# Do you kiss your dog or let him lick your face??!!



## BuddyinFrance

Since joining the forum a month ago I have been quite active... I am currently off work in convalescence for an illness so I have quite a bit of time on my hands. Today Buddy came over and gave me a rare "kiss" .. well let's say a load of slobbery licks all over my face ... which is so rare for him. He likes to be with me at all times but he is not a kiss and cuddler! I was so happy that he wanted to show his affection for once... and it got me thinking..
Do you kiss or let your dog kiss/lick your face? I have always been cool with our previous dogs licking, even around the children. Although I know this is controversial, in my 50 years of growing up with and living with dogs I have never had a problem. My good friend has a beautiful Australian Shepherd and they have a strict "NO LICKING Policy ever! anywhere! on humans!" in place in their house. Where do you stand?


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## Marcus

Ben licks... he starts with either my ear or eye. Then because I'm follicularly challenged he then works his way all over my head as well...

I was alway under the assumption that dog saliva contains some healing thingys, dunno if it's true or not
Dog saliva has healing powers: Fact or myth? | HellaWella

But everytime I face him, he won't lick me and just turns his head away. I always have to pull his head in to get a kiss...

If anyone has any body language links for this I'd interested


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## Rkaymay

Zelda likes to lick ears, but she often moves to pulling my hair (I'm not even kidding), so it doesn't last long!


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## thorbreafortuna

I let Thor lick my face. I even taught him the command "kiss". I have a good friend who allowed her golden to lick her baby, which he did a lot, as if he was trying to encourage hair growth on the unfortunate hairless pup. That is one of the healthiest kids I've ever known, now in his teens.


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## BuddyinFrance

Marcus said:


> Ben licks... he starts with either my ear or eye. Then because I'm follicularly challenged he then works his way all over my head as well...
> 
> I was alway under the assumption that dog saliva contains some healing thingys, dunno if it's true or not
> Dog saliva has healing powers: Fact or myth? | HellaWella
> 
> But everytime I face him, he won't lick me and just turns his head away. I always have to pull his head in to get a kiss...
> 
> If anyone has any body language links for this I'd interested


You have just brought back fond memories for me. I grew up in a poor part of London in the 60s.. times were hard. Whenever I or my brothers fell over and grazed our knees or arms I remember my sturdy grandma would always go and fetch whatever poor Mutt she happened to find in her garden and bring him in to lick us better! She swore by it. No antiseptic and plasters in those days!


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## Brave

*Do you let your dog kiss you mouth or lick your face??!!*

Yes. They both lick my face. Sometimes they manage to get past my lips and lick my mouth (which is a bit much for me). But my favorite part of the day is when I come home and Bear does his figure 8's between my legs out of excitement before finally settling into a sit on my foot and leaning back as I lean over him and him kiss my face and nibble on my chin as I whisper my affections to him and rub his chest/belly. 

It's also lovely when I've had a long day on my feet, to come home and lay on the sofa with Bear and he likes to lick my feet. Pretty good foot rub, to be honest. 

And yet his breath doesn't smell. Must be all the veggies he eats.


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## BuddyinFrance

thorbreafortuna said:


> I let Thor lick my face. I even taught him the command "kiss". I have a good friend who allowed her golden to lick her baby, which he did a lot, as if he was trying to encourage hair growth on the unfortunate hairless pup. That is one of the healthiest kids I've even known, now in his teens.


That made me giggle. My new mission is to teach the kiss trick!


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## BuddyinFrance

Brave said:


> Yes. They both lick my face. Sometimes they manage to get past my lips and lick my mouth (which is a bit much for me). But my favorite part of the day is when I come home and Bear does his figure 8's between my legs out of excitement before finally settling into a sit on my foot and leaning back as I lean over him and him kiss my face and nibble on my chin as I whisper my affections to him and rub his chest/belly.
> 
> It's also lovely when I've had a long day on my feet, to come home and lay on the sofa with Bear and he likes to lick my feet. Pretty good foot rub, to be honest.
> 
> And yet his breath doesn't smell. Must be all the veggies he eats.


OK now I'm jealous. Buddy is one of those cool stoic standofish types! Except when there's steak around. Then he gets friendly!


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## Brave

BuddyinFrance said:


> OK now I'm jealous. Buddy is one of those cool stoic standofish types! Except when there's steak around. Then he gets friendly!



Don't be jealous. Over-friendly and over-excited has its draw backs. Getting him to sit politely for a petting is like pulling teeth. He does good for a second and then he gets up and crowds people. Because pets make him extra happy.


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## Megora

Licks on the face (as opposed to hands or whatever). Generally nope.... I really hate having my face licked. 

Kisses (me kissing them) - yes, all the time.


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## DJdogman

One of our boys will always lick my face when I doing a "kissy" sound, but he mostly turns away if I am face to face with him, just like Marcus described! Apparently most dogs don't like full on eye contact or hugs so I guess its just that.
Whereas our adopted boy will gaze at me in the eye for so long. He will lick me everywhere else, but he won't lick my face!


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## 1stGold13

Marcus said:


> Then because I'm follicularly challenged he then works his way all over my head as well...


I too am..umm follicularly challenged, 2nd dog I've had that just wants to go to town on my head :--dumbfounded: I've been holding out for a growth spurt as a result but no luck:no:


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## Marcus

1stGold13 said:


> I've been holding out for a growth spurt as a result but no luck:no:


I'm hearing you, my friend....


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## Trin57

*Love Golden Kisses*

Yes - I always let my girl lick my face. She has passed now, but miss her kisses.


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## goldlover68

*I gotta ask! For the 27 of you who say yes! You do know that dogs also lick their rear ends and privates....before they lick your lips....?*

*To each his/her own, I guess....Yech!*


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## Sarge's dad

Sarge would only kiss me! Much to the dismay of my kids and my wife. What I wouldn't do for one more kiss.
I MISS YOU MY BOY
Buddy


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## lloyddobler

My morning wake up call is a full on face lick. He licks everyone who gets down on the floor with him. Even the cat!


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## Bodiesmummy

Fionn is our first "licker". While I prefer he avoid my mouth, it's hard to restrain his enthusiasm :yuck:. He gets lots of kisses in return! This is his going home pic kissing my daughter.


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## BuddyinFrance

goldlover68 said:


> *I gotta ask! For the 27 of you who say yes! You do know that dogs also lick their rear ends and privates....before they lick your lips....?*
> 
> *To each his/her own, I guess....Yech!*


Timely your comment! As one of the 30+ people who said "yes" I do manage to "conveniently zone out" what dogs get up to before kissing us. Having said that, a few days ago on our walk I had to pull Buddy off from devouring something really unspeakably rotten. I wanted to "wash his mouth out with soap" as my Mum used to say. As a serious question here... Is there anything that we can and should squirt in a dogs mouth in cases like this? For their own and our benefit!!!!?? (He was on a no kissing ban for 24 hours and stuffed with those green chewie teeth things!)


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## Daisy123

Of course! My boyfriend thinks its gross.


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## goldlover68

*One more question for the who answer yes to the question: "Yes, he is part of the family" Do you let your kids, Grandparents, Uncles, etc. ...Lick Your Face? *

*I could understand it to some degree with wife/husband...but relatives, kids, and dogs seem a bit off the grid!?*


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## BuddyinFrance

goldlover68 said:


> *One more question for the who answer yes to the question: "Yes, he is part of the family" Do you let your kids, Grandparents, Uncles, etc. ...Lick Your Face? *
> 
> *I could understand it to some degree with wife/husband...but relatives, kids, and dogs seem a bit off the grid!?*


That's just me with clumsy wording when I wrote the poll. It does say "kiss you or lick your face". Not to be taken literally of course!!!


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## Cpc1972

Chloe always jumps on me and gives me a face wash. The other day my mom gave her a kiss on her nose and my niece goes eww your kissing a dog lol.


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## Jud

I trained Cara not to lick my face as I had to break her of being such a 'mouthy puppy' which I was only able to do to a certain extent. What happened with us is quite funny. I would kiss the top of her head in rapid motion maybe 10-20 times saying 'Who do I love?'
Cara , for some reason, thought a kiss from me was me hitting my nose against the top of her head. She could not tell the difference between my lips and nose. So, when I would say 'now give Daddy a kiss'...she would softly knock her nose against my face  She only did that with me... not my partner nor my Mom or all the other people she loved..she licked them. It always made people laugh. (Sigh) I miss her nose kisses 


Cara-Mia
7/2003-7/2015


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## Mayabear

I kiss Maya several times a day. Usually on her head and snout. I can't tell if she dislikes it, but she's never indicated so. When she kisses, and it is def not as a frequently as me, she'll usually lick my ears, and sneak in a soft nibble every now and then.

I am not a big fan of face licking and so I don't encourage it, but wouldn't be upset if she did it once in a while. After all, isn't that one of the ways they show their unbridled affection?


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## elway

We let him slobber all over us, except_ in _the mouth/ears. Doesn't stop him from trying though. Elway will go for a full-on French if you're not careful!


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## G-bear

My DH, who prior to Bailey abhorred dog kisses, has taught Bailey to give kisses on his cheeks on command. It is very funny to watch a middle aged man telling a puppy, "Come on. Give me a kiss." Make me smile every time.


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## Jim and Hank

Dogs and kisses! Puppies for sure! But grown dogs - I have three and watch them and there is no way I want a kiss or lick from them! I love them but not that much. Whenever I think of dog kisses an old commercial comes to mind - shows a dog wandering around the house, has a drink out of the toilet, hears the front door open - tears off and gives his/her Mom a big kiss! LOL! Odd how an image will stick in your head!


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## Jud

Cara knew I did not like to be licked but I would always give her 50 kisses on her head maybe 20 times a day. She assumed it was my nose hitting her head that was all those 'kisses' so when I asked Cara for a kiss...she'd bump her nose against my face! Everyone else she licked 'hello'.


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## Jesse'sGirl7407

I kiss Charlie several times throughout the day- always before I leave and usually at bedtime. I probably kissed him on the head like 10 times last night when we were snuggling in bed. There is just something so satisfying about kissing your pet- the way their fur feels and smells...it's comforting! I don't know if he really likes it or dislikes it but he doesn't turn away lol. He doesn't lick all that often but when he does he usually goes after the face enthusiastically. And if you laugh or try to push him off he just comes back even more enthusiastically.

Also, one of our three cats absolutely LOVES getting and giving kisses. Especially on the lips. It's almost too weird with him!


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## sfgoldenlover

I let my dog lick me most of the time. The only time he can't is when I'm trying to eat something on the couch! I let him lick both my big kid and my baby, face, fingers, and feet..


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## Marcus

Meh it builds up your immune system... there are worse things in life to have happen to you then your dog giving you a kiss


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## Sara2

My 11yr old male has never been one to lick me. My son has another male about the same age and he is a licker. If your head gets to close to the edge of the bed, you find yourself with a wake lick no matter what time it might be. 

I got a female a couple of months ago, she like to lick me but she also likes to chew my beard. Even as a kid I remember people saying a dogs mouth is cleaner then ours. Fact or fiction?


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## bixx

Amber will lick if given a chance. She is always pushing her nose into my face whenever I'm sitting on the couch before planting a wet one where she could. It ends only when she manages to put her tongue in my mouth (in which I am off running to the bathroom to spit and wash my mouth out). Sometimes, she wants to give me a kiss so badly we end up wrestling on the couch. Me: That's enough Amber!! Amber: OHHHH. I like this pushing game! I will lick you MORE!!!! 

So I get licks or tail slaps in my face, depending on how the wrestling goes...


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## Harleysmum

Well what I love the most is when Harley licks my feet. He gives me a really good pedicure. It is wonderful. My husband is mildly disgusted by this though!


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## Tiberi_goldens

Funny thing is my golden's don't really like kissing and especially with are male Hunter he will give the most disgusted faces whenever we kiss him. Annabella is the one who kisses most frequently, though still kinda rare


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## Luv2liv

Sure, how can you resist an exuberant golden? 

Besides, unless you have zero immunity, it's good for your microbiome too; better than a roll in the dirt (or is it, woof ;0 )!


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## cwag

It's very rare but I heard on the news recently about this man who had amputations due to a dog saliva caused septic infection
https://www.empr.com/news/dog-saliva-bacterial-infection-amputations/article/785414/

So if you develop any odd bruising, run to the hospital as fast as you can.

BUT, I do let my dogs kiss me although they seem to know I don't really love it. I like a cuddly/lean into me better. My husband is always begging the dogs to kiss him. With my bridge girl Tawny (a fanatical rule-following, people pleaser) we would put peanut butter or ice cream on DH to get her to kiss him.


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## CoveredInDogFur

Phoebe is a huge kisser. I’ve even taught her the command “Kiss” where she gives you a gentle lick on the nose. She’s not the usual face coating, slobbering type of kisser though. She likes to do sneak attack kisses when she’s excited, she suddenly goes in and gives you a quick lick. We have to warn people about it who are greeting her so that she doesn’t startle them. Sometimes she does get your mouth if you’re smiling or laughing, that’s kinda gross. Her favorite thing to do is lick or stick her nose in your ear, she gets a huge kick out of making people laugh because of it. (Especially my father, who has very ticklish ears.)


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## s.m.forester

Of course! But, my boy is not a very "licky"-type. He'd usually rather rest his head on his paws and gaze, mournfully, at my cat until she finally comes over to him & begins licking his face. I think she officially adopted him as her kitten the day he came home and no matter that she weighs 6 lbs and he weighs 80 -- he'll always be her kitten.


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## ShashaCruz

my stud comes after me romantically often well beyond kissing desire. if i alone and in mood I respond or put in his cage with bitch to cool off


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## Muddypaws

i want to say NO, but the truth is they don't listen to me and I kiss them so I guess it's fair. My girls are not kissers, the boys.... can't seem to keep their tongues to themselves. Duddy wakes me every morning with kisses... Troopy just licks me... all... the... time... :doh:


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## willoliver

I don't like he lick my face


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## Katt

I did until my immune system took a dive. We made her stop and it came right back. (I have multiple autoimmune diseases) 
So no more face licks. She can lick my hands or sometimes while I’m doing dishes she licks my calves... weirdo! 
My husband doesn’t let her because we see her clean her own privates and then try and clean the cat then come running over to give kisses! 
I do kiss her on the top of the head a lot tho... do I risk hair in my mouth... yes sometimes... but that’s what you sign up for when you own a mainecoon and a golden!


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## Caseykathie

*I do let Sherlock lick me.*

He does it so rarely, so when Sherlock licks my face I let him. ??*♀


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## Montysmom

*Kisses*

I give them all the time. But our boy prefers to kiss only hubby. I think it’s the salt from his swear. I’d love a kiss on the face now and again. ? ?


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## Montysmom

Meant “sweat”


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## migs

Neither one of my boys are big kissers. But they get TONS & TONS of kisses on their noses from me


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## Brodys Rockies

From day one, Brody has always loved to give puppy kisses. Our previous GR, River, never did this, though we showed love to one another in different ways, i.e., hugs and embraces. I read all the comments about what dogs do, things they put in their mouths, etc. Yeah, if you concentrate on that, it's kind of yucky. River loved to eat wild critter poop, but Brody doesn't seem to enjoy this delicacy. :grin2:

When we were struggling with whether or not to get another Golden after River passed, someone on this forum shared that replacing your dog with another Golden will not be like having River again... What a true statement! Brody is indeed so different in so many ways than River ever was. Conversely, as much as Brody is different from River, the personality traits of a GR do shine through. In fact, sometimes I think River has talked with Brody to make sure he knows all the right things to do with us. I know this is a long reach, and I'm probably wrong in thinking this way, but it sure is a pleasant thought. 

Brody awakens me each morning by gently licking my bald head. He is such a lover. If I stop him from linking my head, he then gently licks the back of my hand. I can't think of a much better way to begin the day. :smile2:


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## Lincgold

I always kiss Bear. He’s not much of a licker. Sometimes, though, I forget when I have lipstick on and kiss the top of his head or side of his cheek. Oh well, everybody knows he’s loved.


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