Why is my dog constantly licking my other dog all of a sudden?

It would be hard to say. It is a good idea to bring the affected pup into your vet to rule out any health issues or irritation that could be causing the excessive licking by your other dog, such as urinary infections, inflammation, etc. If your pup checks out healthy, distraction with other toys and treats, placing an Elizabethan (cone) collar on the licker so they can't lick things, and separating if it does happen may help break the habit.

Dogs will lick other dog's muzzles for many reasons including a display of affection. This is likely the reason for the behavior in this scenario. A low ranking dog will lick the mouth of a higher ranking dog and a puppy will lick it's mother's mouth to encourage regurgitation. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is not necessarily uncommon behavior and typically does not have a medical implication. This is sometimes seen as a display of submissive behavior. I recommend you discourage this behavior as much as possible but I would not be concerned about this. Good luck!

If the little dog is not neutered, it’s likely related to that. Sometimes male dogs will exhibit this behavior other male dogs. It’s unclear why they exhibit that behavior. Sometimes it can also be a sign of anxiety and the small dog is using the large dog as a comfort blanket. You must read the rest of the body language to know what he is saying. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Your cat may be trying to bond with your younger cat, and this is normal and healthy. Make certain you don't see any signs of skin infection or ear mites or other physical issue going on, however, that would require veterinary attention. Sometimes ear infections will trigger excessive grooming among pets.

I’m wondering if the other dogs are intact (not spayed/neutered) as well and if some of this licking is related to hormones. Licking can also be a sign of submission. If the other dogs don’t seem bothered I’d let them sort it out themselves. If the other dogs snap and you’re worried about a fight I think unfortunately the only thing to do is to monitor them closely and continue to call and distract Pickles as you’ve been doing.

I would approach this two ways. One, get the dog who is getting licked checked by your vet, to see if there is something going on in that area that needs medical attention. Dogs are very sensitive to changes in scent and have been known to detect signs of illness in other animals and people long before any other symptoms emerge. Secondly, to keep the dog from licking to other, you can apply a product called Bitter Apple to the dog getting licked. This product is extremely bitter (wash your hands well after application or you may inadvertently touch them to your face or mouth and find out exactly why it works well in deterring licking, yuck!) and is meant to help protect bandages and furniture from chewing, but I have used it for a similar purpose as yours.