30Dec
Your dog's incredible sense of smell is their "Super Power"
Dogs have an extraordinary sense of smell, one that is far superior to our own. While we humans rely heavily on our eyesight to navigate the world, dogs use their noses as their primary sense with hearing second and there eyesight their least effective sense.
Understanding your dog's super power will help you appreciate their unique abilities and help you find ways to enrich their lives.
How Powerful Is a Dog's Nose?
Dogs have up to 300 million olfactory receptors in their noses, compared to our mere 5-6 million. This means their sense of smell is anywhere from 10,000 to 100,000 times more sensitive than ours. To put this into perspective, a dog could detect a teaspoon of sugar dissolved in two Olympic-sized swimming pools!
Not only do dogs have more receptors, but the part of their brain dedicated to processing smells is also about 40 times larger than ours which is amazing as their head is usually so much smaller than ours.
This gives them the ability to detect and differentiate between an astonishing range of scents, even those in minute concentrations. Which has lead us to research and use this amazing ability to help us with many tasks that we were unable to do with our inferior senses.
What Makes a Dog's Nose Special?
A dog's nose is different to ours in the following ways:
- Split Airflow - Dogs can breathe in and out simultaneously, allowing them to keep smelling while they’re exhaling. This split airflow helps them pinpoint the source of a scent and accounts for the snuffling noise we hear when they are sniffing
- Jacobsen's Organ - They also have an organ called the vomeronasal organ, or Jacobsen's organ, which we don't have and it helps them detect pheromones. This adds another layer to their already incredible smelling abilities.
- Wet Nose - Their moist nose helps capture scent particles, enhancing their sense of smell.
How Do Dogs Use Their Super Power?
Navigation and Exploration - Dogs use their noses in all aspects of their life. By sniffing the ground can tell them who has been there, what they were doing, and even how long ago they were there and if they wish to investigate further.
Finding Food and Objects: They use their noses for hunting birds, rodents and other food sources to sniffing out a hidden treat for fun and locating anything else that may be of interest. This was the one of the things primitive "man" noticed with wild dogs living amongst them and they worked out how they could use this skill to work together and these were the first "working" dogs.
Human Connections - It has now been identified that dogs can detect human emotions helping them to and us to form such deep bonds, health conditions, and even detect changes in hormones due and pheromonal changes. This is why some dogs are trained to detect medical conditions like diabetes or seizures.
How we use a dog's sense of smell to help us.
Over many years we have developed ways that we can use a dog's sense of smell starting with their ability to hunt and search. So professional organisations such as the police, disaster recovery, border forces regularly use dogs and more recently it is being researched and developed by scientists and medical organisations for medical detection.
- Hunting/Vermin Control - this was the first thing "man" used their wild dog companions to help with, the dog could locate food sources by using their sense of smell so the humans could then catch or kill for food or protect them from vermin causing damage or eating their limited food stocks. The dog was "paid" by being fed from the catch. These dogs developed into the working dog we still use for hunting and vermin control.
- Searching for People - This was developed so dogs could start helping us find missing people or dogs in inaccessible areas such as disaster zones, in mountains or over large areas> So search and rescue , man and lost dog tracking are now regularly used. For further information https://www.mountain.rescue.org.uk/
- Searching for substances - Dogs are now used professionally to search for many substances such as drugs, explosives, & for bio security For further information https://www.gov.uk/government/news/hounding-the-bad-guys-border-force-detector-dogs
- Medical detection - This is the most recent development and dogs currently used to detect pheromone changes which can happen before seizures and diabetic episodes. Further research is also being carried out in the hopes that dogs can be used in the future to identify the very early signs of some cancers as a study shows they are able to detect cancers in other dogs. For further information https://www.medicaldetectiondogs.org.uk/
Therefore we should not underestimate the significance of a dog's sense of smell and it is our responsibility as their caregivers to ensure they are allowed to use it as often as possible we can do this at home and as activities we can share.
Ways we can use our dog's "Super Power"
Organised activities include:
- For sniffing and using their noses scent work and scent detection classes and trials, there are many organisations throughout the UK who have instructors to help you can learn this fun activity. Organisations include Scentwork UK https://scentworkuk.com/ Sniffer Dog UK https://www.uksnifferdogs.com/ Scent Ops https://www.scentops.co.uk/
- If your dog likes searching you can try tracking where you & your dog follow a track laid by a person, https://scentandtrack.co.uk/scent-track/tracking/ or man trailing where you and your dog search for a hidden person https://www.mantrailinguk.com/
- For dogs who were bred for hunting and vermin control such as terriers there in a newer activity that all breeds enjoy called "Barn Hunt" where you allow your dog search in "barn" set up for a scented toy "rat"
Activities you can do at home or when out with your dog include:
- Searching Games - where you can hide treats around your home or garden and encourage your dog to find them. You can also use unwanted boxes and plastic bottles (staples or other choke hazards removed) to hid toys or treats in before sending them off to be recycled
- Enriching Walks - letting your dog take their time sniffing during their lead walks as sniffing is a way of exploring and understanding their environment. Also hiding food or toys on the ground, on or in trees, benches or other items on your walk and asking them to search for them. This is a great way to join them in the fun of using their noses as well as their brains.
- Interactive Toys - There are many puzzle feeders and toys that can be bought which are designed for sniffing can keep your dog engaged and happy. These can be expensive but there are many ways you can use inexpensive household items (available at charity shops) such as muffin tins and fabrics which you can make into toys using your imagination
Understanding your dog’s "super power" opens up a world of possibilities for bonding, fun and enrichment either as individuals or as a team with you.
By encouraging and supporting their natural instincts, you can help your dog live a more fulfilled and happy life. After all, the world smells a lot better when you're a dog!
If you would like any help or support with unleashing your dog's "super power" there are plenty of ideas in books such as Scentwork Step by Step https://amzn.eu/d/dYij5Qb Scent Training for All Dogs https://amzn.eu/d/g3Bb5Ss The Canine Kingdom of Scent https://amzn.eu/d/3z2avhX and Canine Enrichment https://amzn.eu/d/c3qATBa and also many internet pages for ideas.
If you wish to attend a group contact one of the organisations above or if require 1-2-1 help with how you can identify your dog's needs and how you can incorporate them in your life together or any other training or support, seek the advice from a dog trainer or behaviourist who uses pain and fear free training methods.
Gill Gallagher - Speaking Puppy & Adolescent Dog
07595217299
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