Crotch Licking - Dominant or Submissive behavior?

I'm curious what the general consensus is, is crotch licking generally
considered to be a dominant or submissive gesture (or neither)?

From my observations in the park, it seems that the dominant male generally
gets 'licked' more than the others, but that kind of seems backwards to what
I would have expected (I would have thought that allowing another dog to
approach those sensitive areas would have been an act of submission...). Or
is it a trust exercise between them. Or purely an investigative proceedure?

I've been reluctant to discourage this activity (although I know many other
owners that do), as I don't really understand the significance of it. At
most my actions have been limited to saying 'that's not polite' which is
more for the benefit of the other owners than for any instructive purpose.

Dale

"Dale Atkin" <labrador1 DeleteThis @ibycus.com> wrote in message
news:iFbAf.111451$km.76818@edtnps89...
> I'm curious what the general consensus is, is crotch licking generally
> considered to be a dominant or submissive gesture (or neither)?
>
> From my observations in the park, it seems that the dominant male
generally
> gets 'licked' more than the others, but that kind of seems backwards to
what
> I would have expected (I would have thought that allowing another dog to
> approach those sensitive areas would have been an act of submission...).
Or
> is it a trust exercise between them. Or purely an investigative
proceedure?
>
> I've been reluctant to discourage this activity (although I know many
other
> owners that do), as I don't really understand the significance of it. At
> most my actions have been limited to saying 'that's not polite' which is
> more for the benefit of the other owners than for any instructive purpose.
>
> Dale
>
>

LOL, I have no idea, but I'm sure glad you're talking about dogs! I wasn't
sure what to expect from the title and first line!
Sue and Atty