My dog constantly licks me

Question
We have had Ginger for about 8 months now, she is about 3 years old. She was a family members dog previously, and they moved away. When I pet her she licks my hands and arms, if we are laying on the floor, she licks my legs or face. I have thought she might just be showing affection and it really doesn't bother me. Does she have a medical problem or does she just like the salt?

Answer
This could be an appeasement behavior because the dog is confused and unsure of her place in your family.  It could also be a way in which to control (or attempt to control) your behavior when you touch her without using aggression.  I suggest you attempt to stop her behavior by saying "no licking" and moving away from the dog for a few seconds EVERY TIME she demonstrates it.  Within approximately 30 repetitions, she should arrive at a conditioned response to "no licking" and begin to stop the behavior.  You need to maintain this consistently.  While you are doing this, use some positive reinforcement training to teach this dog one simple obedience behavior (such as 'sit' but use another word).  It will take approximately 36 trials for her to learn (over the course of several days) and she must perform this behavior successfully 10 out of 10 times before you can consider it conditioned.  Then, randomly throughout the day, ask her to 'sit' and praise/reward.  This will help her to feel more secure and increase her problem solving skills.  Once she clearly understands "no licking" (although she may revert to that behavior over and over for quite some time) and you have trained a new behavior, after removing yourself you can turn to her and ask for a 'sit' and follow her performance with hugs and interaction.