Why does my dog lick my husband but not me?

If your dog licks your husband but not you, you might be wondering why and what to do about it. This post will show you a number of possible reasons why and what you can do about them.

So, why does my dog lick my husband and not me? Possible reasons why your dog licks your husband are that it is being submissive, he is the one that feeds it or gives it exercise, he has been giving it more attention, he has been giving it treats, or he has trained it to behave that way.

There are multiple reasons why your dog might be doing it and it could be due to a combination of reasons. However, there are a number of things you can consider when figuring out the main cause and there are a number of things you can do about it.

Why does my dog lick my husband or boyfriend but not me?

Below are a number of possible causes and what would make each of them more likely to be the main reason.

Submissiveness

Dogs will often lick when they are being submissive. The reason why your dog has been licking your husband more might actually be that your dog is being submissive. This would be more likely if your dog tends to do it when your husband is annoyed with it.

He is the one that feeds it or gives it exercise

If your husband is the one that feeds to gives exercise to your dog, it is likely that it is showing more interest in him because it wants food or exercise. This would be especially likely if it tends to show more interest in him and lick him before getting food or exercise.

He has been giving it more attention

Another possible cause could be that your husband gives your dog more attention. If he does, it might be the case that it wants to reciprocate the attention back to your husband. In this case, it might help to give it more attention by training it, playing with it and exercising it.

He has been giving it treats

Another possible cause is that your husband gives your dog treats. This would be more likely if you have seen your husband giving it treats or his food and if your dog tends to give him more attention when he has food or is eating.

He has trained it to be that way

Another possible cause is that your husband trained your dog to give him attention. This would be more likely if you know your husband has been training it and if you did not give it much training yourself.

Things to consider about your dog licking your boyfriend or husband more

Below are some things you can consider to help figure out the main reason why your dog has been doing it.

If your dog has always licked your boyfriend or husband more

If your dog did not always lick you less, it would help to consider what else happened when it stopped licking you. If it stopped doing it suddenly, it might be due to things such as if you stopped feeding it, exercising it, training it, or giving it treats.

What is different when your dog does lick you

If your dog does lick you sometimes, it would help to consider what is different when it does lick you. For example, if it does lick you when you pet it, a part of the cause could be that your husband gives it more attention overall.

What to do about your dog not licking you more

Below are some options you have when dealing with the behavior.

Encourage it

One option would be to encourage the behavior by giving it rewards when it licks you or becomes affectionate towards you. Doing this will teach it that, if it is affectionate towards you, it will get more rewards.

Be the one to give it exercise and food

If you are not the one that tends to feed it or exercise it, you could start being the one to do it. By doing so, it is likely that your dog will start to give you a lot more attention.

Be calm with it

If you might have been intimidating it, it would help to be calm with it and to get it to change its behavior with the use of training instead.