We have a 3 year old Great Dane named Gunner. He is very typical of the breed in that he is very living and caring towards humans and most other animals. Recently we adopted into the family a new kitten that Gunner has taken to and he seems to have taken the role of dad. He truly loves his “baby” and is always checking on the kitten, guarding if one of our other dogs get to close etc.
One thing he does that is so cute is to clean the kitten. The kitten loves this and purrs quite loudly when being licked. Gunner’s tongue is about as big as the kitten and he looks like he just came out of the shower when is over! The thing that I’m not sure of is why is our Great Dane acting like a cat? I can’t recall dad dogs licking clean puppies, so how does he know that cleaning the kitten’s fur is a natural cat activity? Or do dogs groom their young and I just didn’t notice? I know a dog will lick a pup, but what he is doing goes beyond a simple lick, he is definitely grooming his ‘baby’. Does my Gunner, the King of Dogs, have some cat genes in him?
Dogs vary a lot in behavior, but males tend not to care for their offspring. He’s probably not cleaning the cat per se, but licking is a general tendency for dogs. It could be because the kitten tastes good as RNATB says, or a sign of affection that is not actually cleaning. Also, some dogs are just crazy.
He might have started it just because dogs lick everything, but is now continuing it because he can tell that the kitten likes it. Dogs like being liked.
You have an unusually maternal male dog, but not a crazy one. I’ve seen this kind of grooming behavior in my most dominant male, toward subordinates in the pack. Usually it’s just the face, but the size difference here would make the kitten essentially all face.
It is the same tongue movement that bitches use to clean off the amniotic sac from newborns, and that they use the keep their pups clean until they can toddle out of the whelping box to poop, sort of a long sucking slurp. The kind of licking dogs do to people is different – that is, I think, a carryover from puppies licking adults’ faces to let them know they are in the category of helpless puppies, and to stimulate the regurgitation reflex (how wolves feed pups too small to accompany the pack on hunts).
I don’t think a male dog can differentiate between his offspring or the offspring of any other male, so licking wouldn’t be from any kind of paternal instinct.
