Sniffing

Question
Recently my 3 yr old cairn has begun sniffing my wife's chest constantly. If she sits down he is on her lap sniffing her. He will also stand on arm of couch just staring at her. Or stand in her face cuddling not that she doesn't like to cuddle with him. But its constant or excessive. Is there a reason for this weirdness?

Answer
Ron -

My first question is whether she has changed lotions, deodorants or cologne.

I sometimes use a cream that has shea butter in it, and my jack russell will not leave it on my skin... I have to fight him off from licking it all off me before it gets a chance to soak in.

The second thought is that he is feeling insecure and seeking her approval for some reason. Dogs don't do a lot of mutual grooming unless they're trying to get approval from the other one.

The tone of your question sounds like you might be wondering if this is some kind of sexually based behavior, and I really doubt it.  It is far more likely to have to do with pack status than anything else.

You may need to turn this into a training issue and train him to stay off the furniture.... then perhaps 6 months down the line you can test letting him up and see if he continues this strange behavior.  Please use positive training methods to teach him to stay off the furniture though, or you risk causing a whole 'nother set of issues with him.

Let me know how you make out.

-Beth