Ask AKC

with Lisa Peterson
December 2005

All dog owners need expert advice from time to time to meet the challenges of caring for their canines. The American Kennel Club aims to provide you and your purebred dog with the help you asked for.

Dear Lisa: I have a one-year-old male lab and he is a very good dog. But when I let him out of the house (to play outside) he goes crazy and stops listening to me. I have worked with him outside on a leash and he is very good, but once I remove the leash he goes crazy. I'm afraid he may run into the street or get into something he shouldn't. I have seen people walk with their dogs with no leash and I want to be able to do that. I'm committed to having a trained dog, and he has been to obedience class twice, I train him for 30 minutes each day, but I need more advice. – Crazy Canine in Charlotte

Dear Crazy: Congratulations for sticking to your goals of having a trained dog that eventually will walk obediently by your side off leash. This is a goal most dog owners dream about but don’t take the time to achieve. Your tenacity will serve you well.

Your instinct is right to keep working with him, but perhaps you need to adjust the manner in which you approach your training. To begin with, try not to train him in one long session but rather break it down into several short five minute sessions scattered throughout the day. This way, he will think of training as a fun game rather than a long boring exercise he would rather not do. You didn’t mention if you used food or a toy as his “reward” for a job well done. If he is unmotivated by food, try giving him his favorite toy as a reward.

Alternative Training Methods
One type of training you might want to investigate is an “attention” class. Right now, your dog is focused on you in the secure classroom but outside he thinks it’s a free for all with so much distraction. In attention class, you spend eight weeks doing nothing but getting your dog’s attention focused on you with a single word command. It works wonders for people in competitive obedience. Look to a local dog club for a trainer for such a class.

After attention training, start taking your dog outside, on leash, and doing some of those five minute sessions in the park, at the mall, wherever there are lots of people. You have to teach him to pay attention and listen to you no matter where he is, not just in the confines of the warm and fuzzy training facility.

Dear Lisa: I have a Dachshund puppy who loves to lick. Is this natural? He will lick your arms, legs, toes, blankets, you name it he licks it. What’s up with this? Is there anything I can do? – Lickety Split in Louisville.

Dear Lickety: The licking of ears and face is a form of communication that goes back to the dogs’ ancestors, the wolves. Wolves needed a method of clear communication that was easily understood and obeyed each time. It was based on their different senses and because it worked every time, it ensured the survival of the pack. No mixed messages from anybody.

Licking for most dogs begins with their mother cleaning them and stimulating certain body functions. But as pups grow, their littermates join in the licking fun. They help each other out with cleaning out-of-the-way places like ears, back and faces. It is an act of friendly cooperation. I imagine your younger pup, still very much in the adolescent phase, is licking as a sign that he is trying to be friendly.

Will Lick For Food
On the other hand, he might be licking to gain food. In the wild, mama wolves regurgitated digested food for their puppies. Puppy licking of the face and lips would trigger mama to give it up. But in the modern day domestic dog this reflex is very slight, which is a good thing. Pups in an attempt to quell their hunger might try to elicit some food from you through ear or face licking.

As the puppy matures, licking the face of an adult dog or human could be a sign of respect to the dominant head of the pack, which hopefully is you. A submissive lick lets you know that your dog accepts your leadership role. His velocity of licking should calm down with age as your place in the permanent pack order is established and followed. As a precaution, you should take him to the vet for a check-up just to make sure there is no medical reason for his licking.

Lisa Peterson, a long-time owner/breeder/handler of Norwegian Elkhounds, is the AKC Director of Club Communications. If you have a question, send it to Lisa at lxp@akc.org and she may select it to be answered here in Ask AKC.

© 2005 The American Kennel Club, Inc.