“There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face.” – This is a quote by the famous novelist Ben Williams.
We are sure that all of you Yorkie’s parents would agree with the confession Mr. Williams wrote.
The happiness and emotion are just priceless when, at the end of a long, busy, stress-filled day, our favorite Yorkie reward us with a “kiss” by licking.
But what does it mean when a Yorkie licks you excessively? What do they want to show us with this emotional joy? Do they try to please us or seek our attention?
That is what we are going to talk about in this article and give you all the answers you were asking yourself when your little treasures are almost “insanely” licking your body.
Warm, wet, sticky and a little stinky – that is how we can best describe the feeling of our Yorkies’ tongues over our faces. Don’t you agree?
We know that sometimes it really gets “too much” but licking our faces is a sign of affection by our Yorkies.
That way they are also showing a close relationship with their owners. This only happens only after the relationship between the two of you is built strong and stable.
Licking is an inborn instinct
As soon as the little babies are born, their mother thoroughly licks her young children. That way she stimulates their blood circulation and helps them to develop the basic life processes.
They, in turn, lick her when they are hungry and want to suck. As they grow up, little Yorkies lick their mother’s mouth to express their desire to share her food with them.
As you all know, in the wild dogs live in packs. An interesting fact is that within the pack the low – level dogs are used to lick their leader to show their subordination.
Below are some of the main reasons our Yorkies give us those sweet licks to welcome us at home, while we calmly sit on the couch or when we simply cuddle them.
Demonstration of affection
Undoubtedly, this is the most common reason Yorkies lick their owners. While licking us, our little friends release the Endorphins hormones which makes them calm down and feel relaxed.
Love, joy, and affection – those are the three emotions that our Yorkshire terriers are showing us during the process of licking.
Seeking attention
Licking could also be perceived as kind of a game. Yorkies do love to be the center of attention and they are ready to do everything in order to get it.
Also, we all know how our little treasures love to be spoiled as small babies. They are ready to use a variety of tricks in order to attract interest and attention to them.
Some Yorkshire terriers acquire the habit of licking. They realize that the more they lick their owners, the more attention and cuddles are given to them.
That is why we can observe the development of this behavior if the owners are used to give them what they are looking for.
Licking as a way of communication
Licking each other, the dogs communicate expressing various emotions and feelings.
You have to take a little time and see how the male Yorkies passionately lick the ears of the females.
This way they are courting and showing their sympathy.
Furthermore, licking the mouth is very often an expression of obedience.
If your loving Yorkie comes and starts licking you, most likely he wants to tell you something – he may be hungry or thirsty, you may need to cuddle him, or he wants to tell you that it’s time for the long-awaited walk.
It is very important for us as Yorkshire terrier owners to know how to interpret our doggie’s behavior and all the signs and signals they are sending us.
Showing obedience
In all animals living in packs, licking shows humility, obedience, and respect to the leader of the pack.
That is exactly what our Yorkies are trying to show us – that we are the masters at home.
We are sure that many times you have heard that dogs are much like their owners. In fact, they are not like us.
They only recognize and imitate our moods and behavior.
You must have noticed when you are at a moment of euphoria and happiness how your Yorkshire terrier is also notably happy, playful and excited.
On the other hand, when we are going through bad times and moments, it seems like our loving creatures feel it and they also look sad and humble.
They really live according to our moods, habits, and criteria. They want to share and live the joy we enjoy and in addition, they gift us with a lovely licking.
Furthermore, they can feel our sadness and therefore express their sympathy through compassionate kisses.
We can also see our Yorkshire terriers licking us to express gratefulness when we give them food or a treat, while we cuddle and hug them or simply when we make them feel loved.
Exploring the world
We, humans get to know the world through our senses while the Yorkies use their sense of taste to recognize the things around them.
When a dog goes to a new place, it smells and lightly licks everything around because it’s his way of exploring the environment.
Do not be surprised if your sweet hairy creature even drinks from the toilet bowl to find out what is inside and then joyfully jumps and gives you a “kiss”.
As you may wander this way he tells you that he already checked this “weird thing filled with water” and he is happy that there is no danger over there and you are free to use it.
Tasting through licking
The same way humans recognize dogs by their smell, Yorkies are able to identify us by taste. They do it by licking our skin which produces salt from the pores when we sweat.
You should know that if your little furball likes the taste of your skin, licking may become a habit.
The power of the habit
As we already said before, our smart Yorkshire terriers are able to read our feelings and emotions. Believe it or not, they will observe your behavior while licking you.
And if they realize that you are happy and enjoy it, be sure that they will start to do that more and more often because if you are happy they are happy too.
If they lick another pet at home – a cat, another dog, or whatever it is, you must know that they accept it in the family and will take care of it.
Possible problems
After all the sweet things written above we need to mention the negative part of licking as well.
In some cases, if your doggie licks you too much, this might be a sign of negative emotions.
If you observe this behavior of prolonged licking, as if the little friend doesn’t want to let you go, most probably he wants to tell you that he’s really lonely and sad or he’s afraid to stay alone and needs a company.
Such behavior is mostly found in homeless dogs that rarely enjoy human attention and caresses.
Adopted dogs are also likely to have the same behavior and “need” of licking during the first months with their new family. During these times they still feel insecure and scared not to be left houseless again.
Despite the homeless and adopted dogs, the prolonged licking might be observed in Yorkies that are left home alone for the entire day. Unfortunately, in today’s world, we see that practice more and more often.
In such cases, the lonely guard of the house almost “insanely” licks his owner after seeing him getting back from work. And this is the only way for him to express the whole affection and boundless love to him.
How do you stop a Yorkie dog from licking all the time
I have learned how to understand, communicate and train my dogs thanks to the amazing course of Adrienne Farricelli. I always encourage my friends to seek help and take her course if they want to really establish a strong and mature relationship with their dogs.
If you want to reduce the licking of your Yorkie, you should always keep him busy. Also, he should never feel a lack of attention from your side.
Another way to keep him busy is to buy him enough toys that will be available whenever he feels bored.
We have selected some top quality, non-toxic toys that can resist even the “scariest toy killers”:
If you have already read the rest of our articles, you should already know how much we insist on the outside walks of our Yorkies.
That is why in our opinion this is the best way to entertain and keep busy your little treasures. If you don’t want him to feel bored or lonely, take some time and go for a walk in the park.
You can also use the time outside to teach him new tricks and commands. This is a priceless time for him.
To be honest, even if you keep your Yorkshire terrier busy for the entire day, he will still want and enjoy licking you.
It is very important not to be rude and never to shout when your little friend approaches to lick you. As we already wrote, this is his way to show you his boundless love.
If you react negatively to his “lovely kisses” he will get confused and he will not understand why his greetings meet negative reactions.
The only proper thing that you can do is not to cuddle, hug or show any emotions and attention to him while he’s licking. He will gradually realize that his “kisses” are not pleasant to you.
With time, the smart Yorkie will learn that the right approach to get attention, treats or hugs is not by giving you “kisses”.
Conclusion
According to Agatha Christie, dogs are really wise animals. They would hide in one of the corners of the house to lick their wounds and do not return to the world until they are fully cured.
We can read that behavior in so many ways but the most logical for us is that they simply don’t want us to see them suffering. They perfectly know that we’ll suffer with them too.
Would the world be different if we could only observe and learn some good manners from our lovely four-legged friends?
When licking, your best friend expresses his sincere emotions of joy, love, affection, and gratitude.
With these “kisses,” Yorkies demonstrate how much they missed you during the long day, how tremendously he is awaiting the walk outside and how much he wants to receive the long-awaited hug from you.
If your Yorkshire terrier always tries to lick you, be close or play with you, you have to know that the only thing he wants to say is: “I know you love me … I love you too.”
Last update on 2022-04-11 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
1 Comment
As an owner of a little Yorkie girl, I am well experienced with Yorkie face licking. It is nice to know that this is a sign of affection and true strength of the bond we share.