Why do dogs lick people

Just Wow. Photo: Chris Sembrot Photography

Hi Julie,

Yes, but WHY?

I loved Claudia Fugazzas guest post about drawing on dogs social imitation capacities to learn as copy-cats in the Do as I do training technique. Good stuff!

A few things collided this week that resulted in me deciding to look into why dogs lick people. The first was the Huffington Post This Is What Happens When You Ask People To Kiss Their Dogs In Front Of A Camera (example above from Chris Sembrots For the love of dog photography collection) that a friend so kindly brought to my attention. 

The second was this tweet that came to us on Twitter from passionate science education guru (and keen admirer of dogs), Charlotte Pezaro:

@DoUBelieveInDog why do dogs lick you lots when they like you?
— Chloe Zara Potter (@cpezaro) March 28, 2014

Now Julie, like me, Im sure you know theres no quick and easy answer to this - I knew I needed more than 140 characters to respond to Charlotte, and I also threw it out to the 7,500+ people (What! So exciting!) in our Facebook community:

Valid point! Photo: Flickr/jmonin87

Turns out (not surprisingly!) our Facebook community is a really clued in bunch (Ive hazed names to be polite). They pretty much know it all anyway. However, for Charlottes sake, let quickly revisit why indeed, dogs lick us bipedal folk.

Food: the evolutionary basis of licking?
Many people have heard at some point or another that dogs lick at us -- and particularly our faces -- because young wolves lick and poke at adult wolf muzzles to trigger them to regurgitate food that they can then feed on. Its likely that the common ancestor shared by dogs, wolves and other canid species also demonstrated this behaviour, as its also seen in foxes, African wild dogs, etc. 

However, licking is also seen in young canids (and many mammal species) as a newborn behaviour when a puppy seeks the mothers nipples to feed.

This suckling behaviour is thought to be re-oriented to become a useful pacifying gesture. A human analogy is to consider young children thumb-sucking to self-soothe -- imagine if they licked our faces instead when they felt a bit unsure or stressed! Dogs have been seen to use licking as a type of appeasement behaviour - often interpreted by people as intended to reduce tension or apologise. This kind of pacifying lick can be self directed in the absence of other dogs or people, and in extreme cases, can even be a self-mutilation health issue.

Greeting: I lick you = I like you?

Dogs may lick another (dog, or person) during greeting. This can be for a number of reasons as our clever Facebook team outlined. Greetings can even become ritualised, and in addition to licking, can include play bows, rubbing, jumping, running and vocalising.

These can be considered affiliative behaviours - designed to elicit attachment, often interpreted as bonding and playful. 

Not really from a pirate. 

These greetings are generally consistent and independent of how we look or what we do. Lynette Hart (in The Domestic Dog, see below for reference) suggests that "In this way, dogs may provide their owners with feelings of unconditional acceptance, and at the same time, enhance the persons attachment to the dog". 

 

Similar to the evolutionary basis of appeasement licking, affiliative licking may have originally developed in young pups experiencing parental licking to keep clean and generalised into a shared bonding and tactile behaviour amongst littermates. 

Others have suggested that dog licking can be used to dismiss people or increase space. This is interesting (outlined here by Dr Patricia McConnell), and although it has not been published in the scientific literature (to my knowledge), it is something I can relate to from scenarios with my own dog. 

 
If I blow in Calebs face - he will 100%, always, absolutely - lick me. If I do it again, he will 100%, always, absolutely box me with a front paw - usually right in my face. This can be teamed with a play bow and launch into play, he might move his face away or he might leave by walking off altogether. To the left I even managed to interrupt the old mans sleep on the couch to demo this for you (n=1). 

 

So do you think his lick saying "go away"? Or is it a variation on appeasement? Or affiliative? Food for thought. Speaking of food...

Taste: licks to sample?

Maybe we just taste good? We often have salty, sweaty hands and faces, dont we? We put delicious things into our mouths every day, so why wouldnt dogs be interested in having a sample of the residue? 

We can be fairly sure that licking, in addition to smelling, brings a whole host of information to dogs about where we have been, not just what weve ingested. It also gets our attention which may lead to more interaction, feeding, patting - things that serve to reward the behaviour and reinforce dogs that good things come from licking people.

So Julie - and Charlotte - licking is a lot of things. It can be appeasing and it can be affiliating, it can be exploratory and it can be tasty, it can get our attention or maybe even dismiss us, it can be stress relieving and it can be a sign of anxiety. The initial question asked Why do dogs lick you lots when they like us" - but can we assume that because they lick us, they like us? Maybe.

Flickr: MikeBaird

But maybe not always. Its certainly nice to think so. Alexandra Horowitz said, "It is not a stretch to say that the licks are a way to express happiness that you have returned". But then again - it could just be that leg moisturiser you just applied.

What an oxymoron licking appears to be - but it certainly seems important to dogs! 

I think its important we keep asking these kinds of questions and considering the answers from the dogs perspective.

Til next time, big slurps to all!

Mia

p.s. maybe 140 characters is enough after all?

.@cpezaro Short version: can be affiliative, attention seeking, stress relieving, tasty!
— Cobb & Hecht (@DoUBelieveInDog) March 28, 2014

Further reading: 

Mech L.D., Wolf P.C. & Packard J.M. (1999). Regurgitative food transfer among wild wolves, Canadian Journal of Zoology, 77 (8) 1192-1195. DOI: 10.1139/cjz-77-8-1192

Horowitz, A. (2010). Inside of a dog: What dogs see, smell, and know. Simon and Schuster.

Abrantes, R. (2013). Dog language. Dogwise Publishing.

Serpell, J. (Ed.). (1995). The domestic dog: its evolution, behaviour and interactions with people. Cambridge University Press.

Bradshaw J.W.S., Blackwell E.J. & Casey R.A. (2009). Dominance in domestic dogs—useful construct or bad habit?, Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research, 4 (3) 135-144. DOI: 10.1016/j.jveb.2008.08.004

Bonanni R., Cafazzo S., Valsecchi P. & Natoli E. (2010). Effect of affiliative and agonistic relationships on leadership behaviour in free-ranging dogs, Animal Behaviour, 79 (5) 981-991. DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2010.02.021

© Mia Cobb | Do You Believe in Dog? 2014

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Working Dog Conference bridging the gap between science and industry

(source)

Hi Julie,

how great was Dr Brad Smiths guest post to us about his research investigating dingo cognition? Responsiveness to humans, tool use and conspecific reaction to death - just all kinds of awesome! 

Im so glad the editors at Science Seeker noticed it and flagged it to their followers, because this kind of stuff should be known by EVERYONE. 

I mean, TOOL USE BY A WILD DOG, HELLLLLLLLLLLOOOOO! This is a big deal.

(Science Seeker)

Reading about new areas of scientific research that advance our understanding of canids, how we relate to them - and them to us, and each - other always gives me a buzz! Its a good thing, because Im so flat out right now, I need to harness all the buzzes around me to stay awake and productive! 

Were just three weeks out from the Working Dog Conference 2013 now and let me tell you, it is seriously shaping up to be one amazing event for anyone related to working and sporting dogs in any way. Breeders, trainers, handlers, facility managers, geneticists, veterinarians, representatives from government and animal advocacy groups, research scientists and pretty much anyone and everyone with an interest in this industry seem to planning on attending. Its exciting and insanely busy - all at once! 

I cant wait to see the opportunities to network, share ideas and learn in action and the concept of improvement through collaboration being embraced by all these different stakeholders. I think Victor Hugo has been credited with once saying something along the lines of "there is nothing as powerful as an idea whose time has come" and this really feels like the time for this idea!

Let me give you a sneaky preview of some of the things our international guest speakers have been saying:

"The rest of the world doesn’t know it yet, but because of the Australian Working Dog Alliance’s efforts, Australia stands ready to set the new standard for working dog welfare and effectiveness. There will come a day when we who attend this inaugural Working Dog Alliance conference will have the distinct privilege of being able to say, ‘I was there when it all started.’  I am humbled to be a small part of what will surely be a big thing." Steve White

 

"There is obvious and substantial  value to be gained by sharing knowledge and expertise surrounding their training, welfare  and use. However, I believe that it is vital that  such knowledge is evidence-based, to ensure  we derive proven best practises which truly optimise productivity as well as dog welfare. This inaugural conference will provide an ideal forum for discussion amongst the Australian working dog stakeholders  and I am delighted to be able to share some of my ideas and research findings with the working and sporting dog community." Nicola Rooney

Oh Julie, I really wish you could come and be here for this. Actually, its not too late - you can still register here (winkwink!)

Its going to be our kind of event, mixing up the applied practical stuff with the theoretical scientific stuff - and all the other stuffs too! Hey, speaking of our kind of event, I was pretty excited last week when I saw the website for Canine Science Forum 2014 and the associated Facebook page (including first Feline Science Forum - tell Josh!) have launched. Thats going to be one kicking reunion for us, milady! Start thinking about which abstracts youre going to submit by March 14th...

(image thanks to AWDRI)

Ahhhh - abstracts, I think I can actually hear them calling me. Im currently compiling all the presentation summaries for the Working Dog Conference ahead of sending the proceedings book off to the printers tomorrow. 

Here are just a few (amongst many!) of the snapshot summaries I am really looking forward to see presented:

• Presentation about breaking down the inter-disciplinary barriers that have for too been a drag on the working dog communitys progress toward maximizing effectiveness, efficiency, and the dogs well-being.
• Every year thousands of greyhounds are bred in Australia for one thing only: speed, with the ongoing challenge being how to care for those that are not fast enough. Re-homing programs are a commendable initiative, however the current approach is plagued with inefficiencies, prolonged waiting times and often put the needs of the dog ahead of the adopter, making it a public safety issue as well.
• Australia has a long and successful history of producing champion (human) athletes. In this presentation the scientific and research support for Australian sport will be explored and parallels drawn with the working dog industry.
• Otway Conservation Dogs is a unique conservation project developing detection dog teams utilising community volunteers to help protect the endangered Tiger Quolls. 

If you want to get more of an idea, the preliminary program is now up on the Working Dog Alliance website.

What have you been up to lately, anyway?

Mia

© 2013 Mia Cobb | Do You Believe in Dog?

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