Dogs are wonderful household pets and friends. They make a huge difference in so many facets of our lives. After all, they’re called man’s best friend for a reason. Because they’re your best friend, you might even treat them like a human sometimes.
This may lead you to asking yourself questions like “Do dogs have butt cheeks?” Keep in mind that even though you may treat your furry friends as a human, dogs are very different from us, especially when it comes to body parts.
Dogs often don’t have butt cheeks. Their backs are very flat and lack the fat that butt cheeks require. This allows them to be much cleaner and have an easier time when going to the bathroom.
If you want to learn more about why dogs don’t have butt cheeks, keep reading.
Before you scroll down to a more in-depth answer to this guide, “Do Dogs Have Butt Cheeks,” you can check out these other dog-related questions answered by our team at We Love Doodles: Do Dogs Have Abs? and Do Dogs Have Wet Dreams?.
How Are Butt Cheeks Defined?
Your butt has two plump or fatty cheeks that extend from the back of the hip to the backside of the lower leg. These cheeks are muscles necessary for standing and sitting down. Because dogs don’t need to move like humans do, they don’t need butt cheeks.
Therefore, the answer to the question “do dogs have two fatty butt cheeks like humans?” is no. However, if you’re asking whether a dog’s rear muscles operate similarly to those in people, the answer is, essentially, yes. But before we find out if dogs have butt cheeks, let’s go more in-depth.
What Are Human Butt Cheeks?
Although we are all aware of how frequently we utilize our butts, a human butt cheek is made up of three gluteal muscles: gluteus minimus, gluteus medius, and gluteus maximus. The largest and heaviest muscle in the human body, the gluteus maximus, is primarily responsible for the shape of our backsides. Furthermore, these muscles are divided by the gluteal crease to form our two butt cheeks.
Our gluteus maximus collaborates with the semitendinosus and semimembranosus muscles in the legs to enable us to maintain an upright posture, which is related to the functioning of our butt cheeks. In addition to other muscles, our gluteus helps us stretch and turn our hips.
Naturally, we also use our buttocks as a seat. Humans have large butt muscles and the capacity to store fat in their butt cheeks, which allows them to sit more easily. The reason for this, according to evolutionary experts, is that sitting helped our ancestors to retain energy during food storage or to aid in nursing newborns throughout their first few years of life.
What Muscles Do Dog Butt Cheeks Use?
The biceps femoris, semimembranosus, semitendinosus, and gluteal muscles combine to form a dog’s rear legs. The biceps femoris, semimembranosus, and semitendinosus muscles make up most of a dog’s butt.
While human muscles are like those of dogs, they don’t really work in the same way. Let’s take a closer look at how the various dog muscles that constitute what we often refer to as a dog’s butt perform.
Biceps Femoris
The biggest muscle in a dog’s hamstring is called the canine biceps femoris.
The biceps femoris muscle allows a dog’s hip joint to lengthen. It is also the muscle that propels dogs as they stroll or sprint using strong thrusts. The rounded portion of a dog’s back, which transitions into the dog’s rear legs, is made up of the dog’s biceps femoris.
Biceps femoris also exist in humans, although they are located below our butt cheeks on the legs. The human biceps femoris aids in knee stretch, external movement of the lower leg, and thigh extension.
Semitendinosus and the Semimembranosus
The hamstring muscles that constitute the buttocks dogs utilize to sit on their derrieres are the semitendinosus and semitendinosus.
Combined, these muscles aid in extending the hip and leg. When the leg isn’t working or carrying weight, these muscles retract. Although they are in the back of a dog, the semitendinosus and semitendinosus are components of its legs.
The semimembranosus and semitendinosus muscles are present in humans as well, although they are in the bottom portion of our thighs. Human semimembranosus and semitendinosus muscles support hip extension, inner rotation of the knee, and knee extension.
Gluteal Muscles
As opposed to humans, dogs’ gluteal muscles help in hip extension and flexibility. Dogs do possess glutes. But, the more intriguing aspect is that a dog’s glutes are located on its back, just above the tail. Unlike people, dogs’ gluteal muscles do not store any excess fat or tissue or significantly affect the general form of their rears.
Being lean makes it simpler for dogs to sit and much more sanitary for them to relieve themselves after meals. Since a dog never sits on its gluteal muscles, it does not develop a butt and butt cheeks as we think of them in humans.
Comparing the Butt Cheeks of Humans and Dogs
Let’s quickly review the structure and functions of human and canine rears to see how they contrast.
- Sitting: Both canines and humans can sit, and both use their gluteal muscles to do so.
- Hip Extension: Dogs and humans both use the muscles in their backs to extend their hips.
- Hip Rotation: Humans rotate their hips using their glutes, but dogs rotate their hips using the iliopsoas muscles on their flanks.
- Fat Storage: Humans store fat in their backsides, among other areas, giving their buttocks greater form. Instead of storing fat in their bum, dogs store it at the waistline or belly.
- Biceps Femoris: In both humans and dogs, this muscle makes up the spherical portion of the rear end. In humans, the biceps femoris is located under the butt. This muscle helps humans and dogs flex their knees and stretch their hips.
- Semitendinosus: Both canines and humans have this muscle in their legs. Canines sit on them, whereas humans rest on their gluteal muscles. Both canines and people benefit from its aid in hip extension.
- Gluteal Muscles: In both humans and canines, this muscle aids in hip extension. Dogs cannot sit on their gluteal muscles, but humans can. Canine gluteal muscles do not contain excess fat or muscle, which makes it easier for dogs to pass feces and keeps them cleaner.
In humans, the gluteus maximus muscle makes up most of the butt cheeks. This muscle aids in the extension and rotation of the hips and stores fat to make sitting more pleasant.
The biceps femoris, semimembranosus, and semitendinosus muscles are mostly found in the dog butt cheeks. These enable dogs to sit comfortably and expand their hips.
Why Dogs Don’t Have Butt Cheeks
It is simple to see why dogs lack butt cheeks: their hip muscles don’t really meet the accepted definitions or requirements for butt cheeks as they are understood by humans. Dogs lack the fat needed for “butt cheeks.”
Canines have naturally thin backsides, which is a biological adaptation that helps them pass excrement more easily. Dogs’ absence of butt cheek muscles also makes going to the bathroom substantially more sanitary and practical for them because they are unable to wipe themselves like humans can.
What Muscles Do Dogs Sit On?
Dogs sit on their femoris, semimembranosus, and semitendinosus muscles. These muscles are very thin and do not provide the same type of cushion that human butt cheeks do. Instead, canines’ skin and bones are instantly connected with the hard surfaces they sit on.
On rare occasions, dogs will feel disturbed if the ground they are sitting on is not completely flat. This is because dogs can’t sit as people can. Unlike humans, dog legs do not bend as easily as human legs, making things like crouching and sitting upright uncomfortable. Whenever a dog moves, its leg must be straight. Sitting with legs that are slightly inclined or bent for a long period of time would be problematic for any dog.
How Do Dogs Sit Without Butt Cheeks?
Unlike humans, dogs are not equipped with a fat-like cushion around their buttocks. Dogs don’t really take a seat by themselves, but it is possible to witness dogs sitting on their buttocks. For example, if their owners tell them to sit, they will comply.
The most relaxed position for dogs is to sit or lie down with their legs straight. Your dog could be experiencing a medical problem if it is sitting sideways with its legs spread.
Frequently Asked Questions
Unlike humans, dogs’ glutes are located on their backs, above their tails.
All dogs have butt muscles and anal glands. However, dogs do not have butt cheeks in the traditional sense that humans do.
Dogs have leaner backsides than humans, leaving their butts fairly clean after using the bathroom. Unlike humans, they don’t have fatty butt cheeks, making it much more sanitary for them to use the bathroom outside and stay clean.
Do Dogs Have Butt Cheeks?
Is there such a thing as “dog butt cheeks”? Dogs do technically have butt cheeks, albeit not in the sense that humans do. The term “butt cheeks” may not mean the same thing to everyone. In theory, dogs do have butt cheeks since they employ similar rear muscles as humans do for sitting and hip extension.
Contrary to popular belief, dogs do not, however, rest on their glutes like humans do. Instead, dogs gluteal muscles are located on their backs above their tails. If a dog has a well-defined butt shape, it’s either because it has a lot of fur or the groomer did an excellent job shaping it.
If you found this guide, “Do Dogs Have Butt Cheeks?,” helpful and informative, you can check out these other dog-related questions answered by our team:
Garrett loves animals and is a huge advocate for all Doodle dog breeds. He owns his own Goldendoodle named Kona. In addition, he volunteers at the Humane Society of Silicon Valley, where he fosters dogs and helps animals. Garrett enjoys writing about Doodles and believes that dogs can teach humans more about how to live than humans can teach a dog.
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