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Originally Posted by Sciencewoman
CG, I have a veterinary question for you. I read somewhere that one of the reasons dogs sniff each other's butts in greeting is that they're assessing each other's health and can pick up scents that indicate the other dog may be unhealthy and they should stay away. Is there any truth to this? I'm asking because Pippin has this funny behavior of running into a bathroom whenever he hears the toilet flush and sniffing the toilet for a couple seconds. Then he leaves. I'm trying to figure out if he's curious or attempting to assess our health, lol. He's such a character.
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Yep, that’s actually true, Sciencewoman, to a degree. So, dogs gather a lot of information through their sense of smell, and so, the area under the tail, specifically the anal glands, it contains pheromones and other chemical markers that convey a dog’s identity, emotional state, reproductive status, and yes, potentially their health, too. It’s kind of like a biochemical snapshot. Know what I mean?
So like, when dogs greet each other by sniffing each other’s butts, they’re reading that data the way we might read a name tag, someone’s mood, and like medical chart all at once. If something smells off or just not right, like an infection or something, some dogs might avoid further interaction.
As for Pippin sniffing the toilet after a flush, I mean, it’s not unheard of. I don’t think it’s a conscious health screening on Pippin’s part though, but more like curiosity because of a sudden shift in smell. Toilets are full of interesting smells from a dog’s perspective, so he’s probably not diagnosing anyone, but I think it’s more like he’s associating the sound of the toilet flushing with the change in scent. Kind of like new data to process? If that makes sense.
Tell Pippin I said hi and that he’s such a sweetie! I wish I could hold him and hug him.
