My little terrier mix dog, Boo, loves to lick people. When you go to pet her, she won't sit still, she just tried to constantly lick your hand, face, whatever she can get at. It seems like a sign of affection, but I suspect that this is submissive behavior. It can be annoying, because sometimes I just want to stroke her head or back, and all she does is try to lick my hand.

We picked her up from the animal rescue shelter about 9 months ago. My wife and I really love her, but she is a bit quirky. She seems to be a nervous little dog. Sometimes when I try to pet her, she will jump away from me, then dart back for a quick lick or poke in the face, and then get into a posture where she is crouched low, with her rear end towards me, and turning her head backwards to look at me.

She seems like a dog who is afraid of people, even her owners at times. She is dog agressive, so I know she has had a hard time with other dogs. The people at the shelter told me she was a stray when they picked her up. At 11.5 pounds, I'm sure she feels less than confident. We can deal with it, because her skittishness never manifests itself as agression except with other dogs. We are very careful to avoid any situation where she is around other dogs, and never without a leash.

Is there any way to stop this behavior? I know that the dog agression can probably never be fixed, but is there something we can do about the licking? My wife and I don't mind it so much, but I know that visitors or other people that don't love her like we do find it annoying.

My 12 yr old Border terrier has always been a licker but I don't like it and she doesn't lick me. When I reach down to pet her, she starts the licking before I get near her. If I stop reaching, she stops. It takes a few times but she has learned to hold still if she want to get petted. If she starts licking, I stop petting. It works for me but nobodfy else at the house tries that hard. Same with my daughter's pitbull. The dog wiggles all over the place and tries to lick your hands. She knows if she wants to be petted, she has to come up to me and sit quietly in order to get petted. If she licks or rolls on her back, I stop petting. Again, :rolleyes: I'm the only one that works on this but it does work for me.

Eric
Get some bitter apple spray from your pet supply. For several days give the dog a short spray directly in the mouth so she builds a distaste for the stuff. Set up the situation that would normally cause her to lick your hands but be sure you have sprayed some bitter apple on your hands. It works on most dogs.
Jerry