What Do Dogs Sniff for at Potty Time?

It can be very frustrating when you just want your dog to "do his thing already," but all he does is sniff the ground. This is especially aggravating when it's raining, cold or hot outside. Dogs sniff the ground because they are checking their "pee mail." Dogs have a powerful sense of smell and they can gather a lot of information by sniffing the ground.

  1. Who Goes There?

    • Who are the doggies in your neighborhood? Just ask your dog. If he could speak, he would tell you all about the dogs and other animals living in and around your neighborhood. When animals visit and move around in a particular spot, they mark their territory with urine. If you've ever walked your dog and observed him peeing a little here and a little there, it's because he is leaving his scent, or mark, over the scent of the previous dog. This is how dogs have been communicating with one another since the dawn of dogkind.

    The Doggie Grapevine

    • The urine and feces left on the ground by other dogs is filled with lots of good doggie gossip. It contains information on how many dogs have been in the area, when they were there and if there are any females in heat. It also tells your dog the approximate age of the dogs that have gone before and their state of being. In the case of feces, it even tells your dog when and what the last dog has eaten. When a dog leaves a contribution to this microscopic conversation, she is letting other dogs know she is there and what her emotional state of being was at the time of her visit to the spot. If your dog smells urine and detects distress, it's a clue to your dog of a not so clear but present danger.

    It's Sheer Chemistry

    • Urine and feces contain a scent unique to each animal. The pheromones and chemicals in your dog's body change with his own emotions, age, health, feeding habits and genetic makeup. A strong alpha-type dog will have a different odor than a submissive dog, so the pheromones your dog is sniffing will also tell him about the social structure of the dogs in the 'hood. This is important information for your dog to feel comfortable in the area. Anal glands release the scent upon defecation, and urine has its own chemistry based on the health of the animal. These elements are present long after the source has left. So even if you can't see any evidence of a dog having been there -- poo on the ground -- the scent lingers for a while.

    That Canine Nose

    • Dogs perform a number of services for humans with their noses. They sniff for bombs, drugs, weapons and people. They can also tell when an animal is in heat, when someone is about to have a seizure or heart attack, or when their person is upset. The canine nose is a complex structure of all kinds of cilia, cells and olfactory nerves. Dogs make use of their Jacobson's organ, a small patch of sensory cells on the roof of the mouth that most animals have. Snakes and reptiles rely on their Jacobson's organs more than dogs do, but cats, both the big cats and domestic house cats, use it quite often too. With all this cool equipment with which to smell, it's no wonder they enjoy outings so much.