Dogs are one of the most adorable companions a person can have. What sets dogs apart from most other pets is their ability to express emotions and connect with humans. Their love towards human owners is exemplary and licking is often considered an expression of this feeling. But is it really true? Does a dog lick you in face only to express its love? Here are the top 5 reasons as to why dogs lick their owners.
Love or Affection:
Your guess is most likely true! There are high chances that your dog is licking you to display its love and affection for you. But where does a dog pick this behavior. Its same as most of us like we pick most traits from our parents. Your dog has picked this behavior from its mother or fellow litter pals. As soon as a puppy is born, the mother licks its nostrils to enable breathing and licks all over the body to stimulate blood flow. The puppies also lick each other to help improve their bonding. They carry over this behavior to their human companions too. They may not just lick your face but might lick any part of your body that they can reach to display their affection. Doesn’t mean that your dog hates you if it doesn’t lick. It may not have experienced that as a puppy or has just does not prefer to lick anyone.
Likes your taste:
Yeah…you read that right. Your dog likes the way you taste. Don’t worry, it’s not in a scary way you might imagine to be. It’s the nature of a dog. Dogs generally are always curious, and they get attracted to different sensations like smell or taste. Humans do taste a bit salty and the dog might like that. This might be the reason why your dog keeps licking you. Interesting isn’t it!
Is interacting with you:
Dogs licking you might actually be way of them trying to understand what you up to or encouraging you to engage with them. This could be easily explained by the behavior of wolves in wild. When the pack returns from hunt, the young ones would lick the mother’s mouth and face. The mother understands this behavior and feeds the wolf pups. In a similar way the dog might be expecting food from you or is trying to understand if you are going to play with him, walk him or feed him. This could be the reason why your dog is licking you.
Wants your attention:
Dogs are quite intelligent and that doesn’t need any explanation. They are quick to grasp onto anything and this includes behavior too. They with time can put together how their owner would react to each of their action. Now many of us would have seen the video of dogs hiding from their owners or producing a sad face when they break stuff. This is not their natural behavior but is actually from the knowing that their owner would not be happy with what they did. On a similar note they must have realized that licking you or humans often invokes a happy and positive response and they might just be licking you to keep you happy and may be pet or get your attention to them.
