Licking: Not everyone's favorite past time.
Let's talk about everyone's favorite topic. Licking, while cute when the dog is a puppy. Becomes a bit of a nuisance later on in the dog's life when your hands and face are soaked in dog slobber every time your dog comes near you. Its goes without saying that you appreciate the fact that your dog friend loves you enough to be willing to taste you at every second of every day, but to much affection can be taxing at times. Also contrary to popular belief dogs mouth are far from clean. Which brings us to the big question...Why do they lick us so much?
Licking can be categorized into many different reasoning, your dog could have many different reason for wanting to lick you all the time such as;
Your dog just plain loves you
Its true! some dogs will you show their undying devotion to you by licking you every second of every day. Though this gesture is flattering it's still not an appropriate way for a dog to tell you it loves you (unless you're into slobber) So every time you go to pet it to show how much you love it, It licks you to return the favor . When your dog does lick you gently correct it by withdrawing your hand. Bring your hand to the dogs head to pet and reward it with praise when it doesn't lick you. The same works for when your dog is in an excited state, Calmly....CALMLY correct the dog and praise it when it doesn't lick you. Consistency is important with this approach.
You've got some tasty skin there fran
Though this may be rare, there have been cases where a dog will lick it owner for hours just because it tastes like chicken. This could be a sign to change up your odor or wash your hands more frequently. Try wearing a different deodorant or perfume and follow that same steps as above. If this doesn't work you can rub lemon juice(not lemonade) on your hands and when your dog tries to lick you it gets blasted with a bitter taste of lemons (how do you like those lemons!)
They are trying to get a rise out of you
Dogs are smart, We all know this. Dogs have the intelligence to figure out ways of making your sole purpose in life paying attention to them. Think about it like this, There's no such thing as bad attention. When you punish your dog you are paying complete attention to it the same as if you were rubbing its belly or playing with it. If dogs feel like your a little to focused on something other than them for too long they will start to find ways to get your attention. Now think back to when you were working on something then all of the sudden you look and see your pupperoni chewing on the remote control. In a fit of excitement you run over to the dog and pull the remote from its mouth then proceed to scold it and explain to it why it can't chew on things. First off the dogs can't understand you. Second you're playing right into its hands! So when your dog licks you when your not paying attention to it it's generally trying to get a rise out of you. When your dog licks you ignore this behavior give it something to occupy it attention like a peanut butter filled toy or the like and go back to what you were doing. Let your dog know that even though you love it you cannot pay attention to at at all times. Do not yell at it because that will hurt you more than help you, and try throwing a pet towards your dog every now and then to let it know its still in your thoughts. It's also important to associate a command with this method, such as “leave it” or “no kisses” This way you can still incorporate a touch of operant conditioning into the mix. Repeat these methods until the behavior is reduced and both you and your slobbery hand will be grateful.
Keep Training!
-G