A nose touch may say “Hello” or ask about snacks.
Source: from SC Psychological Enterprises Ltd
Not too long ago I was watching a familiar canine ritual. A female dog approached a litter of pups (not her own). As the four little puppies bounded over to her, she lowered her head and touched the nose of each with her nose. For some she nuzzled their faces a bit, and sniffed other parts of their bodies, however the opening contact was almost always a nose to nose touch.
For those of us that have studied animal communication this snout contact appears to be part of a greeting ritual. It is actually more common in cats than in dogs, where the nose touch may sometimes be accompanied by rubbing against the body of the other animal or continued sniffing of the others head or body. Cats will use this greeting nose touch with virtually any cat that they meet which appears to be nonthreatening.
Dogs appear to be more selective in their nose to nose touching. Not every greeting is accompanied with snout contact. However, it is quite common for adult dogs to engage in nose touching with puppies. It is also quite common to use nose touching when greeting another nonthreatening species. Thus dogs can be seen nose touching with cats and kittens, horses and so forth. A young human child crawling across the floor is often greeted with a nose touch by an approaching dog.
Some casual research that I have done suggests that nose touching can be an important part of the socialization of puppies. In a number of cases where a dog breed was known to sometimes be nippy as adults (such as Corgis) I have suggested that while the dog was still a puppy the people in the family, and any friends or acquaintances that could be enlisted to help, engage in nose touching with the pup. This seems to speed socialization and reduce the likelihood of nipping incidents later in life. In all breeds this early nose touching with humans appears to make the approach of people, or their looking directly into the dogs eyes, less of threat as they mature.
While most canine researchers recognize the ritual greeting aspect of nose touching in dogs, recent research published in the journal Animal Behavior, suggests that there may be another, more pragmatic reason for nose touching. Marianne Heberlein and Dennis Turner at the Institute of Zoology at the University of Zurich set up a situation where a dog could explore a room while another dog observed his behavior. Lets call the dog that is watching the observer and the dog that is exploring the actor. The way that their experiment worked was a follows. First the actor has to know that there is a treat hidden in the room. So he is allowed to watch while a couple of dog treats are placed in one of four positions around the room. Next screens are placed in front of each of the positions. At this time the observer dog is brought into the room. He watches while the actor is let loose. Obviously the dog will run behind the screen where he saw the treat hidden.
Up to now things are straightforward. The observer dog doesnt know why the actor dog ran behind the screen since he cant see the treats. However, sometimes, when the screens are put into place the experimenters will secretly remove the treats. That means that sometimes the actor dog finds the treats and gets to eat them, while at other times he runs behind the screen only to find that there are no treats.
Finally, the two dogs are allowed to interact with each other. As might be expected there will often be nose touches as part of the greeting ritual between the dogs. Now here is the surprise finding-if the dogs touch noses and the actor dog has just come back from successfully finding and eating a treat, then it is much more likely that the observer dog will now quickly run to investigate the area behind the screen where he saw the actor go. If the actor dog has not found and consumed some treats it is less likely that the observer dog will go to that place to investigate, or if he does it will take him a lot longer to get around to exploring behind that screen.
The researchers therefore conclude that the nose touching between dogs not only is a way of saying “Hello” but also helps to answer the question “Have you encountered any snacks or other food around here?” The answer is to be found on the breath of the other dog, and where the food may be found comes from where the observer dog has seen the actor go before.
This confirms what everybody who knows dogs suspects. Dogs are naturally sociable and friendly, but much more so when there is the possibility that some food might be involved.
Copyright SC Psychological Enterprises Ltd. May not be reprinted or reposted without permission.
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If you want to teach your pup one of the most commonly taught tricks for focus, confidence, and humor, then go with… the nose touch. In this case, you can train your pup to touch his nose to the palm of your hand (or to your fist), which is also known as targeting. This way you can interact with him during walks or allow him to interact with a new person in a positive and friendly manner. Over time, you will eventually be able to have your dog jump up onto his hind legs and touch your hand with his nose, whenever you ask him to do so.
Have you ever paid attention to the way your dog greets other animals while out for a walk? Many dog owners are familiar with the usual tail sniffing ritual, but what about direct snout-to-snout contact? Even though they don’t possess the ability to speak, dogs are quite effective communicators. From barks, growls, and whines to touching each other’s noses, your furry friend is using body language to communicate with other dogs as well as people. What message are they actually trying to convey when touching other dogs’ noses and where does this behavior stem from? Let’s dig a little deeper into the topic…
Nose touching reveals what we, as owners, have known for a very long time: our furry companions are naturally sociable and friendly, especially when there is food involved. Whether they are meeting other animals for the first time or making an opening contact with their litter of puppies, dogs use tactile communication to express their emotions or to raise a question. Learning how to interpret your dog’s behavior will help strengthen your bond and reinforce their confidence at the same time.
More so, a recent study suggests that nose touching is a means for dogs to find out whether the animal they have just come across has recently eaten. Which means that this form of communication represents more than just meeting and greeting while being an all-around friendly pooch. When approaching other dogs, your furry friend will sniff the other’s breath to determine if there is any food nearby. And given that scents lose power over time, your dog can figure out whether or not the other one has had a recent treat. In other words, they can “smell time.” This helps them figure out if they will be able to find the source of that food. You should also pay attention to the way your dog greets other animals outside. Sometimes, snout-to-snout contact is the first form of greeting that comes into play, so it’s best to avoid any conflicts with other dogs, by remaining vigilant.
Did you know your dog’s olfactory system is three times as big as your own? Yes, dogs are superior smellers and they use their noses for a lot more reasons than just sniffing out treats. It’s one of their most important tools for communicating with other animals as well as with people. For instance, they can use their noses to predict the weather, tell time, identify dangerous substances, and even detect cancer. In this case, tactile communication can mean different things, depending on the circumstances. From pawing, licking, to touching noses, the somatosensory system (aka sense of touch) is one of their earliest developed senses. When a dog touches noses with other animals, they are doing it as part of a greeting ritual, a method of socialization that seems to be rooted in the way wolves use nose touching to ask for forgiveness or resolve an argument. It is believed that the subordinate wolf would nose nudge and lip lick other pack members in order to keep the peace within the group.
Why does my dog sniff my other dogs face?
It may seem weird to us, but your dog is doing it to show friendliness, affection or deference. Whichever reason is behind his dog-on-dog face licking, it’s never a bad thing. It’s always a sign that he means no harm.
How do dogs “see” with their noses? – Alexandra Horowitz
Nose touches, or how us pet owners call them: boops, is one of the many ways our animals communicate.
Us humans may boop our pets when theyâre being particularly cute or for no reason at all â but what does it mean when animals boop each otherâs noses? Letâs find out, shall we?
You may notice that between animals who are not very familiar with each other when they donât feel particularly threatened, theyâll greet each other by touching noses. Sure, theyâll end up sniffing other areas of that animal too, but it will always start with a boop.
It may seem weird for us humans because itâs absolutely absurd for another human to boop the nose of a stranger, but this seems to be a common greeting ritual among animals. Dogs learn this behavior as early as their puppy days. Itâs actually a very important part of their socialization.Â
Cats and dogs who have been properly socialized in their youth have consistently shown that they are able to communicate well with other animals when they grow up. Their abilities to pick up on social signals is a very important ingredient to having a happy and healthy home life.
Nose-to-nose greetings are not exclusive to animals who have met for the first time. Cats and dogs who have lived together tend to do this every once in a while â especially when theyâve been in separate rooms for a while.
There have been studies showing that when animals touch noses, not only is it a greeting, they also exchange a bit of information.
When dogs boop, for example, they can smell if the dog they just had a nose to nose interaction with had eaten some treats. Dogs who found out that this new dog they met recently ate, theyâll start to survey the area around them for more food.
With cats, itâs the same thing! When cats greet each other with a gentle nose bump, theyâre exchanging information on where theyâve been and how theyâve been doing. This is one of the gentlest, least threatening ways for cats to greet each other.
Cats and dogs are able to get this much information from a couple of seconds of nose action because both of these animals have highly sensitive senses of smell.
Itâs safe to assume that when a dog and cat touch noses, theyâre politely saying hello, and checking up on each other.