In case anybody is wondering the actual reason, it’s because many quadrupedal mammals bathe by licking themselves and each other, particular between parents and offspring, so a dog licking you is just the dog’s instinctual response to close physical contact with family members. Some hypothesize that dogs enjoy being pet because it emulates the sensation of their mother licking them. Some animals are somewhat incapable of cleaning themselves at a young age and that leads to problems with early separation, such as Lions who in captivity are often paired with a dog who serves as a surrogate mother for cleaning them.
There are also some related wolf behaviors. Pups seem to lick parent faces to trigger them to regurgitate foraged food when they return to the den after hunting. I always imagine that my pup is licking my face to get me to regurgitate a smackerel of something delicious.
In case anybody is wondering the actual reason, it’s because many quadrupedal mammals bathe by licking themselves and each other, particular between parents and offspring, so a dog licking you is just the dog’s instinctual response to close physical contact with family members. Some hypothesize that dogs enjoy being pet because it emulates the sensation of their mother licking them. Some animals are somewhat incapable of cleaning themselves at a young age and that leads to problems with early separation, such as Lions who in captivity are often paired with a dog who serves as a surrogate mother for cleaning them.
Yes. Also, dogs like salty things.
and eating their poop
And eating cat poop.
And eating horse poop.
Dogs are the poop cleaners of the world!
Except for how much poop they make…
Maybe dogs are pooping out the poops they ate? Is the dog ourobouros?
There are also some related wolf behaviors. Pups seem to lick parent faces to trigger them to regurgitate foraged food when they return to the den after hunting. I always imagine that my pup is licking my face to get me to regurgitate a smackerel of something delicious.