Walking at Kearney recently I saw two owners chatting while fondly watching their dogs sniff each other’s bums.
But why do they do it?
Dogs live in a world dominated by scent. Their noses help them find out about the world and about each other and other animals, including humans – dogs don’t just stick their snouts into other dogs’ private places…
A dog’s ability to smell is far more advanced than ours. An average dog has a sense of smell about 100,000 times more sensitive than their owner’s, partly because dog noses contain 150 million olfactory receptors while human noses only have 5 million. About a third of a dog’s brain mass is devoted to the detection and identification of scents, while humans only use a mere 5% for the same purpose.
A quick sniff around the face and neck gives some outline information, but the more detailed information is gained from sniffing bottoms.
Through scent, a dog can tell if another dog is male or female, happy or sad, healthy or ill. A special part of dogs’ noses, called the Jacobsens organ, helps dogs ignore the smell of poo when sniffing these unmentionable places. Instead, dogs look for the scents produced by special anal glands.
The odour produced is unique to each individual dog. These pheromone chemicals tell a dog about the other dogs’ gender, availability for mating, mood, and even what the other dog likes to eat and where they have been.
The smell is so unique it will tell a dog if they have ever met the other dog before, even if that was many years ago. Dogs are better at remembering if they’ve met another dog before than we are at using our eyes to remind us if we have met another person before.
Sniffing bottoms is normal for dogs greeting each other. It’s equivalent to humans shaking hands with each other. Though I can’t recommend shaking hands at present of course. And I’ve never got on with fist or elbow bumps.
Dogs living in a world of scent is the reason why I talk about using sniff games and encouraging dogs to use their noses in all my courses and books.
By the way, it’s still not too late to buy a great stocking filler. My latest book, “Please May I Have A Puppy?” is packed with information about preparing for, finding and choosing a puppy, as well as how to help them settle in and what training you need to do to teach them to become a great family pet. I’ve used 55 of my own cartoon illustrations to make the book fun – the first time I’ve dared share my drawing efforts publicly!
Or check out the rest of my Doggy Doctor series of books for the adult dog lovers in your life.
Keep training and stay safe,
Carol