Puggle will not stop licking me!

Question
Hello:

Ok here is the story. We rescued a Puggle from across the country and he is wonderful. Housebroken and all that good stuff, but there is a BIG negative...he licks me constantly. Anytime I sit down or come in the door. He tries to jump in my ears and just lick me, my ears, mouth, lips, even tried to get inside my mouth. I have tried for a week now to make it stop, but it just keeps happening.
Can you please help? Any comments you have will be most appreciated!

Thank you!
Tom

Answer
Tom,

How old is the Puggle? A few things you can do to stop the obsessive licking. Has the Puggle been in obedience training? Start with asking him to SIT when you come into the room, reward him for doing so,when he starts to lick use a negative word like NO and repeat NO LICK!Get his mind on something else. When you are sitting down you control what he will do on your lap,YOU start with petting him, avoiding his licks while telling him NO LICK! Reward him with a yummy treat when he does not lick you.
Yes the licking can become a bother, but understand why the dog is doing such. Sometimes they will lick to show signs of passiveness, some believe it's to show dominance in any case you need not to promote that habit if its not what you want. So when the dog is licking you, do not reward with a giggle or any other signs that this pleases you, simple say NO LICK! and redirect him to something else like sit, down or even fetch. Over time (and this may take sometime to redirect) the dog will learn that licking is something that should not be done.

Hope this was a help to you.

Lorie