Why does my dog lick my nose?

If your dog licks your nose a lot, you might be wondering why and what you can do about it. This post will show you a number of possible causes and what you can do about each of them.

So, why does my dog lick my nose? Possible reasons why your dog has been licking your nose are that you have inadvertently encouraged the behavior, it’s looking for extra attention, it’s bored, it is being affectionate or that it is excited.

Since there are multiple possible causes, it would help to consider what would make each of them more likely. Once you have a good idea of the cause, it should become easier to figure out what you should do about it.

Why does my dog lick my nose?

Below are a number of common reasons why dogs do it and what would make them more likely to be the reason why your dog has been doing it.

Encouraging the behavior

It could be the case that your dog has learned that it gets rewarded when it licks your nose. If you tend to give it things such as toys, treats or extra attention, when it licks your nose, it will likely do it more in order to get more rewards.

Instead, it would help to reward it while it is not licking your nose and to stop giving it rewards as soon as it starts trying to lick you.

Attention

The cause might be that it is looking for attention. This would be more likely if it does it more when you have not been giving it much attention and if you tend to give it more attention when it does it.

Instead, it would help to give it attention throughout the day by playing with it, training it and exercising it but to avoid rewarding it with attention when it licks your nose by redirecting its behavior when it starts.

Boredom

It could be the case that it is bored and looking for ways to stimulate itself. This would be more likely if it tends to do it more before getting exercise. It would help to ensure that it is able to get the daily amount of recommended exercise for its age and breed. If it is already getting a lot of exercise, another way to stimulate it would be to give it training.

Affection

It might also be the case that it does it because it is being affectionate. When it’s licking you it’s letting you know that it trusts you and that you are a part of its tribe. This type of licking is normal and will often happen when you try to pet it.

Grooming

Dogs will often groom themselves by licking. They will also groom others such as when a mother dogs licks her puppies. This is could be why your dog has been licking your nose. This would be more likely if it tries to lick you when you are not petting it.

Nature

When dogs are young, one of the first ways that they will explore the world is by licking and sniffing things. If your dog is a puppy then it is likely to be the case that it is exploring when it is licking your nose. The habit of licking things will stay with it as it gets older which is why they will naturally lick quite often.

Excitement

The reason why it licks your nose could be that it is excited. This would be more likely if it tends to do it in situations where it gets very excited such as when you come home or when it is going out for a walk.

In this case, it would help to avoid doing the thing that it gets excited about and to wait for it to stop licking your nose before continuing.

Things to consider about your dog licking your nose

Below are some things you can consider when figuring out the most likely reason why your dog has been licking your nose.

What else occurred when your dog first started licking your nose

If your dog did not always lick your nose, it would help to consider if anything else happened when it first started doing it since it could be the case that there was an event that caused it to start.

If it started doing it suddenly, it could be due to things such as learning that it gets rewards for doing it or if you stopped giving it as much attention causing it to do things to get you to give it more attention.

What is different when your dog licks your nose

It would also help to consider the timing of when it licks your nose. If it tends to do it more when you arrive home, it would be more likely to be due to things such as excitement and it would help to ignore it until it stops licking and then to reward it for not licking.

What to do about your dog licking your nose

Below are some things you can do in order to get your dog to stop doing it.

Avoid rewarding the behavior

As mentioned above, it could be the case that your dog has learned that it gets rewards for licking your nose. It would help to stop giving it rewards or attention, when it starts licking your nose, then to give it attention again once it has stopped.

Train your dog to stop licking your nose

Positive reinforcement training is where you get your dog to do things that you want by rewarding it for doing them or showing signs of doing them.

To use positive reinforcement training to get it to stop licking your nose you would:

• Stand up and turn away, when it starts licking your nose, leaving the room if necessary.
• Wait a few moments and then go back to giving it attention and then turning away again if it starts licking your nose
• Repeat the above until it learns that licking your nose causes it to lose your attention
• Reward it with a treat when it does particularly well

Give your dog exercise

It would also help to ensure that it is able to get the daily amount of recommended exercise for its age and breed. If it is already getting daily exercise, another way to stimulate it would be to give it more training.

Give your dog distractions

In addition to the above, you could also try giving it things to be distracted by such as bones or toys so that it is less likely to start licking your arms.

Give your dog attention

It would also help to give it attention throughout the day so that it is less likely to try to get attention from you. Ways to give it attention would be to train it, exercise it and to play with it.

Why does my dog lick my nose so much?

Likely reasons why your dog licks your nose a lot are that it has learned that the behavior is rewarded, not enough training and excitement.

Why does my dog lick my nose in the morning?

Your dog likely licks your nose, in the morning, because it is excited to see you and because it is hungry. In this case, it would help to avoid rewarding it until it stops licking you.

Why does my dog lick my nose and ears?

Your dog likely licks your nose and ears due to having learned that the behavior is rewarded, it likes the taste, and boredom.

Why does my dog lick my nose and eyes?

Your dog also likely licks your nose and eyes due to having learned that the behavior is rewarded, it likes the taste, and boredom.

Why does my dog lick my nose all the time?

Your dog likely licks your nose all the time because it has learned that the behavior results in you giving it extra attention. It would help to avoid rewarding your dog with extra attention when it does it by turning away and waiting for it to calm down.

Why does my dog lick my nose when I come home?

Your dog likely licks your nose, when you come home, due to excitement, some separation anxiety and having learned that the behavior is rewarded.