Why Dogs Butt Sniff

BUTT SNIFF – I wouldn’t personally do it, but our dogs love it!! That’s how they say hello and get to know each other. We shake hands, our dogs butt sniff. It’s a healthy, socially acceptable form of canine communication.

BUT WHY?
Dogs can smell 10,000 to 100,000 times better than us. They also have a special part of their noses called the Jacobson’s organ which can detect all sorts of chemicals released from special glands on the sides of a dog’s anus.

In one sniff, they can download all the other dog’s personal information, history, their diet and health, what kind of mood they’re in, and whether they’ve met before or not. It’s definitely way better and faster than GOOGLING!! Sniffing butts also works as a calming mechanism for our dogs. It soothes them and serves as a stress reliever.

DO ALL DOGS LIKE TO BE BUTT-SNIFFED?
Well, you wouldn’t always like to shake hands with strangers, would you? So NO, not all dogs like to be butt-sniffed. It’s our job to make sure that our dogs feel comfortable and safe. Pay attention to their body language. If they’re not up for it, remove them from the awkward, possibly disastrous situation immediately.

If your dog loves to butt sniff other dogs, like Bowie, then make sure the other dogs feel comfortable too. Keep it short and sweet! And if the humans and the dogs are all happy, then let them have their butt-sniff-fest, or what I call a ‘Circle of Trust’.

WHAT IF YOU HAVE A TIMID / ANXIOUS / FEARFUL DOG OR THEY’RE JUST NOT INTO OTHER DOGS?
Never force socialisation. This is where letting your dog to sniff and scent mark during walk is very important. They may sniff out other dog’s scent and leave their own. Really it’s like our modern social media! They gather information about each other’s personal lives, but from a safe distance.

There you go… next time when your dog butt-sniffs other dog, not to worry, they’re just saying hello to one another!