Australian Shepherd Question

The pawing behavior could be what we call obnoxious submission (acting submissive but with a pushy edge to it), or it could be an attention getting behavior. Part of figuring that out would be observing your old dog's reaction. A dog licking at the corners of another dog's mouth is called "food begging." It goes back to wolf pups doing the same thing, often while whining, and it stimulates the adults in the pack to regurgitate food. The behavior is instinctive and is often seen with a young dog doing it to an older dog. Some Aussies can be trained to be seizure alert dogs. It isn't so much about what breed the dog is, but does it have the temperament traits to fit this kind of work.