When I came home, my dog Bessie used to greet me at the door, all excited. She would pounce, bark and whine at me in a happy, but complaining sort of way. 

She’d want me to pet her and sit down on the floor so that she could lick my face. If I didn’t sit down, she would get upset, as licking my face when I got home was an essential part of her routine.  

When I was standing up, my face was too far out of reach for her short dachshund legs. 

She would also take advantage of any situation where my face was close to the ground. Whenever I lay down on the floor or exercised, she would swoop in out of nowhere and lick my face. It made exercising so difficult. 

I knew she did a lot of disgusting things with her mouth. Almost every minute, she would lick herself and the floor. 

And occasionally, she would take it to an extreme by raiding the trash, eating other dogs’ poop on the street, and doing many other things I disapprove of. When this happened, I would say, “That’s it. You’re not licking my face for a week or until your mouth gets a good brushing.” 

I let her lick my face even though she did all these disgusting things because that’s the only way she could show how much she loved me. We don’t understand “the bark language,” and the only way dogs can express their love for us is by licking our faces. 

It also feels good when you let your dog lick your face. No one can love you like a dog loves you. Just make sure you disinfect it with good soap, as I did.