I remember being a young dog sitter and taking the dog on a walk, seeing him sniff a dog’s butt, and alarmingly wondering to myself ‘WHY do dogs sniff butts’?!
I was 10 years old and thought it was hilarious, of course, but also could tell it probably was for a specific reason. Well, fast forward a couple of decades, and current me is going to amaze you (and 10-year-old-me) with all the facts about dogs and butt sniffing!
While I’ll do my best to hold in as many butt jokes and puns (was that one already?! ?), there are some seriously amazing reasons as to why our pups love to sniff each other’s backsides!
Here’s what we will cover:

Dog’s sense of smell compared to humans
The Jacobson’s organ (aka vomeronasal organ)
Pheromones
Things dogs learn by sniffing butts
Should you let dogs sniff each other’s butts
What if your dog doesn’t sniff other dogs
Where human pheromones are and how it compares to dog-dog butt sniffing

Let’s get our butts in gear and learn all about it! ?

Here are some pieces of information your dog learns when they sniff another dog’s butt:

The dog’s gender
The dog’s sexual status (intact vs spayed/neutered, in heat, etc.) and subsequently if they would be a good mating partner
The dog’s age
If the dog is sick or generally healthy
The dog’s mood and whether they may be aggressive, happy to play, etc.
Whether they’ve met before (seriously)
And even what the dog may have been eating recently

STOP and think about that for a moment. What we humans perceive as a kind of weird behavior (the butt sniffing) is actually a tool your dog uses to get to know the other dogs around them!

To learn more about dog behavior and body language, check out the Dog Body Language Course taught by Traci Madson CPDT-KA here: https://pfrd.site/course-bodylanguage 

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