Do you let your dog lick you?

[TrudieC]

My husband and dog are driving me crazy.  We have a female golden retreiver who is extraordinarily attached to my husband.  I can't stand the sound of slurping or licking.  He lets her lick his feet and his psoriasis spots.  She goes on and on and on and I just want to gag.  He says she needs to feel like she's taking care of him.  I feel that it is making the dog too subservient.  I'm not adverse to a joyful kiss from my dog but this determined licking is too much.  What do you think?

[ChitChatNine]

We usually toss a toy and she'll run away from our feet ... a little shihtzu but likes to lick the feet and go after my son's sweaty socks in the hamper!

[TrudieC]

Goldens are beautiful and by nature are quite 'oral'.  After a shower she is especially after my husband.  When I tell her enough I get a growl and dirty look from the hubby.  Arghh!!!

[Barb135]

My beagle mix used to be afraid of the dark and would NOT go outside after dark/during the night unless I went with her; then when she came back in, she was SO grateful, she thought she just HAD to give me all kinds of LOVE --- "slurp, slurp"... I put a stop to THAT quickly enough.  She's STILL a bit leary of going out alone in the dark, but does better now......... She's 5 yrs old; we've had her for 3...

[joycekatherine]

I have a female golden retriever too, and she is lick crazy!!  Especially when you first get out of the shower, she wants to lick your legs and when I put lotion on my legs, you can barely get her to stop, but, a firm "that's enuf," and she finally stops.  I just love her to pieces...she is so loving and gentle, but, she is the biggest chicken sh*& there ever was...thunder, fireworks and the rustle of a plastic bag, send her running under the computer desk!!  I keep telling her, she is supposed to protect me, not run and hide! LOL
Mine's name is Sophi, on her papers, it's Sophia Rose...goldens are so darn pretty, aren't they??  

[redheadaussie]

Gakkus attackus! I hate the sound of my dog licking her bits in the middle of the night..she goes on and on and on till I eventually get up and throw her outside. Invariably it's coz she is leaking pee and may have tried to whimper me awake, and I have not been compes enough to let her out.
I certainly do not let her lick ME though...anywhere on my body. Yuk!
But I guess if your hubby gets some perverted satisfaction from a dog licking his feet then I say, each to their own!

[babypooh]

My dog isn't big enough to reach the toilet water, LOL. Good thing!

[Barb135]

Trudie - it's your house - yep, make HIM leave the room....... go girl.....

[TrudieC]

Barb, a lot of sense - but I say he should leave the room :)

[Barb135]

We had a cocker spaniel who was just shy of 20 yrs old; we had her for 13 yrs - some of you may remember that we had to have her put to sleep just a couple of weeks ago.  She loved to lick my hubby's feet and legs and he was content to let her "slurp away" for as long as she was willing.... Personally, one or two licks to let me know she loved me was more than enough for ME.... then it was "quit, stop, no more, nadda".. sometimes I would have to get up and walk away when she was licking on hubby because it "irked" me so much.....but THEY were happy...

I watch the Dog Whisperer all the time and I think, according to him, excessive licking is usually a nervous/insecure activity.  I think in OUR case, the dog did it because she may have felt somewhat insecure and hubby allowed it because he tends to be somewhat nervous/insecure and it calmed him...... Unfortunately, she's gone now & I tend to be anything BUT calming because *I* refuse to lick his feet/legs............ LOL

We still have our 5 yr old beagle mix, who is pretty much MY dog and although she TRIES the licking thing once in a while - usually, all it takes is to tell her "no lick" and either redirect her attention or just turn her head away.  She's allowed to lick my face or hand to let me know she loves me, she gets "kisses" back, then we are done with that and it's time to stop..

All that said - I've also read that animals have great healing ability.  Just think, if they were in a pack in the wild and one of their "family" were hurt or ill, they would lick in an effort to make them well.  You and your hubby are your dog's pack and maybe your dog "senses" your hubby's sore legs (psoriasis) and is trying, in the only way it knows how, to "heal" your hubby; and maybe the moist "massage" of the tongue may actually make the psoriasis less painful and give hubby comfort.  And let's not forget the "service" dogs that are trained to find things ranging from drugs to various illnesses or to comfort elderly/children in nursing homes/hospitals, etc.....  

Bottom line - if you don't mind it - go for it, as it could make both you and your dog feel better.  If you don't like it - leave the room and let the dog lick hubby........ LOL

[wonko]

I have a cat who is a big licker.  I personally don't care for it, and my skin crawls a bit when my better half allows the excessive behavior.  

[TrudieC]

Our dog still eats poop and drinks from the toilet, and yet my husband still lets her lick him.  Yuck!

[margypops]

I have a cat that tries to drink from the toilets but I dont like that so I shut the lid, maybe they didnt get enough water. when they wre young.

[Cherie762]

no way...my dog drinks toilet water every chance he gets...dumb dog...but I still love him hes my 85 lb baby

[babypooh]

Ha ha ha ha ha! My dog does the same thing with anyone's feet! My husband lets her too! She likes the taste of sweat and our other dog likes the taste of deodorant and lotions, he he. It doesn't bother me. They like it :)

[heatherlynn22]

that...is kinda gross. my moms dog are more than happy to give a big slobbery kiss but that's about it. i don't have any dogs living with me now but my cat licks me. she licks my nose or my arm. i think she thinks she's bathing me. i wonder if that's her way of politely letting me know i need a bath? but she only does it AFTER i shower/bath.

wow i miss having a dog. lol.

[Melissa0116]

I got extremely lucky when it comes to my doggy.  She is very loving and will rub her head on you to let you know that she love you but she never has ever licked anyone.  She just does not do that.  She is very laid back and we have not had any real issues with her.  She can wait for hours until we get home to go potty.  She has not went potty in the house since she was a 6 months old and she is 8 years old now.  She also has had no professional training and we let her out in the back yard and she actually stops at each side of the house knowing that she cannot go past their or she will get too close too the road.  She is just a wonderful loving dog.  I guess I got a great dog since my parents dog was such a trash digger and left many messes for me as a teenager to clean up.  Although, my parents dog, I loved her so much and she was a licker too.    

I don't think that I will get another dog after my Amber, since I will never find a best friend as good as her.  She is beautiful.  Take a look at my pictures and you can see what she looks like.  She is a beagle/husky mix.

[margypops]

I feel somewhat like you do, I also dont mind a odd smackeroo from a great dog, but licking my smelly feet would take it a step too far for his Lordship, so let him have a few mins of slurping then say NO, and hopefully that will make them both slouch away..or stop at least.