The Smell Test
The Smell Test
When dogs meet and greet
the first social ritual must
be the smell test. A sniff here
and a big smell back there
tells each smeller much about
the other. “Hmm,” thinks the one,
“he’s been feeding on Purina
dry dog food, with a bit of chicken.”
The other smells that this one has
been eating delicious meat of horse.
Also, each dog has it’s own special
identifying scent others can recognize.
The next chore is determining who is
the leader of the pack in this gathering.
What is the pecking order. It matters
not the size of the dog, it’s which has
the “big dog” attitude and demeanor.
The next ritual for the male dogs is
the marking of the territory with a peeing
contest as to which can cover the other’s
mark. When each runs dry it makes no
difference as they continue the hiking.
People can be much like this in social
gatherings but not with the smelling and
marking as dogs, but still do so as they
determine these things in their own
peculiar human ways and interactions.
