SNIFFING INAPPROPRIATELY

This normal greeting behaviour of dogs is hard wired into them. Dogs get a lot of information about other dogs by sniffing their anal and genital regions. This sniffing is also used for dogs to greet each other, and by extension, it is used when greeting humans. It is easy to stop this behavior. If another dog doesn't appreciate the attention of a sniffer the sniffed at dog will snap at the intruding dog's nose making no contact or only light contact. In addition they will give an audible signal in the form of one or two very sharp short barks. We can mimic this behavior. When the dog gets too close to someone's crotch, have the person place their hand very close to the dog's snout and flick the first two fingers of their hand at the dogs snout. At the same time say "Stop that" or "Eh-Eh" sharply. When the dog backs off, tell the dog "sit" and then praise him for doing so. This reassures the dog by saying that you still like him, but only disapprove of his behavior.