Why Do Dogs Smell Each Other

If you have a dog or are just a good observer, you will have noticed that when these animals are found they begin to sniff each other, especially in the anal area. But although from a human perspective this attitude may seem somewhat disgusting, there is a reason for them to do so. Learn the reasons why dogs smell each other.

Dogs sniff their butts to be able to properly socialize with each other

A first fact to take into account is that the sense of smell of these furry animals is highly developed: between 10,000 and 100,000 times more than ours.

So when dogs sniff each other’s asses, what they are actually doing is gathering a great deal of information about their kin. For instance:

• Gender.
• Physical and state of mind.
• What have they eaten recently.

In this way, the furry ones manage to socialize in a correct way since, by sniffing, they obtain the appropriate information about their peers.

Dogs establish chemical communication through the secretion of their anal sacs

Then, c hen dogs smell, they are establishing what is called a “chemical communication”.

Actually, the smell that all this information gives them is given off by the anal glands. These sacs are located one on each side of the anus and produce secretions that the powerful smell of dogs knows how to decode very well.

George Preti, a chemist at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, USA, conducted a study in 1975 on the secretions of these glands and determined the main chemicals that made them up: a trimethylamine compound and various fatty acids.

The truth is that every furry gives off a specific odor, since each animal has a diet DETERMI na da and a different emotional and immune system.

How dogs decode the chemical information they get from smelling each other

But how do our four-legged friends decode this chemical information they perceive when sniffing other dogs’ butts?

This topic has to do the organ of Jacobson or vomeronasal, we could define as an auxiliary olfactory system and can detect various chemicals, usually pheromones, and transmit this information to the brain directly.

Located between the nose and mouth of dogs and other vertebrates, specifically in the vomer bone, this organ is what allows furry dogs to “communicate” correctly by decoding their physical and emotional state.

Although in humans this organ is considered vestigial, in recent times different studies have been carried out to try to determine if it still has any function and if it is comparable to that which it fulfills in other species.

More information about the smell of dogs

In addition to the fact that smell is a highly developed sense in dogs, it should also be noted that these animals have a great olfactory memory. This enables them to remember, for example, the smell of other dogs and recognize them after years of not meeting them.

But the great sense of smell of dogs, which allows them to perceive in great detail the smell of all the particles that travel through the air, transcends the normal communication between their congeners, other animals and their environment, and has been used by man from time immemorial.

Thus, they have been trained to detect, among other things:

• Bodies drowned meters in the sea.
• Disaster survivors buried under rubble.
• Drugs camouflaged by criminals.
• Explosives
• Different types of cancer in people.
• Hypoglycemic situations in diabetic patients.