Expert: Alan J Turner, SATS LL1 - 9/23/2006

Question
My yellow Lab is about 18 months old and his name is Beau. I got him from a friend about 6 months ago because he could no longer keep him. The dog was fenced most of the time but now that I have him he gets tons of excercise. He is a tank, very muscular, very athletic. So much to the point that I neutered him a couple of months ago to try and calm him down.
He is a great dog except when he gets excited his tounge starts up like a hummingbird engine licking, licking and licking everything he comes into contact with. It's pretty disgusting. You can hardly pet him with out your hand getting slimed. What can I do, I was thinking of trying binaca breath spray to deter his tounge. Please help me. -Mike

Answer
Thanks for the question, Mike.
Instead of thinking up creative ways to stop the licking, focus on redirecting Beau's behavior and praising him for the alternate behavior.

For Instance: "licking people" seems to be one of Beau's favorite methods of interacting with people -with his mouth.
He obviously wants your attention and he wants to use his mouth. Teach him  what" mouth" behavior he should perform to receive your attention. When he comes to you and starts licking redirect him to perform an alternate behavior that fulfills  his needs. Fetch or "get the toy" "find the toy" "carry the toy" are all good games that will serve Beau's desires and stop the licking.

It's very likely that he licks you for your attention. Teach him that licking you makes you ignore him and licking a chew toy makes you give him attention.

For instance, if you are petting and he licks, place a chew toy in his mouth and prase him for interacting with the item. Bully sticks or macho stixs work well for this. If he insists on licking you, mark the instant he licks by saying "oops" and then immediately ignore him, get up and walk away. Return  in about 40 seconds and  offer him the chew toy.  Praise praise praise if he chews or licks the toy! If he licks you, repeat-the "oops" sequence. Perform this sequence several times in one session.

As far as licking other items when he is excited - teach him how to redirect his behavior by engaging him in a game of" find the toy" or fetch.

Happy Training!
AT