Q: Could a dog taken from her mother too young have licking tendencies due to that? My dog licks me a lot in the morning or late at night when we lay down. It seems to be just me. I know they fed her dog food at a very young age as the mother had run away for a bit when she should have been nursing, this is why I got her at 5 weeks old.

A: You should never purchase or adopt a puppy until it is at least 8-10 weeks of age.  At 5 weeks old, the pup is still suckling. It is no until 6-7 weeks that dry

( but still moist and consistent like mush) food be introduced to a pup. A pup that is also taken from its mother too early is not only lacking important nutrients, but it is also no learning very important communication skills from not only its litter mates but his mother as well. Learning social skills from the pack will help it effectively communicate on the human world.

As they will be able to read a humans body language and understand communication. If never taught by the pack, it will never know right from wrong as it grows. Your dog is licking you to suckle or to ease his or her own insecurities, show affection or appeasement and is trying to communicate with you the only way it knows how right now. If you are unresponsive to your dogs behaviors or attempts to communicate, he or she may become frustrated. Though licking is doing no harm to you or the dog, keep a close eye on your dogs future behaviors, as he or she is trying again to communicate with you and if left unattended could turn into "future" destructive behavior.

This article was published on December 14, 2008 ,page 3 of the Sunday Sentinel