What Does It Mean When Dogs Lick Their Lips

Licking and lip licking can be normal in some circumstances.

The most obvious reason your dog might lick its lips is in anticipation of food. Gingivitis can also be the culprit behind a dog yawning and lip licking as the gums may be very sore and irritated. In dogs licking the lips can be what roger abrantes calls a pacifying behavior dogs basically engage in this behavior to diffuse a perceived threat using the lip smacking action as an appeasing signal. There are dogs that also will even lick the air.

She adds that licking in anticipation of food can also be linked to increased salivation. Face licking in adult canines can be a sign of respect or deference to a more dominant dog. Dogs lick their lips to appease and soothe a person or animal they see as a threat in order to ward off aggression. Dogs may lick their lips when they feel dry a bug hits their lip or face or something is stuck near their lip such as a piece of food or a blade of grass.

Most of the time a dog licking their lips is a sign of submission. A normal physiologic response to food is for the salivary glands to start flowing in anticipation of a snack. An example of this can be seen in dogs who are scolded when their owners return home to find the dog has had an accident in the house. It s often a dog s way of trying to prevent a threatening situation from escalating.

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Dogs who are licking their lips are usually sending the message that they are worried. Dogs lick their lips in response to a threat to signal to the other that they are not a threat rather than act aggressively in return. It can be seen in dogs who are stressed anxious or nervous about an interaction or when there is some type of conflict going on. On the other hand some dogs rarely lick.

If for example someone is yelling at your pet they might first lick their lips in order to get the yelling to stop. Another normal cause for lip licking is anticipation of food. According to patricia mcconnell an applied animal behaviorist dogs generally lick to the side of the mouth when they re expecting a meal. They might even see you giving them a scolding for chewing on your favorite sock as a threat.