# When dogs lick their genitals, do they, you know, "enjoy" it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 2, 2009, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-dogs-lick-their-genitals-do-they-you-know-enjoy-it/491662 "2009-04-02T00:58:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-dogs-lick-their-genitals-do-they-you-know-enjoy-it/491662/1 "2009-04-02T00:58:22Z")
As I type this, there’s 65 pounds of ugly-ass junkyard-looking dog assiduously licking his penis, in case you’re wondering why the question comes to mind. Dogs lick their junk. Every damned dog in the world, in my experience. (For some reason, I’ve only had male dogs - I don’t know if this applies to females.) Captain is neutered, probably when he was a puppy. God knows nobody in their right mind would breed more dogs that look like him. But when he licks his legs or whatever (and I think he has some sort of skin issue) you can pull him off himself and he stops. When he’s licking his penis or penis-area, it’s really hard to pull him off. Also, right now he’s snorting at it. So does a neutered dog receive sexual pleasure from licking himself? I note that that area also seems sensitive in the “hair rubbed off of leg-meet-belly friction points” way, so that could be a cause. But seriously, he seems surprisingly into it, if you know what I mean. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-dogs-lick-their-genitals-do-they-you-know-enjoy-it/491662/2 "2009-04-02T02:20:11Z")
I think it’s pretty certain that they do. If you can tell they enjoy anything, they enjoy that. George Carlin: > [@](#): > > Dog’s don’t care, they have no standards. Friends come over and the dog is licking his BALLS! And nobody says a word. ? (Incredulous) There’s a spectacular thing going on here. If I could do it, I’d never leave the house. Why do dogs lick their balls? Because they can. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-dogs-lick-their-genitals-do-they-you-know-enjoy-it/491662/3 "2009-04-02T02:29:38Z")
Can’t taste any worse than dry dog food. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-dogs-lick-their-genitals-do-they-you-know-enjoy-it/491662/4 "2009-04-02T02:55:57Z")
[Two drunk see a dog licking his nether regions] “Hey, I wish I could do that!” “I think you had better ask him first.” ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-dogs-lick-their-genitals-do-they-you-know-enjoy-it/491662/5 "2009-04-02T03:09:32Z")
Female dogs do lick themselves there, but it seems to be more a cleaning-oneself-off sort of thing. They don’t sit there for hours on end, lickity lickity (in my experience of ~7 female dogs.) ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-dogs-lick-their-genitals-do-they-you-know-enjoy-it/491662/6 "2009-04-02T03:55:48Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Female dogs do lick themselves there, but it seems to be more a cleaning-oneself-off sort of thing. They don’t sit there for hours on end, lickity lickity (in my experience of ~7 female dogs.) Scout, my shepherd/lab mix, had a close personal relationship with her butthole. I remember one time she was lying here in the office on the floor behind me. Lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick liAAAAAUAUUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT!!! (She was clean and healthy back there . . . just making sure, I guess. We did not willingly accept her kisses.) ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-dogs-lick-their-genitals-do-they-you-know-enjoy-it/491662/7 "2009-04-02T04:14:09Z")
4 male dogs in the RubyHaus… Not only do they lick their own, they lick and sniff everyone elses too. (ew) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-dogs-lick-their-genitals-do-they-you-know-enjoy-it/491662/8 "2009-04-02T04:19:36Z")
> [@Ruby](#): > > 4 male dogs in the RubyHaus… > > Not only do they lick their own, they lick and sniff everyone elses too. (ew) My two cats do that too. Always glad to lend a helping . . . tongue. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-dogs-lick-their-genitals-do-they-you-know-enjoy-it/491662/9 "2009-04-02T04:23:54Z")
I once saw a rottweiler deep-throating himself followed by an apparent orgasm. So, yes, I guess they do. ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-dogs-lick-their-genitals-do-they-you-know-enjoy-it/491662/10 "2009-04-02T06:35:46Z")
Dave Lister [on board the Red Dwarf]: “All We have left is this can of Dog Food. Well I guess I am going to have to eat it.” (Lister takes a bite) “Yeech! Thats horrible!!” Now I know why dogs lick their testicles! -From Red Dwarf ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-dogs-lick-their-genitals-do-they-you-know-enjoy-it/491662/11 "2009-04-02T06:41:34Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > [Two drunk see a dog licking his nether regions] > > “Hey, I wish I could do that!” > > “I think you had better ask him first.” Or: “Well buy him a packet of crisps and he’ll let you” ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-dogs-lick-their-genitals-do-they-you-know-enjoy-it/491662/12 "2009-04-02T07:15:14Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > My two cats do that too. Always glad to lend a helping . . . tongue. My clean-freak kitty grooms herself back there, sometimes holding a back leg with both front paws (pretty limber for age 15). ---
**Author:** ![Bluffcityguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ebca7d/32.png) [@Bluffcityguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bluffcityguy)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-dogs-lick-their-genitals-do-they-you-know-enjoy-it/491662/13 "2009-04-02T09:57:53Z")
[quote=“1920s Style “Death Ray”, post:9, topic:491662”] I once saw a rottweiler deep-throating himself followed by an apparent orgasm. So, yes, I guess they do. [/QUOTE] I know, I know, “anecdote” is not the singular of “data”, however… A woman I dated a back in the mid 90s swore that her female Old English Sheepdog would regularly lick herself to what looked like an orgasm. FWIW. Cheers, bcg ---
**Author:** ![MichaelJohnBertrand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dfb087/32.png) [@MichaelJohnBertrand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelJohnBertrand)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-dogs-lick-their-genitals-do-they-you-know-enjoy-it/491662/14 "2009-04-02T12:12:37Z")
I think that some dogs are brighter than others, and can put together the sequence of conclusions required to “masturbate” as we think of it. Other dogs are frankly too damned stupid. I’ve watched dogs of both genders give them a couple of licks, then look around like “Wha? What just happened?” Repeat a zillion times. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-dogs-lick-their-genitals-do-they-you-know-enjoy-it/491662/15 "2009-04-02T15:14:59Z")
I think your Captain is a beautiful dog, for the record. StG ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-dogs-lick-their-genitals-do-they-you-know-enjoy-it/491662/16 "2009-04-02T15:31:15Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > I think your Captain is a beautiful dog, for the record. > > StG I told him you said that, but it didn’t make him look up from licking his privates. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-dogs-lick-their-genitals-do-they-you-know-enjoy-it/491662/17 "2009-04-02T15:45:24Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > [Two drunk see a dog licking his nether regions] > > “Hey, I wish I could do that!” (Courtesy of Lewis Grizzard) “That dog’ll bite you!” ---
**Author:** ![FalconFinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@FalconFinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FalconFinder)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-dogs-lick-their-genitals-do-they-you-know-enjoy-it/491662/18 "2009-04-02T17:39:25Z")
My first boyfriend’s parents had a teacup poodle that used to lick himself constantly – to the point where I’d hear it swallowing. Grossed me out to no end. I couldn’t stand that dog. After it was done it always wanted to come over and lick my face. Yuk! ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-dogs-lick-their-genitals-do-they-you-know-enjoy-it/491662/19 "2009-04-02T17:44:35Z")
[quote=“1920s Style “Death Ray”, post:9, topic:491662”] I once saw a rottweiler deep-throating himself followed by an apparent orgasm. [/QUOTE] And me without my camera! ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-dogs-lick-their-genitals-do-they-you-know-enjoy-it/491662/20 "2009-04-02T19:30:41Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > [Two drunk see a dog licking his nether regions] > > “Hey, I wish I could do that!” As I recall the punchline: \*“I think you should get to know him a little better, first” \* [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-dogs-lick-their-genitals-do-they-you-know-enjoy-it/491662.md?page=2)