Many pet parents must have noticed that their precious mates love to lick the feet. The canine’s excessive licking may be something to enjoy at first however; after sometime this habit gets extremely annoying. With new canines, pet parents should understand the world from their perspectives. Pet parents have to put themselves in the canine’s shoes in order to understand just what they are trying to say about them. It is better to have a lot of patience with the pooches.
If the canines have been licking the feet a lot, pet parents might be wondering why & what they can do in this regard. This guide will discuss the different reasons why dogs constantly lick the feet. Below are the few reasons why the canines love to lick your feet.
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The dogs lick the feet just because they love doing so. Dogs love to be clean and if the pet parents have been working hard in order to maintain their health, then this may attract them.
Dogs try to find out if there is anything strange happening to their body system and hence; they lick the foot.
No matter the reason behind it, pet parents must not be alarmed about it as it is not a serious issue.
Another major reason behind why your dog licks your feet may be that they are trying to let you know that something isn’t right with them.
It is important for pet parents to understand that this could be something serious like a sore paw or an insect bite.
A Clear Expression of Care & Love
It is worth sharing that canines would love to lick the feet of all those pet parents for whom they always feel love and affection. In the world of animal sciences, the word licking is just used to groom each other & is a clear yet non-verbal way to express trust and love. Moreover, according to different studies, when canines lick, a hormone named as oxytocin releases.
This hormone is also known as the trust and love hormone. So, licking is considered as an intrinsic response towards a certain stimuli. Therefore, this natural and powerful urge in the canines should be respected by pet parents.
Stress Buster
Licking also helps release endorphins in the nervous system and brain. Endorphin has a strong calming effect. Thus, the canines will lick the feet of their owners to get rid of constant worry. Apart from this, few dogs have a habit of licking their own paws in order to stay tension-free.
Gathering Information
Canines have different scent receptors in their mouths and noses that send direct signals to sensory nerves in order to process the information. Dogs can easily gather a lot of information from salt & other secretions present in the human sweat. It is vital to mention that sweat releases through sweat glands & these glands are also found on human feet.
The taste and smell of the sweat can give the canines information including the current mood of pet parents, where they have been, & with whom.
Also try changing the food of your dog, to treat this issue.
Is it bad for your dog to lick your feet?
The answer to this question is definitely NO. However, it could be alarming for pet parents when their pooch begins to lick their feet without the slightest hesitation. Dogs are naturally clean animals and they would love to lick the feet of pet parents for a number of reasons.
With new canines, pet parents must understand that they want to stay alert and check out the human feet as dogs have an excellent sense of smell that gives them more info regarding human body. Pet parents should show plenty of patience & under no circumstances should they hit or yell at their canine friends for licking their feet often, as this can lead to serious behavioral problems in dogs.
Can my dog get sick from licking my feet?
Many people have asked me over the years about whether or not a dog can get sick from licking a human’s feet. This is an excellent question that many pet owners have trouble answering because it depends on a number of factors, including individual dogs’ body weight and immune system strength, as well as the cleanliness of the person’s feet.
In general, you should be able to tell if your dog is getting sick by their symptoms (such as vomiting) or if they stop eating. Many people also worry that foot fungus could be passed on through licking but this isn’t usually an issue for light infestations and many common treatments will resolve any issues quickly and easily.
Are dog licks really kisses?
Actually it may be kisses or affection, but it may also be a sign of stress or illness in the dog. Dog licks can transmit all sorts of diseases, including rabies. If you have an intact male dog and he licks you, that could mean he’s trying to find a mate and that licking is actually him marking his territory.
However, if you are licking your dog then this would most likely be interpreted as kisses from them to you because they would not feel threatened by your presence. Unlike cats who may lick people instinctively because of their predatory nature. Cats have no problem approaching their prey so cats don’t usually lick people out of affection but rather for grooming purposes or for “hunting instincts”.
In the end, I would like to say canines do things that pet parents might not love & licking the feet is surely one of those acts. Pet parents should not forget that canines are unable to communicate with others with the help of words. Therefore, it is better to pay due attention to their non-verbal ways of communication to maintain a strong bond. Well, whatever the reason is, if the canine is doing unwanted licking, pet parents can distract his/her attention.
After diverting the attention, pet parents should reward the positive or desired behavior. Do not punish the canines for doing an act that probably appears natural to them. Also pay attention to them and teach them activities like hand shake and roll over.
As the saying goes, persuasion is better than force, which is true in the case of canines too.
Therefore, pet parents should approach this issue strategically as well as positively in order to solve it once and for all. Good Luck!
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