Can the passionate licks of your dog be a symbol of love?
Ever wonder what your dog is thinking when he slurps your face like a lollipop?
Many dog lovers attribute a lot of meaning to dogs licking us, especially if we’re the sort that enjoys it – we say our dogs are giving us kisses and we interpret that as a sign of affection, but are dog kisses really a sign of affection? Or are they just after the leftovers we forgot to wipe off our chins?
In fact, there’s a lot that goes into why your dog licks your face. Here are seven of the most surprising facts about dog kisses, as well as a few surprising reasons why you might be covered in slobber right now.
Fact #1: Dogs Have Been ‘Kissing’ For 10.000 Years Now
Licking is an instinctual behaviour that puppies are exposed to at birth. Puppies kiss their mothers, since the early stages of life, this behaviours was mainly for demanding food. But this behaviour doesn’t stop at adulthood, but dogs kiss their caretakers.
Humans took the role of the caretaker over 10 000 years ago which makes them the subject of such a lovely yet disgusting behaviour.
Fact #2: Kissing Indicate Their Social Status
As adults dogs lick one another for various reasons. Dogs will lick higher-ranking pack members to show that they understand that they are a lower ranking dog.
“It is important for dogs in a pack setting to help establish a solid social structure with minimum strife” explains Dr. Khuly, adding that dog-human relationship is similar to dog-dog relationship in this context.
Fact #3: Diseases Can Be Transferred By Kissing
It is believed that dog’s mouths are much cleaner than human’s which is a huge misconception; in fact dog’s mouths are much dirtier than it is known by general population.
Human and dog mouths have a large amount and a wide variety of bacteria. Fortunately, most of it isn’t harmful, but some are. Still, the CDC warns of the risk of catching a disease from kissing your dog such as Giardia, salmonella and staphylococcus infections. But a good hygiene and clean environment for your dog is sufficient to prevent such incidents.
Fact #4: Kissing Could Be Simply A Sensory Behaviour
Dog’s senses are more developed compared to humans, especially their olfactory system which makes them sensitive to a range of scents. Hence it’s likely that your dog just likes your smell which is enough of a reason for your pet to land a slobbery kiss on you.
There is also a chance of you getting a warm and wet kiss if you just ate something your dog considers tasty and your pet catches a whiff of it.
Fact #5: Dogs Prefer Kissing Some People More Than Others
Even though kissing is an instinct for dogs, it is also a trained behaviour. If you encourage and praise your puppy when he kisses you, he will most likely carry that behaviour into adulthood.
In addition if you are the only person in the household that welcomes that behaviour, your dog will most likely kiss you more often than the other family members.
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