If you’ve ever experienced your dog walking up and giving your crotch a good sniff, especially when company’s over, you know how awkward it can be, but before you get embarrassed or shove your pup away, it’s important to realize there’s a legitimate reason behind this behavior—and it’s not nearly as strange as you might think.

Dogs interact with the world mainly through their noses, unlike humans who depend mostly on sight and sound, and with about 220 million scent receptors compared to our five million, their noses are practically super-powered, picking up smells we couldn’t even begin to detect. So when your dog dives nose-first between your legs, it isn’t trying to be rude—it’s just doing what comes naturally. Veterinarian Jennifer Sperry, in an interview with Rover.com, explained that dogs are drawn to areas of strong scent, and your crotch happens to be packed with apocrine sweat glands that emit a smell completely unique to you

 While these glands also exist in places like your armpits and chest, your crotch area is far more accessible, especially for medium to large dogs. To a dog, your groin area serves as a kind of personal identification card, giving away information about your gender, mood, health, and even whether you’ve recently interacted with other animals, which is why dogs often sniff each other’s rear ends when they meet—it’s not strange to them, it’s simply how they gather crucial social data. If your dog tends to sniff your friends or family members too, even though it may make everyone squirm, it’s just trying to figure out who these new people are, much like a human handshake, although a lot more invasive from our perspective.

Fortunately, if this behavior makes you or your guests uncomfortable, the good news is you can teach your dog a more appropriate way to greet people without needing to resort to scolding or punishment. The first step is to redirect their sniffing energy rather than punish them, because punishment doesn’t really work with dogs in these cases—they don’t understand why you’re upset, and it can cause fear or stress instead. Instead, offer positive alternatives that allow them to put their powerful noses to good use, such as providing snuffle mats sprinkled with treats where they can search using their sense of smell, offering puzzle toys that mentally stimulate them, setting up scent work games around the house by hiding treats in different spots, or taking them on “sniffer walks” where they’re allowed to lead and pause as they please to explore various scents.

These activities satisfy their natural instincts without putting guests in uncomfortable situations. Training your dog to greet people politely can also be a game-changer, and Dr. Sperry recommends starting with something simple like a “sit” command at the door to replace the urge to sniff. With consistency and positive reinforcement, you can help your dog build a new habit. If you want to take it a step further and make greetings even more fun, you can train your dog to give a high-five instead. Practice the trick at home when there are no distractions, then invite a friend over and as your dog gets excited, cue the high-five, rewarding them with a treat when they succeed, making the greeting experience positive and distraction-free. Above all, it’s important to remember not to be upset when your dog engages in crotch-sniffing behavior, whether it’s directed at you or someone else—it’s not disrespectful, it’s simply their way of gathering information, and actually indicates that your dog is confident and curious rather than fearful or shy. If you notice it happening often, it just means your dog feels secure enough to explore its surroundings the way dogs naturally do. Still, if you or your guests find the behavior too awkward, guiding your dog toward more polite behavior is absolutely possible with a little patience and consistency, using positive reinforcement to encourage the manners you want to see. At the end of the day, understanding why your dog acts the way it does not only eases your own discomfort but also strengthens the bond between you and your furry friend, so the next time your dog gets a little nosey, just remember—it’s nothing personal, it’s simply their way of getting to know the world, one sniff at a time.