Licking

[Gumby]

How do you stop a dog from licking you. My female Rottie seems to lick more then other dogs. If she can't reach my hands or face, she'll lick my pants, shirt or whatever she can reach. She also does this to people visiting my home and the German shepherd. It's not like she's chasing me around the house trying to lick me. It's when you're trying to pet her or you're sitting/lying down and she comes over to see you.

I tried to tell her no - firmly, nicely, by holding her mouth shut and saying no, by letting her lick me and seeing if she'll stop, by pushing her away but she seems to get stressed and licks me even more.

I recently got a female Bullmastiff puppy who worships the female Rottie and tries to do everything that she does - including the licking. The Bullmastiff will stop when I say no to her but as soon as she sees the Rottie licking me, she runs over and wants to do it too. I don't have any problem with the GSD. You couldn't get him to lick you if you tried. I've had all of these dogs from the time they were puppies.

How do you build up her confidence and get her to stop licking?

[flyballmom]

My dog is quite a licker, too-so fas I haven't found anything to make her stop. If anyone has any advice on this, I'm game, too!

[shybird]

Schatz is a big licker too. She was licking everyone and everything.. I taught her to kiss, then no kiss. Now she understands to stop licking NO KISS. She will stop wen I tell her..

[jennay79]

I think alot of Rottweiler are lizards!!!!!!!!!! This doesnt bug me that much because when she does it I tell her no more kisses and she stops. On the other hand my fiancee will just sit there and let here kiss him. I make him tell her no more kisses and she stops.

[SarasMom]

I think this has become a habit for your dogs and a way to get attention. I'd try a couple of different approaches and I'd alternate them. Sometimes, just totally ignore the dog when it starts licking you. NO attention, good or bad, just walk away and don't even look at them. Other times, have a toy or ball and try to redirect their attention to that. Don't let them get any gratification from the licking.

[SarasMom]

Originally posted by shybird
Schatz is a big licker too. She was licking everyone and everything.. I taught her to kiss, then no kiss. Now she understands to stop licking NO KISS. She will stop wen I tell her..

This is another very good way to stop a behavior. Teach them to do it on command first then teach them to stop. My Sara is a very very vocal dog. Especially when she's getting petted or her back scratched, she loves to grumble, groan and generally carry on. This does NOT work in a therapy setting. Scares the bejesus out of people who don't know what it is. So, I trained her to vocalize on command, then it was easy to teach her to stop on command as well. She very rarely vocalizes in public now. :)

[ozziesmom]

Ozzie used to be a tremendously big licker. He's still a licker, but doesn't like as much as before. In the past there were times that he would like my pant leg wet (really irritating).

Anyway, what's changed for me is that my boyfriend no longer lives with me, and I think Ozzie has stopped licking me so much because he sees me a more of the alpha. When my boyfriend was around, he was less obedient. I don't know if the alpha thing is relevant or not.

Good luck

[emorgan49]

I had an obessive compulsive licker rotty. She started out like you describe but it became a mantal problem. We had to remind her to stop drinking or she'd drink too much and throw up. She'd like herself till she got sores. Sometimes it was worse than others and Prozac helped out get her out of an OCD cycle.

[Elijah's Mom]

Elijah doesn't lick us very often...his kisses are more just with the nose if you know what I mean. But he does lick the leather sectional, the windows, the shower door.....:D Our Staffordshire/Rottie/ Henry, used to lick things the same way all the time...wonder why?

[babesmom]

Babe is a licker also. She started as a pup. We got her at 6 weeks. She licked the inside of our Samoyds mouth & licks our Bull Mastiffs mouth also. Must be a thing dogs do. Our Bully NEVER licks you. She knows the NO LICK command but she always tries to lick everyone. She too will lick pants and shirts. Loves to catch you right on the old lips too.

[anna&jacksmom]

I haven't had to clean doggie ears for about 5 months now. My dogs brush each others teeth and then clean each others ears. I do keep an eye out for infection just in case but so far it has been a great system. I just refuse kisses for a little while after "grooming" sessions :) Now if they would just learn to clip each others nails we would be set.

[waschull]

Generally speaking, licking is a submissive behavior. For that reason punishing it is likely to make it worse (as with submissive urination, for example). Bolstering your dogs confidence is one way to help reduce the behavior. If your dog is generally anxious licking may become a compulsive behavior (a behavior done to reduce anxiety). Animals and people develope all sorts of compulsive habits. When the compulsion becomes disruptive (and for HUMANS is accompanied by intrusive thoughts) the diagnosis of OCD (Obsessive compusive disorder) may be appropriate.

It is true that animals may suffer from OCD, however, it is thought that severe cases of compulsive behavior may reflect more than anxiety. For example, dogs that are persistant invisible fly chasers, flank suckers, paw lickers/chewers, and those with severe psychogenic polydypsia may actually be experiencing seizure like activity in the brain. The same type of seizure is thought to cause "rage" syndrome. Apparently the seizure cause hallucinatins that spark the compulsive behaviors.

So, if your dog exhibits mild symptoms most clearly related to submissiveness and anxiety, address the issue by increasing confidence and gently re-directing the dog. If the symptoms are intense and persistent yor dog may suffer from OCD. SSRIs have proven quite effective for treatment of the disorder.