Why Do Dogs Sniff Your Crotch?

Why Do Dogs Sniff Your Crotch?

Why do Dogs Sniff your Crotch?

There is nothing more embarrassing than to have your dog sniff the crotch of someone you are meeting for the first time. While we may consider this an embarrassment, it is natural for a canine to sniff the intimate area of humans and other dogs. It leaves guests wondering if their shower was less than useful that morning and is a flag that will tell them not to come back often. Why do dogs persist in this habit?

Dogs have 220 million sense receptors and all of them are located in their noses. Canines use their snouts to sniff out information about the human or dog they are inquisitive about and can learn the sex of the prospective friend or foe, the age, whether or not they are hostile and any other pertinent information that may advance the dog’s meeting. Your pet is doing what comes naturally by sniffing toward the area of anal glands in another canine.Why Do Dogs Sniff Your Crotch?

Dogs have anal glands that give away this information, which is why a dog will sniff another dog’s rear end. The glands hold all the messages the dog needs to know before meeting the front end where there are teeth. This advanced sense of smell goes back to the wolf ancestry domestic dogs of today come from. Humans don’t have the same anal glands that dogs house but they are on the search for them.

In an attempt to locate the same data in a human being, dogs tend to head for the crotch when introduced to someone new. They are not meaning to be gross or rude, they are merely checking out the intentions of the person. It’s the same area they find the information on another dog and are expecting to locate it on a human being as well.

While it is normal and natural for a dog to sense out danger in this manner, it is also quite unnerving to have your pet sniff the crotch of every newcomer that enters your home. With dog obedience training techniques, the crotch sniffing mannerisms can be thwarted and the dog-human relationship can be without the embarrassing crotch sniffing of guests. It’s normal for dogs to come to terms with surroundings by sniffing, however, it is also normal for humans to let them know that crotch sniffing is not okay.

Information on how to stop your dog’s crotch sniffing habits can be found online or in dog obedience media such as books or in online videos that host tips on crotch sniffing training solutions. Several television shows on dog training are available that will give the dog owner tips on how to end the gland searching practice too.

Remember to be patient, as it is the dog’s natural form of finding out more about those things around him or her. We have the first impression and intuition to judge people and things around us. Dogs use their noses.

1 Comment
  1. This is a good one you have today on (Why do Dogs Sniff your Crotch)
    It is normal for dogs to come to terms with surroundings by sniffing.