Constant Dog Licking: Is It Love or Something Else,porque mi perra me lame mucho?

Okay, so my little furry friend, Bella, has been extra clingy lately, and by clingy, I mean she's been licking me non-stop. At first, it was cute, a little lick here, a little lick there. But then it became... a lot. So, I decided to figure out what was going on.

My Licking Investigation

I started by observing when she does it most. Is it after meals? When I get home? Randomly throughout the day? I noticed a pattern. She definitely licks me more when I first get home, and after I've been sitting down for a while. Like, she'll come over and just start going to town on my hands or my feet.

Then, I tried to see if anything stopped her. If I gave her a toy, would she lick that instead? Sometimes, yes. Sometimes, no. It was pretty hit or miss. She’d lick the toy for approximately 3 seconds and go right back to my hand.

• Observation: She licks more when I'm "new" (just got home) or settled.
• Experiment 1: Toys are a 50/50 distraction.

Next, I did what any modern dog owner would do – I Googled it! The internet gave me a bunch of reasons: affection, attention-seeking, she likes the taste of my sweat (gross, but okay), anxiety, or even boredom. That’s a wide range of issues.

Thinking about those possibilities, I tried a few things. I made sure she was getting plenty of exercise, thinking maybe she was bored. We went on extra walks, played more fetch in the yard – the whole nine yards. It seemed to help a little, but the licking didn't stop completely. She was still doing the “love you” licks!

Because walks were not the sole fix. I started paying more attention to when I was giving her attention. Was I accidentally rewarding the licking by petting her when she did it? Probably. So, I started to consciously redirect her. When she'd start licking, I'd get up and walk away, or I'd give her a command like "sit" or "down" and then reward her for that. I have been trying to shift the focus.

• Experiment 2: More exercise = slight improvement.
• Experiment 3: Redirecting attention = work in progress.

It's still a work in progress, honestly. She still licks me, but it feels like it's less frequent and less intense. I think it's a combination of things – she loves me, she wants attention, and maybe she does just like the taste of my skin after a long day. I am continuing to work on the redirecting, and I'm also trying to be more mindful of giving her attention before she starts the licking frenzy. It’s all about figuring out what works for her, and for me, and establishing the right way to show each other some love.