As much as you love your dogs, you have to admit they can have some pretty disgusting habits. We’re talking about things like eating cat poop and rolling in poop. Another relatively less nasty but equally strange habit is dogs smelling butts.
If you’ve noticed your dog smelling your butt, other people’s butts, or other dogs’ butts, you may think it’s some kind of abnormal behavior. But in reality, it’s perfectly normal for your dog to smell butts. Here’s why your pet is so attracted to rear ends.
Your dog smells your bum because the scents from your anal region give him vital information about you. Humans have a high concentration of apocrine glands (sweat glands) in the armpits and genital area. Your dog sniffs your rear end to learn more about you. It’s the same reason why dogs smell your crotch.
If you have a visitor and your dog smells their butt, it can be embarrassing for both you and your guest. However, this is just your pooch’s way of saying hello and gathering some vital information about the visitor.
While it may appear like a disgusting habit to you, for dogs, sniffing each other’s butts is a completely normal and healthy thing to do. Think of it as the doggy equivalent of a handshake.
Remember, smell is a vital way for dogs to communicate. For this reason, a dog’s sense of smell if far superior to ours. Dogs have more than 40 times the number of olfactory sensors in their noses compared to humans.
So, when dogs sniff each other’s bums, they are simply greeting each other and getting some information, such as where their friend has been and what she’s been up to. Dogs can pick up clues about gender, reproductive status, mating ability, health status, temperament, and more from sniffing another dog’s butt. They can also remember a dog’s unique scent and tell if they have met this particular pooch before.
If your dog occasionally sniffs your bum or that of visitors or other dogs, it’s a good idea to let him do it. However, if the butt sniffing behavior is getting a little too intense and embarrassing, you may want to do something about it.
You can try redirecting your dog’s attention by gently moving his head away from your butt.
Another strategy that is often effective is to give your dog’s olfactory sense a good workout with a toy such as a scent mat. New and interesting scents can often work wonders in appeasing a curious canine nose.
Many pet owners find that well-trained dogs respond well to the “sit” or “leave it” command to put a stop to butt sniffing behavior. Train your dog consistently to accomplish this, and don’t punish her for transgressions, however.
If your dog is sniffing at your guests’ butts and making them uncomfortable, you may have to confine your dog to a different room when you have visitors. Do it in a way that does not feel like a punishment. In the meantime, work on training your dog to stop smelling butts. Soon, he can join you and your visitors after he has learned to exercise more control over his bum-smelling instincts.
15 December, 2022