Dog owners may have noticed that dogs often lick themselves, but what does it mean when a dog licks itself? And how can owners know what their dog is thinking?

For dogs, licking can mean comfort, pleading, or hunger. Firstly, regarding comfort, if a dog licks its companion, it's a sign of reassurance. After a while, puppies learn to lick themselves and their companions; besides keeping clean, this helps strengthen the bond and expresses goodwill and acceptance. What it's really saying is, "I'm good. I mean no harm. Please accept me."

Therefore, when a dog licks a person's face, it actually means it's being affectionate. The dog feels that you can protect it, which implies obedience. It's also telling you, "It likes you" and "I feel safe with you!" Sometimes, it also means that the dog respects you and usually licks you because it sees you as its "leader or leader."

When a dog licks your face, it can also mean it's hungry and wants to eat. In the wild, mother dogs would bring food back to the nest for their puppies, and sometimes they would regurgitate the food they ate and give it to the puppies. The puppies would lick their mother's face to indicate that they were hungry. Although dogs have evolved over the years and their lifestyle is no longer the same as in the wild, some habits have remained. Sometimes, when a dog licks your face, it's telling you, "I'm hungry, I want to eat."

If a dog licks your hand, it's actually begging for forgiveness, especially when the dog has been scolded. It's trying to say, "Don't be angry!" or "I know I was wrong," hoping to calm you down by licking your hand. If it doesn't lick your hand after being scolded, it might be because you gave it a treat before when it did so, so the dog thinks that licking your hand will get it a treat!

When a dog is anxious, it will lick itself, usually its nose or mouth. It will also do this when it is being scolded, which is telling you that it is very nervous. Once its nervousness and anxiety are relieved, it will stop licking itself.

However, if the dog is licking something other than its nose or mouth, be careful; because dogs don't groom themselves like cats do, they usually lick their bodies only when they are in pain, so you should pay attention to whether the dog is injured or sick.

Sometimes dogs lick the floor, or even everything in sight. It's important to be careful, as dogs might unintentionally ingest dirt.

Besides licking to express their feelings, what other body language do dogs use?

Source: https://www.loveupets.com/report_detail_pc.php?id=552