Just curious what it means in dog language. Cooper will often lick Tillys face. It looks like affection, but I'm not sure. This is typically when they are lying down together. Cooper and Tilly also play fight a few times a day, with Tilly generally getting the worst of it. Cooper is usually the instigator, but they never actually hurt each other, and either one can stop it pretty much any time. Someone who did not know them would think they are actually serious, with a lot of barks and teeth, but very little contact. The only thing I worry about is Tilly injuring her shoulder since both of them use their paws as well as their mouths.
I think it's a submissive thing, also a play thing - it really seems to be a puppy thing. Lots of young girl dogs that Charlie knows do it to him - and he hates it! He hates the licky face thing! He can't get away from them fast enough.
Lilly is the same with a certain Labrador lodger we have. Same as Charlie I mean. I heard ear licking is a matriarchal thing though. The dog who is top of the pack and protects the others takes on the role of ear cleaner to the dogs he or she protects. Might be bunkum
Hehe, like this... My two don't play like that very often anymore, it tends to be more chase games with one or both bum-tucking, and bitey-face. Shadow does lick Willow's face, too, and it's definitely to try to instigate play rather than submission.
Bailey and my sister's dog Riley play just like that @snowbunny with them licking each others faces when things calm down - just to start it all off I think!
They look and sound terrifying - but there's no contact, loads of sneezing to indicate it's just play and then one of them will shake to signal the game is over and it'll stop instantly. They take it in turns to be "on top", which is important, although when it comes to chase games, Willow insists on being the chasee. She's not interested in being the chaser at all!
I know Bailey and Riley do too...the only time there was any blood was when one of Bailey's puppy teeth came out during a session - Riley immediately laid down next to Bailey while we were checking where the blood was from - guessed pretty quickly as I put my hand on the tooth on the floor! Five minutes later they were off again!
Tilly doesn't seem to mind when Cooper licks her face. At least she doesn't make any move to leave or stop the activity. When they are play fighting, some times she does act like she would like to get away, and Cooper usually respects that. The worst thing about it for us, is that Cooper has a loud, high pitched play bark when they are play fighting. It really hurts my wife's ears, mine not so much since I have too many years in steel mills with high frequency hearing loss. There are some advantages to getting older.
Interesting about licking to induce playing? I often wondered what the licking was all about. Snowie has particular dogs whose mouths he licks, and I wondered why. And there are dogs -- especially puppies -- that will want to lick Snowie's mouth. He doesn't seem to mind, although if it goes on for too long then he keeps running while the other dog tries to keep up and keeps licking his mouth. We call the licker the dental hygienist! So is it nothing about tasting the other dog's drool? Is it always a behavioural thing -- submission or instigating play? In human terms, apparently kissing is all about building immunity. And furthermore, in heterosexual evolutionary terms, a woman would seek out a tall man so that, when kissing, the saliva would fall from the man's mouth into the woman's and she would build immunity. It all sounds so theoretical, doesn't it?!
I read an article on hierarchy just the other day, and it went into some detail about face licking being puppy appeasement behaviour - I can quite see how this just becomes a puppy mannerism used in play too, and it's understandable this is often directed towards adult dogs by puppies. Something to do with mothers regurgitating food for pups is the start of it...
My boy Max has what I call his "best friend" Cooper and a "girlfriend". He doesn't like being kissed by any dog except for his GF Maddie ! It's really bizarre because Cooper licks everyday he comes across (he's a floodle so very puppy like even though the same age as Max). Cooper and Max have known each other for over a year and they enjoy playing but it's starting to settle down and they prefer to trot around together sniffing stuff Then there's Maddie, they've known each other probably a year or so and just lately it's been very lovey dovey between the pair, not only does he allow Maddie to kiss him but he also kisses her! Proper grooming each other and constantly stuck to each others sides whilst on walks, they even share a big crate together in the van and cuddle up! Very heart warming to see as he's not overly affectionate with dogs. Incredibly cute to witness
