Dog licks his own pee

Question
I have a 5 month old terrier mixed breed male pup. He was fixed yesterday. I have noticed that when he pees, he will pee between his front legs and lick at it. It does not seem like he is trying to drink it but rather get it off him but he will lick while he is peeing. If he gets any on his paws he will come back in and clean them, which I can understand but the licking at his stream while he is peeing is odd to me. Is this normal? Can it hurt him? I have heard it can mean a urinary tract infection, is this true and if so what signs should I look for? I just want to make sure he is healthy. He acts normal and is very active. I was instructed to keep him calm after his surgery and he would run and jump if I didnt stop him. Nothing else is wrong with him and he acts completely normal. He is current on all shots, on heartworm prevention, on flea prevention, and eats natural Science Diet chicken and rice formula food. Any ideas? Have you ever seen this? Any insight would greatly help. Thank you.

Answer
Hi Sally,
I think his age has a lot to do with this. He hasn't' learned to lift his leg yet so he is just trying to clean himself up. The only reason he is licking at the same time is he doesn't really understand why he is wet with urine.
This is something he will most likely outgrow as he gets older. It won't hurt him and I have seen variations of this.
You didn't say how long this had been going on but I am assuming it has nothing to do with his being neutered.

I wouldn't worry too much about it. As he matures he will figure out how to urinate better and they usually start lifting their leg at about 6 months.

But I want to commend you whole-heartedly for having him neutered, on prevention, vaccinated and feeding him the best food there is!! He is on his way to a long and healthy, happy life!!