Dogs are primarily attracted to used tampons because they carry the scent of human blood and bodily fluids, which smells like food, meat, or blood to them. This behavior is driven by curiosity, intense scent attraction, and primal instincts to mask or investigate the odor. Using a dog-proof, sealed trash container is the best prevention method.
Dogs have a great sense of smell. Used pads and tampons smell like blood and tissue. Dogs also love to eat decaying animals. The smell attracts them and the taste is probably something they like, as disgusting as it seems to us. I am sure the absorbent materials are not good for a dog's digestive system though.
Pheromones and Communication
It is believed that menstrual blood may contain pheromones or other chemical cues that dogs find intriguing or stimulating. Dogs rely heavily on scent to gather information about their environment and to communicate with other dogs.
A 5-year-old Poodle licking menstrual blood is generally harmless, often driven by curiosity or bonding behavior. While not a health concern, excessive licking can cause skin irritation or infection.
Many people believe that this is an instinctual behavior from when they were wolves to mask their scent when hunting. It can be dangerous if they ingest a tampon though as it can expand in their stomach. Please call/see a vet right away if this happens.
Eating a tampon can be extremely dangerous for your pet. Tampons are made to remain intact, expand and absorb fluid. This makes it impossible for a dog to digest hence the tampon can expand in the stomach and intestines and become lodged in the GI tract (aka become a foreign body).
Dogs will often try to lick up or eat anything with blood on it. It's an instinct that they (and many other animals have) and the leading theory on why is that they don't want other animals to smell their blood if they are injured and then be aware of their vulnerability and possibly come and eat them.
Trying to lick your wound is the dog's way of cleaning it, keeping you safe from predators, and helping the injury to heal. Though it is a very sweet and caring thing your dog is trying to do, it's best not to let your dog lick your wounds, as it can make you and your dog sick.
By now you know that dogs lick people's crotches or smell crotches for a variety of reasons. Our genitals, like our feet, armpits, mouths, etc. hold the most scents, bacteria, and pheromones.
In nature, this behavior serves as a form of recycling. Your pet is instinctively drawn to the smell of blood in your bathroom trash. This attraction is difficult to "train away," so the best approach is to dispose of sanitary pads in a manner that prevents your dog from accessing them.
Their sense of smell is so powerful that they can detect small changes in hormones like estrogen and progesterone during your cycle. When you're on your period, your body releases different chemicals and pheromones. Your dog can smell these changes and may react to them.
Crotch-sniffing is a natural canine behavior that allows a dog to gather information on a person's emotional state, health, and more. Dogs may sniff crotches to get attention as well. Training and redirection techniques can help reduce crotch-sniffing behavior.
No matter what your health status, don't let your dog lick your skin if you have a cut, scratch, broken blister or open wound. Should your dog bite you or break your skin with its teeth, let your doctor know. Bites, whether they're from a human or animal, may need medical attention.
Tampons are KNOWN to cause obstructions as they don't breakdown and often expand. Get an x-ray to see where it is in your dog's GI tract. It could pass, but it's such a small percentage of tampons that pass (very small that actually pass and the string could cause further damage to the intestines).
Remember too, that some condoms are flavored or scented, and dogs have an incredible sense of smell. This might make condoms particularly appealing to dogs.
If your dog ate a tampon or pad, they're at risk of choking or intestinal blockages. You should treat this sort of incident as an emergency and contact your emergency vet as soon as possible.
The dog's behavior shifts from what might be considered normal. It could paw or sniff repeatedly, and you could have trouble pushing it away. It may nip or lick at lesions, in an attempt to get rid of them for you.
If more air passes through their nose they have more chance to pick up smells. How far dogs can smell depends on many things, such as the wind and the type of scent. Under perfect conditions, they have been reported to smell objects or people as far as 20km away.
So when your dog sniffs your crotch - he's greeting you. When he does that and snuggles up to you, he's saying you make me feel safe and loved. That's what your smell means to him.
It's not necessarily bad for your dog to lick her menstrual waste but know it can possibly lead to bacterial infections. For example if she has been in a dirty environment, like out in the mud, she may be more at risk.
While there are some similarities in the types of bacteria found in both species, dogs have a greater variety of dental bacteria that you won't find in humans. Dogs' mouths contain approximately 600 different species of germs, while humans have around 615 and counting.
Your dog's licking could be due to pain, skin irritation, anxiety, distress or boredom. So, it's important to consider how you can help them feel better and seek further support. Any licking that's obsessive or compulsive in nature should be flagged to your vet.
Dogs often eat tampons because they're attracted to the scent of your bodily fluids. It's not pleasant for us to think about, but it's natural and normal for dogs. What's not normal or safe is ingesting the tampons.
When swallowed, they immediately begin to soak up the gastric juices in the digestive tract and swell in size and density. This robs the dog of vital fluids and puts them at risk for a life-threatening intestinal blockage. Unused and high absorbency tampons are especially dangerous.
The smell of blood attracts many dogs almost magically. The blood is harmless to the dog. However, swallowed pads and tampons can be life-threatening for dogs.