They say ‘dogs do the funniest things’ and whilst that may be true for the most part – there’s one particular act your canine pal might do that will leave you red in the face.
Dog trainer, Lorna Joyce, who runs her own business, Complete Canine Training, highlighted a furry friend faux pas when questioned about it on TikTok recently. After inviting her followers to submit questions on how to look after their pets, she was met with a response from Scott Harrington, who penned: “I’m sorry to ask this, but crotch sniffing? Is there a way to stop dogs doing this?”
Lorna began by explaining the behaviour: “If every time you introduce your dog to somebody new, the first thing they do is shove their head in between the person’s legs – then here’s why. As we know dogs use their sense of smell to gain information about everything.”
When it comes to them meeting other dogs, Lorna says they smell a gland, which can give them information including their gender, where they have been and what they have eaten recently.
“All dogs have these glands all over their bodies, but they tend to go to the rear end as the smells are much stronger there,” she added.
Humans, on the other hand, don’t possess these glands all over – only where there is hair and sweat – “primarily our groin and armpits”, Lorna discloses. “As a result the closest point they’re going to be able to reach is the groin, which is quite embarrassing for both the dog owner and the person being sniffed.”
Lorna then allayed fears that the dog’s actions may be a result of smelling “down below” as she continued: “Their sense of smell is incredible and they’re going to be able to detect the tiniest of scents. Our glands give the dog all of the information about us – the sight of us isn’t really that important to them.”
So how can we get our dogs to stop sniffing people in this way? “What they’re doing is only natural, but it can get excessive with some dogs,” Lorna said. “How you stop this can vary from dog to dog, but here are the main things to be wary of:
1. Be sure that your dog’s needs are being met.
2. Devalue new people to your dog or teach it to have some impulse control – this will enable your dog to sniff from distance and not act on their impulse to get as close as possible. You can do this by playing some engagement and disengagement games, or by keeping them on a lead when new people enter the home, for example.
“Lorna, thank you for answering my candidly embarrassing question,” said Scott in response, who posed the question.
Then another dog lover shared their top tip, adding: “A really simple solution I had for a dog who done this obsessively as a means to regulate was to give him something to put in his mouth when guests came. He had learned that this behaviour meant hands immediately touched him.
“It was literally his version of a clicker but giving him another outlet with his toy and then still getting scratches massively lessened his arousal as there was also less conflict and confrontation. It got worse as he was being told off for it and he didn’t really understand. But sticking a toy towards people is less embarrassing feeling for people. So, win win.”
Finding humour in the discussion, a third TikTok user jokingly queried: “How do I get him to do it more? It really annoys the mother-in-law.” Lorna quipped: “Oh that’s super easy to train actually.”
