Constantly licking toddler

[steknight79]

Our female Jack Russel is obsessed with our toddler. She is constantly licking her mouth especially if she runs, shouts, laughs or bends over but it is basically all the time and it isn't just 1 lick she keeps licking and gets more and more frantic until I really shout or send her out. Our daughter has started hitting her in the head now as well so I have to constantly push the dog away or lock her out of the room (I tell my daughter off as well) but if I seperate them she is even worse when they're back together again.

 

I've only just started your course so hopefully it will help calm her down I was just wondering if you have any other ideas? Should I be clicking if she's ignoring her? I dont think she understands what she's doing wrong at all.

[cammidge]

Redirect to something she should be licking, and click and treat for that. How old is the puppy? No hitting.

[JMFS]

I'll be interested in the answer because Abbi does the same with our grandson. He's turning 4 next month and he's immobile from the waste down so he's stuck like Chuck when Abbi wants to have her way. We don't leave him alone with her, and he doesn't mind for the most part, but I'm still curious. She doesn't do it with anyone else and it's just like you say - frantic. These kiddos must be delicious!

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hello and welcome to the forums,

 

Dogs lick baby faces or toddler faces for various reasons, but a very common reason is that babies and toddlers are messy eaters and they taste good. Indeed, what may look like an endearing act is often more of an opportunistic one, with the dog enjoying licking up the remains of baby food or Spaghetti-Os sauce found in the corner of the child's mouth! However, dog behaviors can occur for various reasons so there could also be several other factors to consider when dogs get obsessed about licking toddler faces.

 

Licking behaviors are instinctive meaning that dogs don't need to learn to do this behavior because it comes natural to them. Mother dog communicates with her puppies through licking right after birth. She cleans her pups from the birth fluids and then she will lick her pups to stimulate them to eliminate until they are older and capable of eliminating on their own. Although this may sound repulsive, it's an adaptive behavior considering that it helps keep the den clean which means it won't attract predators.

 

As the puppies grow and are weaned from mother's milk, they will instinctively lick around the mother's mouth in hopes of her regurgitating. Once again, this may sound repulsive, but it makes sense considering that in the wild, pups need a transition period between consuming mother's milk and eating meat. Also, since it's impractical for mother dog to carry meat from the outside to the den, it's much easier for her to just consume the meal, and then once back to the den, regurgitate for her pups.

 

As puppies mature, they then use licking behaviors out of instinct. Indeed, you will often see dogs licking other dogs, adult people, toddlers and babies.

 

Dog trainer Victoria Stillwell explains that licking behaviors in dogs directed towards humans is a submissive gesture, and often a sign of affection. She also adds that licking releases endorphins which gives dogs a feeling of comfort and pleasure which helps relieve stress. Just something worthy of pointing out.

 

A word of caution though is needed when it comes to dogs who like to lick faces, in particular the faces of babies, toddlers and children. Not all doggy "kisses" are created equal. In some cases, certain types of face licking are not the affectionate kisses we interpret but are actually meant to put some distance. The face licking with the dog extending the neck, may therefore be a distance-increasing behavior that may be seen in dogs who are not comfortable with a certain situation and possibly even anxious. Since you mention that this tends to happen in particular when your child runs, shouts or bends over, this may be your dog's attempt to make her stop or calm her down.

 

Jennifer Shryock, a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC) who specializes in educating parents and creator of the "Dogs and Storks" program, calls this type of kiss, a “Kiss to Dismiss,” and describes it as a way for dogs to get someone who's making them uncomfortable (or is pestering them) to go away. Patricia McConnell describes it as "reminiscent of a behavior I’ve called “aggressively obsequious."

 

It is possible that some dogs may lick as an alternate, displacement behavior to biting. These dogs may have learned that nipping was not acceptable behavior and therefore they have replaced it with excessive licking. Some professionals refer to this form of licking as a "sublimated bite," in other words, a bite that is so strongly inhibited it morphs into licking with no tooth contact.

 

Sometimes dogs resort to licking as a way to get a human or other dog to move away or relinquish something. A dog may therefore lick the face of a toddler if he wants the toy the toddler has or he wants to lay down on the pillow the toddler is laying down on. Of course, not all dogs are prone to having face licking under the form of manipulative behaviors in their repertoire of tricks, but it's something perhaps worthy of pointing out.

 

A dog may therefore lick in the solicitation of resources just as puppies licked the corners of their mother's mouths as a precursor to feeding, points out veterinarian Dr. Patty Khuly.

 

Face licking behaviors are often maintained by reinforcement. Dogs tend to repeat behaviors that generate some type of reinforcement, which strengthens their behavior allowing it to persist. What type of reinforcement may dogs gain from licking a baby's' or toddlers' face?

 

As already mentioned, babies and toddlers are messy eaters. They often have slimy food remnants often around their mouths or some trace of sugar on their lips from eating sweets. Dogs find licking these remnants irresistible and these findings maintain the face-licking behavior. On top of this, dogs are attracted to licking faces and human skin in general because of the presence of salt.

 

Behaviors in dogs though aren't always reinforced by food or other tasty things. Some dogs find face licking as a good way to get attention.

 

If every time your dog licks your baby, you look at your dog (who perhaps feels a bit neglected due to the baby getting all the attention) he may soon learn that licking your baby gets you to look at him, talk to him or touch him.

 

When a dog feels neglected, any form of attention can be perceived as reinforcing. Even attention of the negative type. So giving your dog a stern look, scolding him or pushing him away, may be ultimately reinforcing the face-licking behavior.

 

 

As seen, dogs licking the face of babies, toddlers or children may do so for various reasons. Often, the best way to determine the underlying cause is by having a dog behavior professional come to the home and assess the dog and her behavior.

 

On top of being a potentially annoying behavior, especially when excessive, and possibly, indicative of underlying anxiety, a dog licking the face of a baby or toddler can be potentially unhygienic. Dog mouths contain lots of bacteria. One doesn't know what the dog licked or ate just prior to licking.

 

So how to address such an issue? I will point out some tips in the next post.

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Although I like the idea of clicking for ignoring her, there may be some drawbacks with this method. For instance, when she is clicked for ignoring, that often means that she will be rehearsing the licking behavior for some trials until she understands what grants the click. Also, 'ignoring' is a bit vague as a set criteria and the dog may not fully understand what is expected. There may be risks of establishing a "behavior chain" of the dog learning to lick the child, then walk away/ignore to generate the click and reward. Such behavior chains once established may be difficult to eradicate. However, done well and with correct timing, it is possible to see a reduction in the face licking behavior over time.

 

Here are some other options:

 

My favorite method is training a replacement behavior for the licking and a great one is hand targeting which you can find how to train it here:https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/

 

Train it away from your toddler and make sure you have a strong response. Make sure to put the behavior on cue. Say the verbal cue "target" right before you present your open hand. Click and reward. Repeat several times. Make the behavior become very solid.

 

Next, ask your dog to "target" your hand with your child at a distance (like visible and behind a baby gate) and then closer to the child with a long leash on. Then, progress to off leash. The moment you notice her intent to go lick your child's face, ask her to target your hand instead. Always be there ready to intervene. Make sure you heavily reward the hand targeting behavior and you'll see this new, replacement behavior more and more, and the face-licking less and less.

 

Eventually, you should see an increase in hand targeting and decreased interest in face licking if you use high enough value treats. You should then reach a point where you can ask your dog to target your hand and then reward with a long -lasting treat (like a stuffed Kong or a Kong Wobbler filled with a portion of your dog's daily meal ration) to consume at a distance from the child always under direct supervision (do this only if your dog isn't prone to resource guarding. Always best to keep child and dog separated during meals for safety as resource guarding may start in a dog without it if the dog feels uncomfortable in the presence of a child during meals). Here are some other tips.

 

 

-Set your dog for success. Keep your child's facial area as clean as possible. If your child smells like a jar of peanut butter or jam your dog will be unable to resist licking the face.

 

-Consider that the more your dog gets to rehearse the face-licking behavior, the more it puts roots. Catch the behavior before it occurs and prevent it from happening.

 

-Manage the situation. When you cannot actively supervise your dog and child, keep your dog in a separate area so she can't engage in the problematic behavior.

 

-If your child engages in behaviors that your dog may find worrisome, provide a comfortable place for your dog to not feel overwhelmed.

 

-Watch your dog's body language for clues that she is uncomfortable and barely tolerating things. If you see your licking, yawning, turning her head, and scrolling her fur during or after an interaction, your dog is likely sending out stress signals and she might lose it one day if you don’t take action.

 

-Play it safe and have a dog behavior consultant using force-free methods assess your dog to determine what may be triggering the excessive face licking and for the purpose establishing the most appropriate methods based on in-person observations.

 

-Provide your dog with brain games and interactive toys so to create a strong interest in these activities and possibly make your child's facial area less salient.

Edited July 12, 2019 by Adrienne Farricelli

[steknight79]

Thank you so much for all the info! I will definitely try the hand targeting.

 

I always assumed she was excited rather than uncomfortable but I'll try and observe with that in mind. I have tried sitting and stroking her and she is better if she is getting attention off me but if my daughter starts doing something that sets her off she starts wagging more and more and sometimes even shaking a bit and she just can't help but run over to her and start licking. I thought perhaps she wants attention from my daughter?

 

Dora (the dog) is nearly 3 now, we kept thinking she would get used to the baby and stop it but if anything it's got worse. I thought maybe she thinks it's her baby because she was only 1 when daughter was born and she might of had a phantom pregnancy not long before that. I don't think its food because our other dog is obsessed with food and totally ignores her but will keep extra clean!

[Adrienne Farricelli]

It can be an excited way to demonstrate affection as Victoria Stillwell points out and often seen when dogs come to say hello and greet, but most dogs after greeting calm down and the behavior tones down and stops. However, one must observe the context in which it happens. If it happens in contexts when your child gets moving and a little more hyper it may be her way to try to get her to "calm down" but only close observation of her body language and what seems to happen before and after the behavior can reveal better insights, but sometimes it's far easier just redirecting the behavior than wondering exactly what may trigger it as we may never really know exactly what is going on in the dog's mind.

 

It may be possible that during the false pregnancy and its associated hormonal changes she may developed a strong attachment that persisted. Is your dog spayed now?

 

Jack Russell terriers as you may already know need a lot of mental stimulation and can get quite persistent in some behaviors, so perhaps she may be bored too and paying attention to your child and her movements, may have become her new "hobby" to keep occupied. While all dogs need exercise and mental stimulation, this dynamic breed needs this to a deeper level, as these dogs have strong drives to hunt and explore, so definitely try out many brain games so to provide alternate outlets to performing undesirable behaviors. These dogs thrive when given activities that challenge their minds so they also benefit from agility training (obstacle course) and fun doggy sports such as flyball, or "earthdog" trials.

 

It sounds like your dog enjoys the sitting and petting/attention from you until your child "activates" doing something that motivates your dog to go on "face licking duty." Here we may therefore need to find something that can be more reinforcing to her so to stop her in her tracks and promptly return to you and make an alternate choice.

 

Of course, hand targeting is only one method to interrupt behavior. You can also train her to respond to a smacking sound you make with your mouth that tells her to stop in her tracks (before engaging in the undesirable behavior) and you can reward that with a treat. The more we succeed in preventing the behavior and reward the alternate behavior, the more the dog will decide to make good choices. Important is to do as much as possible to prevent rehearsal of the behavior as it's easy to re-establish even once there is improvement, hence the importance of separation when not there to redirect as needed.

 

I know this article below is more for dogs who are a bit reactive to the novelty of seeing babies crawling, but the same exercises can be tried to redirect your dog from face licking while keeping your dog busy with training and hence giving mental stimulation. If your dog's behavior is triggered by underlying anxiety (shaking can be sign of anxiety, but also excessive arousal), then desensitization and counterconditioning exercises with the help of a professional may be needed. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/get-dog-used-crawling-baby/

Edited July 15, 2019 by Adrienne Farricelli