The Doggie Handshake, Why Dogs ... Sniff Butts?

It seems gross. And it's embarrassing. But the gesture is a common (if poorly mannered) canine version of the "getting to know you" routine.

Dogs often greet one another by sniffing — which makes sense when your ability to smell is 10,000 times better than a human's. We all get that. But why does it have to be the butt, you ask?

Well, even the least smell-sensitive human can tell you that’s where a dog’s most intense aromas reside. In fact, there’s a pair of anal glands back there that secrete perhaps the most foul-smelling stuff you might occasionally have the displeasure to experience. So it’s perfectly normal.

Problem is, dogs often engage in this behavior enthusiastically, which can get them into trouble with other dogs who’d rather not have their butts smell tested. And, of course, it can also get them into trouble with humans who’d prefer that a dog not get so fresh with them. If your dog is an aggressive sniffer, it is something you can take up with a certified animal trainer or behaviorist.

In the 1998 movie, Dr. Dolittle, a young boy asked his dog, “Why do dogs sniff butts?” The dog answered it was their version of a handshake. A simple, yet accurate way of explaining this way of canine greeting, which yielded some laughs as the boy tried to sniff the butt of the next adult he met.

Dogs have an extraordinary sense of smell. One hundred thousand times more sensitive than humans, canines house three hundred million olfactory sensors in their nose compared to our measly six million. They can sniff drugs out of a suitcase buried fifty deep, a decomposed body miles away, or what dog treats their friends have been snacking on.

Some people may find this ingrained trait undesirable, but dogs have been doing it for centuries. With a few short sniffs a dog can establish location, diet, illness, and readiness to mate. It is their way of deciding whether the backside in question is worth their time.

This form of meeting is also used as a measure of equality. Dogs that are equal sniff each other at the same time. A submissive dog will wait his turn, allowing for the dominant one to finish her investigation.

Five Myths That Drive Pets Behavior Crazy

Veterinarians are a lot like pediatricians. Not only do our patients struggle, scream, cry, and otherwise communicate in ways that often leave much to be desired, but like "baby doctors," we also have parents to contend with. And parents come with their own set of challenges.

Perhaps nowhere is the fact of parental influence more stressful than when it comes to talking about their pets’ behavior. The preponderance of animal behavior misinformation delivered by everyone from Dr. Google and Dr. Breeder to Dr. Mother-in-Law to Dr. TV Pet Personality means that simple misconceptions can easily turn into culturally intractable myths.

Setting the Facts Straight

Sadly, veterinarians are too often relegated to the final stop on the fix-this-problem bus tour of any given pet’s by-now-too-serious-to-live-with behavior disorder. Which is probably why pet behavior myths drive us crazy. After all, we know too well what happens when behavior problems get out of control: Problem pets are unwanted pets. And unwanted pets end up in shelters.

Which is why veterinarians are always busy trying to debunk myths like these five zingers:

Myth 1: Aggressive pets are trying to dominate us. This is not always true. Indeed, it’s usually not.Aggression is much more likely the result of fear or anxiety than the desire to dominate anyone. Nonetheless, people seem to prefer to believe that aggressive or difficult pets are attempting to control their environments than reacting to its stresses. The observation of wolf hierarchies —which has been shown to be an inapt model — largely informs this canine worldview.

Sadly, this misconception about dogs — widely disseminated by certain popular media personalities — has led to the more widespread use of punitive training techniques that can lead to even more serious behavior problems than they purport to address.

Myth 2: Abuse is the root cause of fear and aggression in pets. If we had a dime for every time we were informed of our patients’ past history of abuse, every veterinarian I know would have a stack a mile high. Sure, it’s possible. But if every owner who believed their pet was formerly physically abused was spot-on in their suspicions, we’d have to assume pet abuse is far more prevalent than we currently believe it to be.