Learn Why Dogs Are Attracted To Vertical Objects When Roaming The Outdoors

When people and dogs go for walks, it's almost as though they're on completely different trips. We see all the same things we saw the day before - the same trees, the same mailboxes, the same fire hydrants. However, our dogs are "seeing" with the nose. The scents he encounters are changing all the time.

A tree by the sidewalk, for example, contains hundreds of scents humans don't know exist. But dogs recognize them as clearly as we see the branches and the leaves. They're especially attuned to the smells of other dogs. A quick sniff tells them who's been there before them, how big and dominant they were, whether they were male or female, even if they were in good health. A tree, for example, might as well be a signed guest book!

The reason vertical objects such as telephone poles and fire hydrants have so much appeal is that they provide a canvas for dogs to project their social aspirations. In their world, size makes a difference. Bigger dogs can "claim" more territory than smaller ones. The thinking seems to be, “The higher I urinate, the bigger other dogs will think I am.” Some dogs go so far as to choose the highest tree on a hill, and then try to mark the highest spot on that tree.

Some dogs are so determined to get their marks up high that they get downright athletic. Some raise their legs over their heads in order to An essential part of this golden retriever's routine is checking out who's been visiting his district. It makes his daily patrol around his territory more interesting. achieve more upward trajectory. Others back up to trees with their hind ends in the air. Some even stand on their front legs in order to get extra height. Their efforts don't go unnoticed by other dogs. Even dogs who don't leave a mark of their own usually want to stop and investigate who's been around.

For dogs who have been neutered, hydrants and other vertical objects are mainly an opportunity to share some gossip - their mating instinct isn't very strong. Dogs who are intact, however, have a very practical reason for aiming high. Big dogs tend to be the most dominant, and dominant dogs are more attractive to the opposite sex. For males, hitting a high spot on a tree is an opportunity to announce their availability as well as their status. For females, sniffing the different levels gives them a variety of mates to choose from.