Dog is the pet one would love to have. The pet owner must be aware of the dog health problems, which are so many. Let us discuss about the dog health problem licking here.
Licking is one of the common vices that all most all the pet owners would have experience. There are so many explanations for this behavior of the dog but not all of them are conclusive. The reason for face licking differs from dog to dog and different circumstances.
One can notice the bitches licking the newborn pups. The reason is to wake the pups from their post -partum dullness, to remove the sticky substance from the body of the pup and to arouse them to breath. The bitch will lick the pups after the owner cleans them. This is making the pups to pass the urine and faces. The licking of the bitch also has other purpose that the bonding between the pup and the bitch becomes stronger. In a rare case some pups can be seen licking the batch's lip. This is to stimulate the bitch to vomit so that they can eat it.
Dogs like the human being show certain behaviors when they are put under stress or when they are nervous. For example incase of human being just watch next time when you are in traffic signal post. The driver of the next car will be stoking his hair, or will be trying to take something struck between the teeth. Likewise the dogs also express their tension through strange behaviors. One such behavior is licking their lips. This can be noticed when the dog is taken to the vet who must have injected the dog on the previous visit.
The dogs that are sensitive resort to licking under stressful conditions. The dogs may lick some parts of the body, which may lead to acral lick dermatitis. Not all the dogs the body. Some dogs start licking the floors, walls, or furniture under stress condition. In order to Correct the licking behavior the dogs must be treated for the underlying cause like anxiety, stress etc.
Whatever may be the reason for licking, when it comes to correcting the behavior of the dog, as it not liked by any pet owner, reward or punishment therapy is the best. As per the psychologist BF skinner reward increases the likelihood response.
So when the dog licks the owner or the floor or furniture or any other thing due to vestige of maternal lip licking or due to anxiety or due to stress, if the pet owner greet the dog with affection, kiss or hug the dog will repeat the behavior. Instead if the owner gives simple punishment like tapping the face the dog will slowly stop doing the same. This way the dog health problem like licking can be corrected.
Other dog health articles:
dog sickness symptoms | dog illness symptoms | dog health problems symptoms
Psychology - the science dealing with the mind and behavior of the animal or human beings
Stress - the condition that results in the depletion of body protein and make the person or the animal tired.
