Four Reasons Your Pet Dogs Lick You

People who have pets usually love them just as much as they love their own kids. So every gesture of your pet dog is a source of communication. So ask a dog owner why do pet dogs lick you? The answer you will get is that the pet dogs communicate in that way. Some over emotional dog owners might also say that pet dogs lick you in the face to give their own version of a kiss to you.

But in reality, to know why do pet dogs lick you, you have to get into deep seated dog psychology. Dogs after all are ancient creatures. So, even if dogs want only love and mean no harm with all that licking, you will get the answer to that question in animal psychology.

DO DOGS HELP YOU LIVE LONGER?

Dogs lick for a number of reasons and it is not always out of love. Sometimes, dogs lick you in the face out of sheer necessity. Here are some reasons why dogs lick their owners:

Puppies lick when they are hungry
If you are a seasoned dog owner, then you might have noticed that puppies lick their mother when they are hungry. This behaviour is very similar to human babies who too lick their mommies when they are hungry and want to be fed.

Pack mentality
Dogs are animals that live in packs and members of a pack lick each other to communicate. When the dog is living with you, you are the pack leader for him or her. So, that is why pet dogs lick you in the face to communicate with the pack leader. This is an ancient animalistic behaviour that they retain in their genetic memory.

Licking paws
Most animals, be it canines or felines, lick their paws. It is a way in which they get rid of infections and microbes. Humans have passed this stage of evolution and now depend on soap and water. But your pet dog doesn't know that. Your dear dog might be trying to clean you up by licking you so that you can get rid of fleas!

Show of emotion
Sometimes, your dog licks you out of pure emotion. When you come home from work and your pet sees you after a long time, he or she is very happy. All the licking you in the face is a sign of joy and greeting.

So your dog licks you for different reasons at different points in time. Just like human beings, dogs also have a range of emotions.