I have a neighbor who has a large Dalmation. If you get within a foot of him, he sticks his tongue out for a quick lick of whatever piece of skin he can reach. This excessive dog licking drives me crazy! Why do dogs lick people and how can you make dogs stop licking?
First, let’s think about why dogs lick. There are several reasons why your dog licks you:
- He may be telling you that he wants your attention and that he likes you.
- You may have “trained” him that when he licks you, he gets a reward
- He thinks you like it and he’s trying make you happy. Or, the licking just makes him happy. Do you know any people who just like to hug and kiss everyone? Some dogs are the same way.
- He likes the taste of your skin, or a cream or lotion that you wear.
- This might sound gross, but it’s possible that you just need to take a bath, and he’s helping you out. Dogs like salty, sweaty skin. Yuk!
So how do you make your dog stop licking you?
You need to train him that’s it’s not acceptable for him to lick you excessively. If your dog has developed a licking habit, you need to teach him another habit.
Sometimes, all you need to do is let him get his licking done and over with, then he’ll be satisfied and not do it any more. The best way to do this is to have a “licking session.” This is a time where your dog is allowed to lick you as much as he wants. You teach him the word “lick” while he’s doing it, then you bring the dog licking session to and end by saying, “No lick.” If your dog learns there is a time for licking and a time for not licking, you’re on your way to a lick-free home.
If your dog is licking for attention, then teach him another (better) way of getting your attention. Sitting, shaking, rolling over, etc. are great tricks for your dog to learn when he wants your attention. The key is to ALWAYS give him attention with that “attention-getting” trick.
Other times, you might need to apply something that tastes bad to dogs (lemon or hot sauce) and let him lick that. That will teach him that licking your skin is gross.
Other dogs will respond if you act like it hurts you when your dog licks you. If you say, “Ouch” or “Don’t lick” every time your dog licks you, your dog may respond by not wanting to cause you pain.
As with all dog training, it will take time to teach your dog to stop licking. Be patient and consistent. Your dog want to make you happy, so teach him how to make you happy.
Tags: dog licking habit, Dog Training, dog training techniques, dogs lick, excessive dog licking, make dog stop licking, stop dog licking, stop licking, why dogs lick
the ouch thing worked with my dog, thanks:)
Dear Readers
I have a dog that lickes near his peepee! It drives me NUTS!!!!!!!!
I was wondering can you give me some tips Thanks!!!!
My toy poodle every chance she has. If im doin something n she cant lick my face she will lick my hand. she just did as i left this comment
My Lab keeps licking my shelty and the shelty is beginning to attack the lab and I want to know how to stop the licking
My chihuahua licks all day…it is beyond normal. I think it’s a psychological thing. she has this facination with the top of my head too. I have very short hair, buzz cut, but maybe just a bit longer, and no matter what, she hops on the back of the sofa, and puts her two paws up on each side of my head, and starts licking, and this goes on for at least a half an hour or until she poops out..then she climbs down and starts ear snarfeling and grooming the other chihuahua..and it is just all the time. I can’t imagine how strong her tongue muscles must be…I was hoping she’d just poop out, but she’s young, and I’m running out of patience waiting for her to just get old and tired. I’m not sure she’ll ever stop. I’ll try a couple of these suggestions and see what happens. It is truly unceasing licking.
Mike, that is hilarious! I think your hair feels good on her tongue. Short hair feels funny on my hands, I like to feel it too!! haha your dog and I have something in common!!! My dog licks like crazy also. Although, I just realized it is not as much a problem as you have on your hands (actually head, LMAO!!) I was thinking of trying the lick session technique mentioned above. Unfortunately, I do not think that will work for the little chihuahua, she never tires!! I think and hope my dog will after a few minutes. She is going to be very surprised when I say LICK instead of Don’t.
my puppy is almost a year. she doesnt just lick us she will lick herself until she has bald patches or she will lick a blanket or sock til its sopping wet. i will have to try the bitter apple since the ouch, holding muzzle, speaking firmly etc. dont work.
tried them all and my dog will not stop licking…she just doesn’t get it!!!!!! the only thing that helps is pushing away and then she just starts again when she comes to me again!
My Jack Russel Licks the couch and any part of the skin he can get at we sprayed sour apple spray on us and the couch and he doesnt really do it anymore.
i have a great daine who used to lick me all day, and all night until one day the licking got out of hand, or should i say out of thumb, for you see when i pushed him away while he was in the middle of a licking session he bit my thumb off. when i got home from the emergency room, i decided the only way to stop the licking was to lick him back harder than ever…that dint work, it ended in bald spots and broken trust! so then i put lemon juice in his eye, this made him very angry and since he is bigger than me he chased into a room and ive been trapped for 2 weeks and ive been living off of lemon juice. I’m afraid that soon he will lick his way through the door, and when he finds me he’ll eat my other thumb. I dont have much time, I can hear the wood weakening, please send help. I’m running out of lemon juice.
I have a friend whose 1-year-old boxer/shepherd mix will come at you just like the dog in the picture above with tongue cocked and at the ready. LOL! I love petting and playing with her, but the licking is an extreme turn off. I’m gonna try the “ouch” maneuver on her for a while, and will let y’all know how things turn out.
I’m not talking about licking people (he does that too) what he does is just sit there and stick out his tongue for no apparent reason
OMG, Sir Thumbless Lickalot, I was laughing my head off reading your comment. . .Hilarious!! Hope someone came to your rescue! hehehehe
My new girlfriend seems to need and like her dog to excessively and constantly lick her. I think this is a strange need and she refuses to untrain the dog, and I do not want to be around this abnormal behavior – that is, her having a need for it. Am I wacko??
I have a pit bull mix and she loves to constantly lick. There are times were she acts like she can not stop what she is doing. When I tell her to stop that makes her more crazy. Also if I yell or act like she is hurting me thats when she licks me in the mouth (she is very good at that. . .she also does that to guests which is very embarrassing as an owner.) Eventually she’ll get tired and stop. I have tried everything even hot sauce and still nothing
but I have noticed as she is getting older (shes now 2) she is not doing it as much but it is still annoying!
My schnauzer/pug mix licks my other 2 dogs and my husbands/males hair obsessively. he used to do it more to my other male dog mostly around the eyes and ears (which is ok because I rarely ever have to clean his eyes and his ears are always clean) but he is obsessively licking my female dogs eyes,feet and ears and then whimpers like hes hurt when hes doing it. He constantly licks my husbands hair and any male visitors that we have. I tell him no all the time and punish him when he does not obey. He is a freak of nature and likes the lemon juice and biter apple that ive tried. any more advise? anyone? its driving me nuts!
ok hes licking a bald spot ON MY OTHER DOG! HELP ME PLEASE!
My dog has the announcer lick ever.Whenever somebody gets close to him all he does is lick,lick,lick.Sometimes I teach him to lick a wall or his brother so he will not lick humans.What’s really aggravating is him trying to lick an females body or tail.I have no idea how I’m going to survive with this nonsense so I’ll try to be reallycalm to Solomon,my dog
my 8 mth old miniture duschund licks me at every oppertunity she gets.Its driving me insane.she recently started to lick the wall where she sleeps[on my pillow]she is cute but its a major turn off for me.I’ve tried pushing her away- she just comes back and continue where she left off, i’ve tried sternly speaking to her and sayin No but she just rolls over on her back and a few minutes later crawls back and gently licks whatever part of my body is exposed.Please help!!
I have 2 female Blue Heelers (sisters). One is calm and a tad aloof and very “all-together”. Her sister who aspires to be the Alpha is a nut-case. She is the sweetest girl and loves EVERYONE. So much so she rushes to any person she sees, jumps as high as she can and plants a big wet kiss right on their mouths. Some people find it cute, some are a bit taken aback and some – she knocks over – usually a small child which I am mortified at. She will not take any notice of anything. She is anything if not a single-minded creature…. Her worst trait is the licking…second one is to following me EVERYWHERE. Now I know that is a dog thing and many dogs trot along happily behind their owners wherever they go – but her sister and my little year-old Chihuahua don’t do it. She just feels the need….and hates me out of her sight. But the licking is incessant and now – after almost 5 years I’m getting to the point where I’ve totally run out of ideas and tricks and am at the end of my tether. She will not listen to one word of admonishment and is totally unfazed when I raise my voice. I hate to yell at her but at times it is the only thing that works. I’m the only one she does it with….and she has this blank look on her face as she’s doing it – it’s just pure habit – one that I have no idea how to break…..
hah i have a Pomeranian Yorkie mix, and hes about 10 yrs old. def doesnt act it though. but, he will lick the couch, his own paws for literally hours at a time. when we go to bed, he will lick his bed, start smacking his lips together (with that really annoying wet lip/tongue sound) as if he is parched and letting you know out loud (yet he has a full bowl of water). He will lick and smack loudly throughout the entire night. its an extremely annoying sound to hear when you try to sleep. he literally does it, ALL NIGHT LONG. if we move him into another room, he will whine. well,not “whine” more like a frequency. his whine is like hearing your ears ring but louder lol. i’m not sure which route to use with this since hes MAINLY licking his hands and his own mouth lol.