how do i get my beagle to stop licking us!?
Urgency:Need to know
Category:Behavior & Training
Asked by: roberta m. (meanwife) 2 months ago
our beagle licks and licks. she doesn't do it to me much at all because i do not allow it. but she does it to my husband, daughter and dad all the time. any ideas to make her stop?
Answers from Zootooers
Answered by beaglemutz 2 months ago
My youngest does this too, in fact she'll even lick on her sibs. In my case it appears to be a demonstration of submission. She'll also do it when she is tired and curled up next to me, a couple of licks to say thanks, redirected and then she snoozes. It may be hard to redirect the behavior if some allow it and others do not. You're pup won't be able to identify an 'ok to lick person' from a 'not ok to lick person.' You may have to get together as a group and agree to redirect it in all cases, otherwise, you may just confuse her. The tips on redirecting below are exactly what you need to do so I won't repeat them.
Answered by suzzieQ 2 months ago
it sounds to me she might be dehydrated when she does this. human skin has a lot of salt in it so if an animal is thirsty, it might lick you a lot. make sure she has unlimited water and if that doesn't work, training her not to might be the only way.
hope i could help.
Answered by Beaglepawz 2 months ago
I agree with teaching a command, but not with pushing her head away. You can used planned ignoring - the minute she starts get up and walk away and ignore her. You could also try redirecting the behavior by giving her a command she already knows such as sit. When she sits then reward that.
This is similiar to a barking issue. You don't teach a command to stop barking - you reinforce and teach a command for when the dog isn't barking - a quiet command.
When your dog is licking wait until that intant she is not licking - or getting ready to lick. Reinforce that with a low value treat - try Cheerios and lots of praise. Once she gets the idea that treats = no licking you can name that with a command.
If she is licking your family when they are petting her then the petting is what is reinforcing the licking. In that case your family needs to work on not petting her when she starts to lick and when she stops licking, start petting again.
No matter what you decide to try, beagles (I have a pack of my own) train best with postive reinforcement and the use of treats.
Answered by Marta J. (2pitpuppies) 2 months ago
She needs to learn a command that will make her stop. Everyone has to participate or it won't work. Say a word like "Stop" and push her head away. You can distract her with her favorite toy at first, until she gets the idea. Also when she does it say "Stop" and then leave and ignore her. Once she learns everyone will ignore her, she'll quit. It takes time and persistence. When it comes to training a dog everyone has to be on the same page.


