If you’ve ever wondered, ‘Why does my dachshund lick me so much?’, the answer often lies in their natural instincts for affection, bonding, and grooming. Dachshunds lick their owner for various reasons, like bonding, getting attention, or feeling stressed and anxious. In this blog, I will explain why dachshund lick their owner so much.
Is excessive licking normal?
Dachshund excessive licking generally isn’t considered a problem, as they don’t do it frequently. When they show their licking behavior when they are happy, relaxed, it is considered normal and doesn’t have any problem. But when they show these types of behavior frequently and repetitively, without any good reason, it might signal a problem.
Affection and bonding
Dachshunds can lick their owner to show their affection and bond with their close person. Dachshunds are very affectionate dogs. They are known to form a strong bond with their owner, which can sometimes cause licking to lick you. They don’t just lick to satisfy themselves; they lick you to show a strong connection to their owner.
Licking releases a brain chemical related to bonding and emotional connection. Endorphine and oxytocin are released when they lick their favorite person, which helps them to feel relaxed and happy. If you smile, talk, or pet them when they lick you, they may also feel a deep emotional connection and encourage positive behavior.
Their self-grooming behavior
They can also lick them for self-grooming purposes, like other animals; they also lick their body part to groom themselves. When their body part gets dirty and sticky dirt, they lick them to clean themselves.
They also lick themselves to heal wounds when they have wounds in their body, where they can easily access them, and they lick them to get relief from pain.
Stress and anxiety relief
When your dachshund feels stress and anxiety, they may lick their body or their owner’s body. Licking their own or their favorite person’s body releases endorphin and oxytocin (a chemical that is related to happiness).
Dachshunds are known to be strongly attached to their owner and hate being alone. If they lick excessively, it may be a sign of stress about your absence. In this situation, licking works as a coping mechanism for them.
They also feel anxious when they face unpredictable situations like loud noise, which can cause your dachshund to feel threatened and lead to licking.
Instinctual behaviour
Dachshunds’ instinctive behavior plays a big role in licking themselves and their owner. Dogs are naturally pack animals, and licking is a built-in way to strengthen the bond with the group and maintain social harmony. Licking is a way to say, “You are my leader, I love and respect you”.
From birth time puppies are licked by their mother for cleaning and comfort. This creates a deep association between licking and security. They are naturally self-groomers; when they get dirty, they remove it with their tongue.
Taste and scent
This is also another reason why your dachshund licks you so much. They have a tongue that is 100000 times more sensitive than humans; this makes them very sensitive to taste. So when your dachshund licks you, it’s often a way of testing and smelling you more deeply.
Your skin naturally produces salt, oil, and sweat, which may taste good or interesting to your dachshund. Sometimes they like to lick our bodies to smell sunscreen, lotion, soap, and perfume scent. When they lick our sweat, they can sense emotional and hormonal changes in our bodies.
Attention-seeking behavior
Dachshunds are highly attention-seeking dogs. When they need attention from their favorite person, they may lick you excessively. They form a strong connection with their owner and thrive on interaction. They love being noticed, touched, called, or just looked at. Licking is a tool they use to say, “Hey, notice me, pay attention !”.
Boredom
Boredom is a major cause of excessive licking in dachshunds. Dachshunds are small in size, but they have high energy and strong instincts. Their hunting instinct makes them a super energetic dog; during hunting time, they need to be alert and need to dig underground. When dogs get enough exercise and mental stimulation, they may show excessive licking behavior. Licking helps to feel relaxed and excited by releasing endorphin and oxytocin.
How to stop your dog from excessive licking
Before stopping your dachshund from excessive licking, you first need to understand the real reason behind it. Whether they show it from boredom or a deep emotional connection. Here are a few tips to stop your dachshund.
Give them enough exercise and mental stimulation
Your dachshund mostly shows excessive licking behavior when they get bored, giving a enough exercise is one of the best ways to avoid boredom. When we provide them enough exercise and mental stimulation as their daily requirement, they may stop excessive licking behaviour If your dog is licking excessively because of not getting enough exercise.
Keep them away from a dirty environment
Dachshunds often lick themselves to clean their coat when they get dirty. Keeping them away from a dirty environment can be helpful for their excessive licking behavior.
Conclusion
Dachshunds lick you excessively for various reasons, like showing affection and bonding, self-grooming behavior, stress and anxiety relief, and many other reasons. We need to understand their excessive licking before taking action. When they lick to show emotional connection or seek attention, this is considered normal, but when your dachshund repeatedly licks their body to deal with stress and anxiety, this can be harmful to their mental health, so we need to take action to cure them.
