Scent of a Dog

If "nosy" humans are not enough, I have to put up with my "nosy" dogs. It is just fortunate that humans don't have two hundred million nasal olfactory receptors. Every weekend, whenever I come home after a visit to an animal shelter or after a pet sitting session, Max and Jon will sniff my legs and upper torso. I can practically stand still for an infinite period of time and these two will just sniff and sniff. Well, currently, Max still has the inquisitive mind and spends long periods of time checking out the invisible multitude of scent. On the other hand, Jon has been through this for over two years, and now sniffs me for a short while. Sometimes he never sniffs at all. I always believed Jon was jealous that I went to see other dogs. This is because he is very possessive and is hostile and not sociable with other dogs.

 This video of Jon was taken before Max's arrival. Back then I always go to animal shelters during weekends. He did not get a chance to sniff my body on the day the video was taken, but the traces of over 100 dogs' on the shoes were sufficient for him to be so absorbed and inquisitive. I liked the way he turned back to glare at me - as if unhappy of where I went - at the end of this video.

Jon does not spend as much time as before in sniffing. He has smelled all there is to smell. Max is like a child who is still learning new things.

There is a difference between how Jon and Max sniff. Jon is the cautious type, and he probes slowly, without touching the surface of the object he is smelling. Max is the type who is really "nosy", to the point of being intrusive. He will poke his nose onto the surface of the object and probes it fast and repeats the probe on the same surface at least twice. So, whenever he sniffs me, my skin will always be wet. I am very sure that if I were to lie down on the floor, he will smell every part of my body.

After recording this, Max took another 1 minute to complete his probe

Incidentally, these  last three videos were taken after I went to see female dogs at a vet and a client's place. I would like to record a moment after I get in contact with male dogs to observe if there is a difference in the way my dogs sniff.