This is leaving me slightly confused...I've noticed this happening since we've had Djenga, but it seems to be happening more lately.

Since the beginning, Cassie would lay with Djenga, and like her face and head.

But more recently, Cassie has gotten more insistent about it. She'll jump on Djenga with her front legs, push her down with her head, or sort of mount her, to get Djenga to lay down. Then once she's down, Cassie will start grooming her face.

If Djenga puts up a fight about it, and bites or yaps about it (not a yap, exactly, but close enough), Cassie will get rougher in pushing Djenga down. Sometimes she'll open up her mouth and put it around Djenga's throat to hold her down.

So...what exactly are they doing? Is Cassie treating Djenga like her own puppy? Is she doing it more now because Djenga's growing up, and Cassie wants her to stay as a puppy? And should I stop this, or allow it?

Here is a pretty good article which explains why dogs lick each other.

http://www.pets.ca/articles/article-doglick.htm

When my male was younger he would lick the face of an older adult male that we would see quite often. In his case it was clearly an act of submission. The adult stood there and accepted this and never licked back.

Your case seems a bit unusual because Cassie seems to be displaying both dominance and submission at the same time. Maybe there is a rank change happening and she is uncertain of her status. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

I am trying.....so hard....to hold back.....and not post the joke about Why Do Male Dogs Lick Themselves..... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

....female dogs lick themselves too. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

My 8 months old male Malinois love to lick my 8 weeks old female Pomeranian also, he just use his paws and flip her on her back and lick her clean like he is her mother. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I've had bitches that were insistent about grooming / licking others, and I always figured it was a dominance thing. Sort of rooted in holding the "puppy" down and groomining them. These were also the bossy girls who would "wash" the skin off your hands, or the kid's faces if allowed.

We had a couple male greyhounds out of the same litter who sucked ears. They would lick and chew eachother's ears into limp, sopping, rags. The "victims" didn't seem to mind, but seeing them shoot that tounge down in the ear canal gave me the willys. Ugh.

Maybe Djenga tastes like chicken or something! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

My male & female terriers have a "lick fest" every morning - and I feel honoured to be included in the ritual <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

My male terrier also appears to groom me at times (he sort of nibbles along my arm in between licks!)

They both go absolutely nuts over a couple of older rotties we've seen since the terriers were puppies - talk about grovel :rolleyes:

Hello Meghan!

I've watched my Finkie lick my GSD's ears. And you know what? More and more I am seeing that licking does not only (necessarily) communicate pack rank.

Although, licking for dominance and submissiveness surely does exist. But maybe in your case you may want to think slightly outside of the box.

My feeling is that forcing Djenga down is a key indicator here. No submissive behavior (in my limited understanding) would be accompanied with forcing your "dominant" to the ground, mounting, and pinning it down with your teeth. See what I am saying?

I think that the licking is more ritualistic than affectionate in your case. Its a bit maternal, but probably also routine. Dogs love routine. As Djenga gets older she may not care for it as much. But Cassie being more set in her ways may have come to expect it as the norm.

If anything, it seems that Cassie is inadvertently preserving the pack-order. So long as they don't hurt each other (and if raised together supervised in a good home they rarely do), it's might be best to just let them work it out.

Just my .02,
David C