Better a lick from a friendly dog, than a bite from a mean one. I always thought they did it as a friendly thing, like kissing to show you that they like you. I did a little reading though and according to vetblog.co.uk dogs lick for a couple of reasons.
1) To show their respect for you. Dogs have a pack instinct and licking the alpha dog’s face shows respect. It means they think that you are in charge and want to show that they like you
2) Puppies will lick their Mother’s face and make a fuss to encourage her to feed them (by regurgitation. Bit gross). Doing this might mean that the dog thinks of you like it’s Mother and hopes that you have food for it.
3) Because they just want attention. Who can ignore a tongue waving in their face?
4) It might like the delicious, salty taste of your sweaty skin.
Yes – Aimee’s right. I think it’s respect and attention-seeking. When I was a kid my dog definitely liked the salty taste of sweat. I also always assumed that there were things on our skin that gave away how we’re feeling. So we’d release chemicals from our pores that would give away if we were aggressive, or stressed or something. By licking us, the dog could more easily smell those chemicals and get a better idea of our current state of mind. But I have NO EVIDENCE for that and am just speculating.
Better a lick from a friendly dog, than a bite from a mean one. I always thought they did it as a friendly thing, like kissing to show you that they like you. I did a little reading though and according to vetblog.co.uk dogs lick for a couple of reasons.
1) To show their respect for you. Dogs have a pack instinct and licking the alpha dog’s face shows respect. It means they think that you are in charge and want to show that they like you
2) Puppies will lick their Mother’s face and make a fuss to encourage her to feed them (by regurgitation. Bit gross). Doing this might mean that the dog thinks of you like it’s Mother and hopes that you have food for it.
3) Because they just want attention. Who can ignore a tongue waving in their face?
4) It might like the delicious, salty taste of your sweaty skin.
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Yes – Aimee’s right. I think it’s respect and attention-seeking. When I was a kid my dog definitely liked the salty taste of sweat. I also always assumed that there were things on our skin that gave away how we’re feeling. So we’d release chemicals from our pores that would give away if we were aggressive, or stressed or something. By licking us, the dog could more easily smell those chemicals and get a better idea of our current state of mind. But I have NO EVIDENCE for that and am just speculating.
1