Why does my dog sniff around the house?

Dogs are natural explorers, and that often means they will wander around your house, poking their noses into corners and sniffing the air. While you might think they are just interested in what is going on in your home, it is actually often for a more primal reason: they are trying to figure out what has been happening in your home, and who has been in there lately.

With that being said, there are actually many possible causes and this post will show them to you and what you can do about them.

So, why does my dog sniff around the house? Possible reasons why your dog sniffs around the house are that it is smelling for the scent of other people or animals, it smells food, or it is marking its territory.

There are a number of possible reasons why your dog smells around the house and it might be due to a combination of them. However, there are some things you can consider when figuring out the main cause and there are some things you can do about it.

Why does my dog smell around the house?

Below are a number of possible reasons why your dog smells around the house and what you can do about them.

Nature

Dogs will naturally sniff their surroundings a lot. Dogs sniff their surroundings naturally so that they can find out what other animals and people have been around. The reason why your dog has been sniffing around the house is likely to be due to natural behavior. This would be more likely if your dog has always done it and it does not seem to have started doing it suddenly.

It smells food

Another possible cause is that your dog smells food around the house. This would be more likely if your dog smells a specific area and if it tends to do it more at a certain time such as in the kitchen after you have been cooking or when someone dropped food on the floor.

It smells the scent of other people and animals

Another possible cause is that your dog can smell the scent of other people and animals that have been around. This would be more likely if your dog sniffs around the house more after other people have come over.

It is marking its territory

The reason why your dog does it might also be that it is marking its own scent around the house. This would be more likely if your dog also rubs itself against things when it is doing it or if it sprays around the house.

Things to consider

Below are some things to consider when figuring out the main cause.

If your dog has always smelled around the house

If your dog did not always smell around the house, it would help to consider what else happened when it first started doing it. If it started doing it suddenly, it could be the case that there was an event that caused it to start. If it did start doing it suddenly, it could be due to things such as someone dropping food or having other people come over.

What is different when your dog does not around the house

If your dog tends to do it more at a certain time, it would also help to consider if there is anything special about the timing. For example, if it does it more when you have just come home, it could be the case that your dog is picking up on the scents you picked up while outside.

How to get my dog to stop smelling around the house?

Below are some options you have when dealing with the behavior.

Give it distractions

One option would be to give your dog things to be distracted by so that it is less likely to want to sniff around. Things you could give it could include bones or toys.

Redirect its focus

Another option would be to redirect your dog’s focus towards other things, such as toys or performing an exercising, whenever it seems likely to start sniffing around.

Let it do it

It is natural for dogs to sniff around the house and most dogs do it. If your dog has not been behaving unusually in other ways, it is likely natural behavior. In this case, it would likely be the easiest option to just allow your dog to naturally sniff things around the house and to keep things you do not want it to sniff out of reach.