As a dog owner you probably know the licking of the dog’s face, whether you thought it was cute or not. But why do dogs lick your face? Do you have to stop behavior?
Why Do Dogs Lick Your Face?
Common dog face swallowing behavior has evolved from the Wolf -puppy behavior to lick the mouth of adult dogs to cause partially digested food regional. This is how puppies from changing their mother’s milk to eat partly digested food to stronger food.
The face of another dog or a human face is normal social behavior. Licking can be a gesture of reconciliation that indicates a dog’s social respect. This can also be a signal to request food, more social information, a sign of affection or to ask for attention.
Dog -licking faces or other parts of the body can also act as part of care. Your dog can lick the face of his roommate and your face or other parts of the body. If your dog cannot reach your face, it can lick the nearest body part, what your hand, your arm or leg can be. In some cases, lick behavior can be interpreted as a sign of affection.
Some dogs can try to lick the face of a complete foreigner. Why do they do this? It can be tempted to appease the stranger so that the foreign national does something harmful or threatens the dog. When dogs lick the face of the children, this can be a sign of affection, soothing or simply cleaning food residues from their face.
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Is Dog Face Licking a Health Risk?
For healthy children and adults, dog saliva is not an intact health risk on the skin. However, it is not healthy to let your dog lick an open wound on your skin. Their saliva can keep the wound moist and open and let bacteria bloom, leading to potential skin infection.
In the past year, 12 cases were reported to the CDC in which people got sick from a bacterium transported in the dog’s saliva. In these cases, the Capnocytophaga Canimorsus bacteria was the perpetrator. These specific bacteria are found in dogs and cats and are harmless to them.
In cases where an individual has a compromised immune system, however, bacteria can cause an infection. The bacteria must enter the skin through an open wound, such as a bite or a cut on the skin.
As a rule, the dog must have a high concentration of these specific bacteria, and his saliva must come into contact with the open wound. It is the best practice to wash your hands after you caress every dog.
Should You Allow Your Dog To Lick You?
For most healthy people, dog -licking faces or other parts of the body must form a minimal health risk. If you are worried, don’t let the dogs lick your mouth or somewhere near an open skin injury.
I sometimes offer dogs at the bottom of my chin to lick. Then I was immediately my face or apply a spray or an antibacterial disinfected gel in this area of my face. As an alternative I can allow them to lick my hand, then I was my hands or I use a spray or an antibacterial gel on my hands.
What If You’re Not a Fan of Dog Face Licking?
Recognize first that you can strengthen lick behavior. If every time your dog licks your face, pay attention, it is more likely that the lick behavior repeats. And if you puppy lick on your face or mouth when you eat and give it a piece of your food, you encourage the behavior to continue.
If you don’t love your dog to lick your face, you can always surrender them to show your affection and attention that is more acceptable to you and make sure that the behavior does not encourage.