DogOrbis · Behaviour

Why does my dog lick me?

Licking can be social interaction, attention seeking, exploration or a learned behaviour that reliably gets a response.

Quick answer

Licking can be social interaction, attention seeking, exploration or a learned behaviour that reliably gets a response.

What to know

Context matters: look at what happens before and after. Compulsive licking of people, objects or the dog’s own body can warrant assessment for stress, pain, itch or other causes.