Why do dogs sniff each other's butts?
Why do dogs sniff each other's butts?
Why dogs sniff each other.
© American Chemical Society (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
Transcript
You may have heard a lot about how dogs have an incredibly keen sense of smell, and it's true. An average dog's nose is anywhere between 10,000 to 100,000 times more sensitive than yours. So how can dogs, with their super sense of smell, be so interested in their canine compatriots' rear ends? Well, folks, the answer is more complex and interesting than you think.
When a dog smells another dog's butt, it's actually collecting a bunch of information about the other dog-- its diet, its gender, its emotional state, and so on. Think of it kind of like speaking with chemicals. In fact, this butt-sniffing action is just one of many examples of chemical communication in the animal kingdom.
But what chemicals are packed into Fido's rear end, and where do they come from? We talked to Dr. George Preti of the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia. Doctor Preti currently studies the complexity of human body odors and pheromones. But back in 1975, he was on the cutting edge of dog butt science. He and his team of researchers examined the anal secretions of dogs and wild coyotes.
So on both sides of Sparky's back door is a stinky small pouch called an anal sac. This sac house's glands that excrete the chemicals dogs use to get to know each other. The apocrine gland is most responsible for that dog smell, but the sebaceous glands also play a part.
Preti discovered that the primary chemical compounds that produce a dog's aroma are trimethylamine and a host of short chain acids. As you might expect, anal sac accretions have a very powerful, sharp odor as a result of the acids inside. But a dog's genetics, diet, and the current state of their immune system can all influence this aroma through chemical changes in the secretions.
You'd think the smell of dog poop would overpower Rover's sensitive snout. Dogs have a second olfactory system in their hypersensitive nose called the Jacobson's organ. This organ is designed specifically for chemical communication and has its own set of nerves leading directly into the brain, so there's absolutely no interference from other odors. The same organ is used when you see a dog sniffing a fire hydrant or anywhere else there happens to be some dog pee.
When a dog smells another dog's butt, it's actually collecting a bunch of information about the other dog-- its diet, its gender, its emotional state, and so on. Think of it kind of like speaking with chemicals. In fact, this butt-sniffing action is just one of many examples of chemical communication in the animal kingdom.
But what chemicals are packed into Fido's rear end, and where do they come from? We talked to Dr. George Preti of the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia. Doctor Preti currently studies the complexity of human body odors and pheromones. But back in 1975, he was on the cutting edge of dog butt science. He and his team of researchers examined the anal secretions of dogs and wild coyotes.
So on both sides of Sparky's back door is a stinky small pouch called an anal sac. This sac house's glands that excrete the chemicals dogs use to get to know each other. The apocrine gland is most responsible for that dog smell, but the sebaceous glands also play a part.
Preti discovered that the primary chemical compounds that produce a dog's aroma are trimethylamine and a host of short chain acids. As you might expect, anal sac accretions have a very powerful, sharp odor as a result of the acids inside. But a dog's genetics, diet, and the current state of their immune system can all influence this aroma through chemical changes in the secretions.
You'd think the smell of dog poop would overpower Rover's sensitive snout. Dogs have a second olfactory system in their hypersensitive nose called the Jacobson's organ. This organ is designed specifically for chemical communication and has its own set of nerves leading directly into the brain, so there's absolutely no interference from other odors. The same organ is used when you see a dog sniffing a fire hydrant or anywhere else there happens to be some dog pee.