When dogs lick other dogs’ privates they are simply engaging in a normal and healthy social behavior. It’s a way dogs can meet and greet each other and it’s similar to how humans shake hands, hug or even kiss. Dog’s are curious, and they use their senses like taste to explore their curiosity.
Dogs can do a lot of weird things, but by far one of the grossest is when they lick other dogs’ private areas – yuck! No one wants to get a kiss from our furry friends after they do that – it’s unsanitary, a little bit embarrassing for the owners, and just downright a strange behavior, well, to us at least.
And while we can’t always wash their mouths out after they do this, it is important to understand why dogs lick other dogs’ private parts – and it’s not just because they want to.
All of these are possibilities, so let’s take a look at some of the most common explanations for this behavior and what that means for your dog. Keep in mind that while it may seem gross, it is a completely normal social dog behavior, so no need to rush to the vet or the doggie therapist just yet. Just keep an eye out to make sure your dog and other dog stays safe, and hopefully, all of the dogs will move on quickly after a few seconds.
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1. Just Saying Hello
If this is the first time the dogs are meeting, they may do this to help them get to know each other. This is because dogs have sweat glands that emit pheromones, and pheromones can tell dogs a lot about each other, including their age, health, gender, sexual receptiveness, and even in some cases the dog’s mood! And where can dogs get a high concentration of these information-bearing pheromones? You guessed it, in their private areas!
So if your dog is sniffing around and even licking, that’s their way of getting to know the other dog. Their bodies are communicating in non-verbal ways, much like the way that they can give body language cues.
Dogs are drawn to another dog’s private parts by the pheromones, and the licking is another way they are experiencing them in addition to smelling them. Definitely more forward than a friendly human hello, but this behavior is driven by biology, so we’ll let it slide with our dogs.
2. Licking Out of Curiosity
Dogs are inherently curious. They stop, sniff and sometimes eat everything – even if it’s bad for them. Self-preservation is not always in their job descriptions, but we love them anyway. So, if your dog is sniffing someone or their dog and their private areas, they are just curious.
It’s the same reason they touch and eat things, they are just trying to learn and see how things, including other dogs’ private parts, taste compared to themselves. Sniffing and licking another dog’s private parts are a natural way to express that curiosity.
3. Health Issues
Even though they sniff each other’s butts, dogs are actually incredibly intelligent and intuitive creatures. That’s why they are trained to be service dogs – some can even alert their owners if they are having a stroke or if they smell cancer! Now that is definitely extreme, but the point is that dogs can sense if something is wrong, even if they don’t always know what it is.
They can sense something is wrong with another dog and are trying to bring attention to it, so if your dog can’t stop licking another dog, that other dog may want to get checked out by a vet to make sure there is nothing wrong as a precaution. This could also be nothing, but if it persists over time, you may want to take your dog to the vet to get their health checked out just to be safe.
4. Grooming
Licking could also be a sign of helping to groom the other dog and a sign of affection. While less common for this to happen around a dog’s private parts, it does happen, especially around dogs that have a close bond. The dog is helping to clean up the other dog, and it’s a sign of care and affection.
Think of it like a mother grooming her puppies. She will lick her puppies to help clean them and make sure they are taken care of, and that is the same kind of behavior that translates when dogs lick other dogs’ private parts.
5. Habit
If your dog has another dog at home or routinely licks himself, he may just be acting out of habit when he licks another dog. This may be weird, but if the dog your dog is licking is not a new dog, they aren’t trying to learn anything new about the dog. Instead, they may just be acting on instinct.
The private area, again, is rare for this behavior, but your dog may be trying to help out the other dog, trying to get their attention, and for any number of reasons. Again, they are used to sniffing and licking as a means to explore the world, so they may simply lick other dogs’ private parts as a habit that they have formed over time.
Sale
While it may seem “odd” to us, gender doesn’t really matter to dogs with this behaviour. Remember, dogs licking other dogs’ privates is a totally normal social behaviour.
Dogs learn a lot about each other through their senses, taste included! And they learn a lot about other dogs through their senses, and they may want to compare differences in taste between them and the new dog they met.
Sure, it can be a little “uncomfortable” at first, but I bet there’s a lot of species out there that think it’s weird we shake hands, hug each other, and even kiss each other!
Related Reading: Why Does My Dogs Lick My Guinea Pig?
The Final Word on Dogs Licking Other Dogs’ Private Parts
Now, that you understand why your dog is licking other dogs’ private parts – to say hello, curiosity, health, grooming, and habit – you may be wondering how long is an appropriate time for your dog to be licking another dog’s private parts? And what do you do if your dog or another dog is licking for too long?
Even the smallest amount of time can feel like ages, especially if you are uncomfortable. Ideally, dogs should only be checking other dogs’ private parts for a few seconds, no more than 15 seconds max, just to get a sense of the other dog before moving on to either keep walking, start playing or even ignoring each other. Again, this will help the dogs get to know each other in ways that only dogs can do.
If it persists, one dog may try to leave or growl to stop the other dog from doing it. It is often common with younger dogs as they are still learning normal behaviors, so make sure to constantly correct it if it goes on too long!
If your dog is the one that is licking too long, you may have to give them an incentive to stop. That could be with a treat or a toy to distract them if it is available.If not, owners may have to gently pull their dogs away to make sure they stop or leave the location entirely to protect the safety of all dogs.
Again, while gross, there is nothing inherently wrong with this behavior – just think of it as a way for your dogs to say hello! Dogs are trying to explore their surroundings and learn about other dogs, and this is a natural, biological way for them to do so. It may make you uncomfortable, and be sure to curb the behavior if it goes on too long.
Dogs have a simple mind and they always relate by their natural senses such as smell and touch. When you see a dog licking another dog’s private parts, it is actually a healthy and normal dog social behavior – just a kind of polite getting-acquainted through grooming and scent of one another. They do this whether they are sterilized or not.
When dogs meet for the first time, they will sniff and occasionally lick each other "private areas". This is how they get to know each other, it's actually a good sign that they are getting along.
Not only do dogs sniff and smell things out of curiosity, they taste and paw at things out of curiosity. Dogs learn a lot about each other by sniffing and licking the genitals of other dogs. They are curious how other dogs taste as compared to themselves.
Some of what they can discover about another dog via this type of investigation is: age, gender, over-all health, sexual readiness, status within pack and where the other dog has been in the last few days (what have they been ingesting).
Tasting is not uncommon, although most adult dogs will only tolerate a moment or two of this level of investigation. Younger dogs tend to linger longer, and typically when they do this to an older dog, the older dog will stop them after a moment, and this is how the younger dog learns the limit for such behavior.
There is nothing innately wrong with the behavior, but for the sake of etiquette and to keep the dogs from conducting such a lengthy check on another, you may want to disrupt it after about 10-15 seconds. Call the dogs to “come” to you and distract them with toys or games. Or interrupt the behavior with a firm "enough" or “no” command. If you do this consistently, they will start to learn that the behavior is only allowed for a few seconds and not minutes.