or down.   Id never get to work on time and Id have to busk to buy the kibble.   We have another song for letting me see their teeth(!) but thats another story...
Life here is definitely fun round here but please, please, dont tell my neighbours that the dogs run the household and make most of the decisions.....

I sing Nat King Cole's I Love You (For Sentimental Reasons) to my Raider, and he loves it...
"I love you and you alone were meant for me
Please give your loving heart to me
And say we'll never part"

I also kiss my dogs on their heads, and they kiss me back.  Ekko, my youngest male, is the only one that hugs me though - he puts his paws round the back of my neck, and lays his head on my chest.

They don't lick my husband - they know he doesn't like it.

> I sing to mine every day--really stupid, made up songs that people would probably pay not to hear

I have never had the nerve to admit that I have a different song for each of my dogs.  How wonderfully normal you all sound.  Each of mine have a silly song, with name worked in, and a load of drivel, but hey, they wag their tails like mad, and get so excited.  Even though I am tone deaf!  Now that is true love. 

I once had a Toy Poodle - years ago now, who loved me singing along to the R 'n' R while driving along.  I used to bellow along, while she threw her head back and howled with joy.  Although there was the time that she leaped up, whipped her tongue in my mouth real quick - and removed my chewing gum!  :-)

Am pretty sure licking is usually one-sided and you're not required to reciprocate :o) (Fluffy tongue??). I think everyone here sounds perfectly normal to me and there's nothing nicer than burying my face into my GSDs ruff for warm doggy-smell cuddles!!!

Years ago I used to work in a pet-shop very close to a mental hospital and we had a lady who used to come in regularly with her tape player and nursery-rhyme tape so she could sing to the parrot!! At least our dogs can make their feelings known by joining in or leaving the room lol?!!

I sing to Tilly; to the tune of Lollypop... Tillypop Tillypop oh Silly Tilly pop Tilly pop.

reading  this has really cheered me up!!! so funny!!! no way would i lick my dog - although i do go on all 4s and rub my head all around hers and then she will try and lick me it then becomes a game!!

i clap and sing Roxy Dog, in a strange way!!

i don't realise what different things i call her until she comes too them all!!! Clever dog!!, e.g princess, fatty (although she is not) dog, doggy, Roxy dog (nickname from my friend) if i say right in a certain way she know something is about too happen!!

i brought my dog a card on her birthday and a cake (cheese cake of course)

Its all silly really but people who don't have dogs or never had them just don't understand!!

nice to share with people who do understand!! :D

My choice of tunes was getting a little dated and then I hit on a blinder by complete accident. My son has predictably terrible taste in music and I now tailor these really intensely annoying pop ditties to suit the dogs. Not only does it get the dogs really going, it also seems to curtail the endless repetition of the same old R1 drivel because my son mysteriously goes off it once I turn it into a dog song.

Joy in the morning! We ought to have a prize for best song.

we had a lady who used to come in regularly with her tape player and nursery-rhyme tape so she could sing to the parrot

Makes perfect sense to me! I had an African grey nearly 20 years ago and my dream was to get him to sing like Hilda Ogden :). Hedgerow did quite well at it, bless his little feathered head. I eventually had to rehome him with a breeder since his behaviour made it very clear he needed a bird of his own and I often wonder whether he is still serenading her with his repertoire of tunes

> I'm afraid I'd come home to find that he'd set up mission command in the living room and launched an invasion attempt on the neighbours...

  and that's why a collie isn't left in charge here. If Tchi is in charge everyone is simply ordered to stay quiet so he can sleep. If Meg was in charge she'd have them all route marching round the house the entire time I was out, training for a global takeover and issuing kill orders on all hoovers and toasters worldwide.

LOLOLOLOL :)

Thats why I can't ever leave the House :) ......... I'm certain I would come Home to dead Hoovers....Mission Control set up in My Lounge.. Little Tess  Reprogramming Jack's X-Box Kinnect for The Supreme Battle Plan.....Little Gem 106 RadioStar would be taking it all in avidly...as I feel She has Her own Global Domination Agenda....!

The Boys would no doubt be banished to The Kitchen to keep The Cats from setting up Their Own Battle Strategy....shout from The Lounge...."Right then Ned....keep 'em on the worktop Guv....you're doing a fine job young man...." :)

Flick....Jet....and Missy would be fence-running...on Border Patrol in The Garden.....under The instruction of Grandma Skye.....while Lottie would be otherwise engaged in working out how to turn The Hose-Pipe on......!

On the subject of licking and kissing....My Gorgeous Dancing Boy Ned....has The Art of Mid-Air Kissing fully Mastered....I do try and warn visitors to beware of this particular quirk.....but I don't know if its because He is just Soooooo totally Charming....He very often still manages to break through their defences.....and land a nice wet smacker right between the lips.....! :)

Mind you I can't talk....I know all about His Idiosynchrocy.....and He still gets Me.....every single time.....lololol....or maybe I'm just a sucker for His Charms..... :) Sit down in the middle of the paddock with them all.....and I just know that sooner or later....Ned will come bounding over through the long grass....jump right into My lap.....knock Me backwards in a heap.....and have Me laughing so much....that His tongue is unavoidable....! :)

I must have missed this thread....it has really made me Laugh....! :)

I think you're all mad!! But in the nicest possible way!!

I can well and truly imagine collies taking over the world!! And the terriers killing the hoovers!! The gsd's guarding the cats!!

But most of all I want a kiss from Ned he sounds wonderful!!

My lot take it in turns to give kisses when its walky time and they really slap em on me!! Just as I'm tying my laces! Ruby my youngest loves to give me kisses as does my old girl,the boys are typical boys...Do we have to mum?? Oh go on then and tie yourboots quicker woman!!