As a dog owner, you may have to feel embraced in Dog Park because your dog sniffs other dog’s butts. Maybe you may laugh at the fact that they are using this private sniffing area to greet each other.
It is well known that dogs have a sense of smell better than humans. Even though we are disgusted by their behavior, they use this sniff to understand sex, age, health, and mental state. This is the way they first get to know each other.
There are two glands called “anal glands” in the rectum near the dog’s rear end. A special chemical pheromone secreted by the gland provides numerous information about other dogs.
Human differentiates this smell as it covered by the dog’s stool smell. But dogs can easily identify the smell because there is a special organ that intensifies their sensitivity to the odor.
Why do dogs sniff each other’s private areas?
Dogs’ nose is powerful than human because they contain 300 million scent glands and this makes them sensitive to smell 10000 times greater than humans. But also dogs have a vomeronasal organ called the Jacobson organ that helps increase their sensitivity to smell.
This organ is connected to scent-identifying parts in their brain and is 40 times bigger than humans. This organ act as a secondary olfactory system designed for chemical communication in dogs. So this organ can identify substances without an odor. People use dogs to find bombs, drugs, cancer, bed bugs, and many other things.
Jacobson’s organ is specially dealt with a dog’s reproductive system, and this helps to communicate with areas of the brain related to mating. So, this special ability helps too,
- Identifying pheromones
- Find whether the opposite sex partner is fertile or not
- Information about female dogs available for breeding
- Understand female dogs in their estrus cycle
- Ovulation of the female dogs
- Newborn puppies to find nipples of the mother
- Puppies to identify their mother among other female dogs.
Why do male dogs sniff other male dogs?
The odors released from the “anal glands” are unique from one dog to another. So, not only can mating dogs use this to get information about new male dogs appearing to them. By sniffing other dogs rear ends, they can identify;
- Whether this new dog has met before.
- Is this dog is friendly or not
- Their illnesses and health
- Their mental state
- Territory dominance or dominancy among two dogs
- Whether the other dog is had a meal before
But you may have wonder why do dogs sniff their bum? The answer is simple, and they also can take the same information about themselves as well. Also, experts explain some dogs sniff their bum as a calming mechanism as sniffing rear ends act as a stress reliever.
What does it mean when a dog sniffs you?
Same as in dogs, they sniff you to identify you. Dogs can remember the pheromones released from your skin. They use this mechanism to recognize you even after many years of separation.
