Our 20 year old son lives in a studio apartment in our basement while attending a local university. He recently became the owner of a 3 year old chow mix that he takes hiking with him. Our corgi (Dewey, 17 months old) has adjusted well to Max's presence in our house, even though they technically live on separate floors.

Recently my son went on a trip and we kept Max upstairs with Dewey. It was interesting to observe their interactions. It appeared that Dewey was OK with letting Max be the dominant one. There were no problems with feeding or walking. In fact, I think they really enjoyed each other. The odd thing, though, was that they incessantly licked each other in the mouth, and around the eyes and ears. At times it was almost like Max was grooming Dewey in a tender, almost maternal, way. They are both males, so of course my husband and other son made many comments about these seeminly affectionate interactions.

Does anyone know what all this licking means? Any other observations or advice about a corgi's interaction with another non-corgi pet?