When my dog licks my face, is it because he loves me or because he smells my breath from the food i ate earlier?
2006-06-26 14:27:11 · 9 answers · asked by dvau11484 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
Dogs like thier ancestors wolves use licking for many purposes....a subservient wolf for example always fawns upon more dominant members of the pack by crawling on the ground licking the muzzle of the dominant wolf to show that they recognize thier leadership, however pups also lick the corners of the mouths of older wolves in order to induce regurgitation of food as well. Also members of a wolf pack lick eachother for grooming purposes which also reinforces the family bond of the pack. Dog are wolves and are genetically identical to them but dogs having been domesticated for 15,000 years or so have diverged from wolves in many ways. One of the most noticeable changes is that dogs never really reach maturity like a wolf does they stay more puppy like because, we as thier domesticators have chosen the dogs that are more submissive to be our pets and over the years that selection has caused what is called Neoteny in dogs basically what that is...is they are more puppy like for thier entire lives.....so your dog as a domesticated wolf is like a puppy his whole life compared to wolves in the wild who mature at around 3-4 years of age. So your dog licking your face is a sign of love in the sense that it is being done to reinforce pack bonds or to show submissiveness or possibly even as an attempt to make you regurgitate food for him/her without really knowng why he/she is doing it. In any case it is a sign of affection used to gain trust or food or reinforce the bond between you and him/her.
2006-07-03 10:54:16 · answer #1 · answered by Kelly + Eternal Universal Energy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well it is difficult to say. Im sure that your dog does love you and has accepted you as a member of its pack. Animal behaviours such as these are difficult to explain. The simple anthropogenic answer is that it loves you and wants a big kiss, but it may be related to food that was spilled on your face, or the salt in your sweat. Animals do not Kiss or show human behaviours, those are things that relate only to humans.
2006-07-03 10:23:45 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most all behavior that dogs exhibit is derived from the wolf (their ancient ancestor) and we take advantage of that to cultivate certain skills: pointing, herding, setting, retrieving, etc. Wolf pups greet returning adults (not just parents) by licking their faces in hopes of inducing them to regurgitate food from the daily hunt. They also enjoy store-bought food. Good luck.
2006-06-26 22:11:56 · answer #3 · answered by Kes 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He is being subserviant and licking your face imitates what dogs do in the pack to the leader.
2006-06-26 21:32:04 · answer #4 · answered by grouchyeve 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Neither. Because they want to fell you. They can't touch, The only things they can do are smelling and tasting, They already that we spell something close and they know, so they try us...
;)
2006-06-26 21:32:01 · answer #5 · answered by Young_woman 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He loves you!!! It's a form of adoration and affection. Believe it or not, I've kind of trained my cat to give me a kiss when I bring my face towards hers.
2006-06-26 21:29:23 · answer #6 · answered by ddevilish_txnfml 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your dog licks itself to clean itself, so i think he does it to try to clean you to
2006-06-26 23:10:45 · answer #7 · answered by al_igator88 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No.. your sweet dog want you to know that he loves you
2006-06-26 21:30:05 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
yea he wants what you ate.....and they want to taste you....
2006-06-26 21:31:15 · answer #9 · answered by mz.Tiza 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋