When it comes to personal space, people usually have clear limits—but dogs don’t really follow those same rules.
Dogs are loyal and loving companions, but they also have some funny habits that can surprise their owners—like sticking their noses where they don’t seem to belong.
Just as dogs sniff other dogs’ behinds to say hello, they sometimes do the same to people. That’s why a dog might suddenly sniff a person’s crotch. It feels strange to us, but it’s totally normal for them.
What seems like an awkward or rude action is actually just a dog’s way of greeting and getting to know someone better.
A dog’s nose is an amazing tool—one of the best in the animal world. Anyone who has owned a dog knows how powerful their sense of smell is.
Humans have about 6 million scent receptors, but dogs have up to 300 million. That means their sense of smell is around 10,000 times stronger than ours.
Dogs also have a special smelling organ called Jacobson’s organ (or the vomeronasal organ), located above the roof of their mouth. It helps them detect pheromones—chemical signals that give information about another dog, animal, or even a person. Because they process so many scents, dogs’ brains use about 40 times more space for smell than human brains do. That’s why they can detect things like drugs or changes in blood sugar and make great service dogs.
So, why do they sniff people’s crotches?
It may feel uncomfortable, but it’s not meant to be rude. Dogs are just following their instincts and using their powerful noses.
They sniff this area because of sweat glands called apocrine glands, which release pheromones that tell dogs things like a person’s age, sex, mood, and even reproductive state. Since the strongest pheromones come from the genitals and anus, sniffing there is simply a dog’s natural way of saying “hello.”
Humans also have apocrine glands, mostly in the armpits and groin. Since dogs can’t easily reach our armpits, they go for the crotch instead—it gives them the most scent information.
For dogs like Beagles, Bloodhounds, and Basset Hounds, it’s almost impossible to resist sniffing people’s crotches because their sense of smell is so strong.
What Can Dogs Smell?
At certain times, people’s scents become stronger. Things like menstruation, childbirth, or recent sexual activity increase pheromone levels, which makes dogs more curious. That’s also why they sometimes sniff or take interest in underwear.
In his book How Dogs Think, Stanley Coren, PhD, shared that Australian Shepherds were trained to smell cows that had just ovulated so ranchers could breed them at the right time. While there’s no solid proof that dogs can detect ovulation in humans, they can sense changes in body chemistry. This powerful ability also helps in medical research—some dogs can even detect diseases like ovarian cancer early on.
If you want your dog to stop sniffing people’s crotches, there are some helpful tips from vets and dog trainers.
Keep in mind, it’s usually harder to teach dogs what not to do than to teach them what to do. That’s why many experts suggest redirecting their behavior instead of punishing them.
One effective method is called fist targeting—teaching your dog to touch your closed hand with their nose when you give a signal.
Here’s how to do it:
- Hold out your closed fist to your dog.
- When your dog touches it with their nose, immediately say “yes!” (or use a clicker) and give them a treat.
- Repeat until they do it consistently.
- Then, add a command word like “touch.”
Once they learn it, you can use the command to redirect them whenever they try to sniff someone’s groin. Since you can place your fist anywhere, it’s an easy way to stop the behavior before it happens. Other people can also offer their fist as a greeting instead of getting sniffed.
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