Dog behavior

I am attempting to find out what is going on between my two dogs and
how to handle this. I would appreciate any help I can get on the
subject. I have a very well-behaved elkhound male who is 8 years old
and is not neutered. He has been around numerous dogs in the past and
has usually been submissive. Three months ago, we added another
addition to our family, an 8-wk old female bichon. The two have gotten
along beautifully, until about two weeks ago. Suddenly our elkhound
cannot be separated by five feet from the bichon, he is constantly
licking her genitalia, and they seem to be "kissing" each other very
frequently. He has never tried to mount her. We thought she might be
in heat, and quickly scheduled her for spaying. The doctor stated that
she was not in heat. After her spaying, this behavior did not cease.
This behavior is very irritating to us humans. Does anyone have any
ideas about the origins of the behavior, experienced something similar,
or how to correct this? Thank you for your help.