Why does my dog do that? Weird dog behaviors explained

Why do dogs sniff each other’s butts?

This behavior may seem totally bizarre – and it certainly wouldn’t be well received if humans participated – but it’s perfectly normal in the dog world!

Dogs have a sense of smell that can be between 10,000 and 100,000 times more sensitive than that of a human. For example, if we walk into a home where someone’s been cooking a pot roast, we’ll recognize that smell as, well, pot roast. A dog, on the other hand, will recognize the beef, the potatoes, the carrots, celery, salt, spices – each individual item as a separate and distinct odor!

So why, then, do they have to get so darn close to another dog’s rear end? They’re actually getting a whole lot of important information that way. That’s right, from a quick sniff of the rear, one dog can tell the other’s emotional state, it’s gender, it’s diet, if it’s healthy or sick, and much, more more! It’s all thanks to the chemicals stored and secreted from the sacs tucked conveniently in his rear end. In a nutshell, it’s just one of the ways they communicate and learn about one another.

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