2017 November 29, Brandon Specktor, “Your Dog Might Be Licking Its Mouth Because It Thinks You’re a Jerk”, in Live Science[1]:
Dogs lick their own mouths, noses and jowls all the time. Certain cuteness-obsessed Internet communities call it a "mlem"; some animal behavior researchers prefer to call it mouth-licking, and offer many possible explanations for the quirky canine behavior.
2019 June 22, Dot Wordsworth, “The barking world of ‘doggo lingo’”, in The Spectator[2]:
Anyway, despite an extent less than a German shepherd’s mlem, the language of cute social media dog sites is known as DoggoLingo. It’s as well to be aware of such things.
2017 December 11, Jessica Boddy (for NPR), "Dogs are Doggos", in What Do You Meme, page 21:
When they stick out their tongues, they're doing a mlem, a blep, a blop. They bork. They boof.
2017, Matt Nelson, #WeRateDogs: The Most Hilarious and Adorable Pups You've Ever Seen, Skyhorse (→ISBN)
Not to be confused with a blep, a mlem is more dynamic and can occur multiple times over the standard duration of a blep. “Mlem, mlem, mlem.” “To obtain the peanut butter on his snoot, my dog did several mlems in a row.”
2016 November 25, “Mekazoo Co-Op Review”, in Co-Optimus:
Every mekanimal's ability is tied to the action button, creating a seamless experience between hopping like a kangaroo or mlemming with the frog's tongue.
