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Dog Questions
Dear Dr. Berg,
I have an embarrassing problem that I hope you can help me
with. Please don’t print my name or
initials because my husband doesn’t want me to ask but I have to do something.
We have had a black lab named Fritz for almost two years now
and he’s a wonderful dog in every way except when people come to visit, he will
walk up to them to get petted, but then he sticks his nose between their legs
to smell them. It is most embarrassing
for our guests and we don’t know how to get him to stop. We yell at him, but he continues to do it no
matter what we do. Any suggestions?
Anonymous,
Dear Anonymous,
Kudos for bringing up such a touchy subject that is more
common that you’d think yet few people are brave enough to discuss.
Fritz is smelling between the legs of your guests simply to
identify them and recognize your guests’ unique “special smells”. When two dogs meet, one of the first things
they do after their initial confrontation is to smell each other up and down to
“get to know” each other. Two areas of
particular attention are the rectal and genital areas, because there are a
weath of smells in these spots that are unique to an individual dog and helps
identify them. The special glands and
discharges found in these areas help other dogs readily identify each other
quickly, and to recognize objects that have been marked with other animal’s
urine.
Because smell is such an important sense to dogs and cats,
they have a much larger portion of their brain devoted to interpretation of
smell. It is believed that their noses
are over 100 more times sensitive than that of a human. When we take a walk with our dogs, we are
missing out on so many good smells, not only because our noses are far from the
ground where lots of the smells lie, but because we simply are incapable of
detecting the smells in the first place.
My wife likes to tell me that our dogs are “reading the neighborhood
newspaper” when they anxiously pull on the leash to reach a favorite pole or
rock and begin intensely sniffing.
To lessen their tendency to greet new people with a sniff,
try giving them a job to do whenever someone comes to the door. This particular method also can help reduce
the tendency to want to jump and play with new arrivals.
Place a small container of treats near the door, then enlist the help of family members and
neighbors by having them “arrive” at random intervals. Stand near the door with your dog on a leash,
and the instant the doorbell rings or that he hears footsteps, quickly run to
the corner, ask him to “sit”, and reward him with “good boy” and a treat. Make him “stay” as your guest comes in the
door. Make him continue to calmly “stay”
as your guest quietly walks over to the treat container, then gives your dog a
treat. Once your guest has retreated and
everyone is calm your dog is let off the leash.
This method helps to refocus the energy and excitement of a new arrival
into a distinct job of going to the corner and sitting in anticipation of a
reward. Your dog will also have already
gotten quite a few good “smells” of your guest when he is given the treat.
If your dog is still interested in smelling between the legs
after the “calm arrival”, you may need to use a deterrent to startle him the
instant that he attempts to sniff. Make
a “shaker can” by placing several coins in an old soda can, then taping the
hole closed. Shaking this can not only
makes disturbing loud noises but is supposed to emit high-pitched sounds that
most dogs do not appreciate. A water
pistol (no super soakers, PLEASE!) or loud whistle can also be used to starle
your dog the instant he attempts to
sniff. If none of these work, try
placing a choker collar on during initial greetings and giving a timely tug
with a “no sniff!”. The object is to
make them apprehensive about being startled when they attempt to sniff your
guests.
I’d like to put in a pitch for obedience school at this
point, which I believe is important for EVERY DOG; early obedience training
will help immensely to gain control in situations such as the sniffing
problem. With a basic set of learned
behaviors, such as “come”, “sit”, or “heel”, both dogs and their owners lead
better lives. Owners are happier because
they can tell their dog what to do in appropriate situations, and dogs are
happier because they know exactly what their owners want them to do and they
can do it and be PROUD. A well-behaved
dog that walks nicely on a leash gets a lot more walks than a dog that winds
people up and lunges during the walk. No
one enjoys attempting to pet a dog that is jumping all over them with dirty
paws, but who can resist a well behaved dog sitting patiently with anxious eyes
and a wagging tail?
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