A Dog’s Nose Does Way More Than Sniff
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Most of us are aware of the fact that dogs have a keen sense of smell. They use their noses to sniff everything from another animal’s butt to your pant leg to discover if you’ve been near another dog. They discern a great deal with their nose, but a dog’s nose does way more than sniff. For example, just as humans can detect warmth through touch, a dog can sense heat with his nose. This is just one more thing that a dog’s nose is good for. Here are more interesting facts about a dog’s nose.
A dog nose is a versatile and advanced detection device
The functions of a dog’s nose are downright impressive. It’s largely used for breathing and for smelling, along with a few other things. Studies conducted on the structure of canine noses revealed that while a human has 6 million olfactory receptors in their noses, dogs have as many as 300 million. In addition to this, a much larger portion of the canine brain is dedicated to interpreting what the scents mean to them than the human brain.
Canines have a unique detection organ
Dogs are blessed with an interesting feature that is called a vomeronasal organ. It’s a part of their physiology that is not present in human beings and it aids in the detection of pheromones within their own species. This is how a male dog can detect a female in heat from long distances. They sniff the air and catch a whiff of the scent that the human nose simply cannot smell. When compared to the smelling power of a dog’s nose, they are 100,000 times better at it than people are and it’s all because of the way their nose is constructed and how it links to portions of the brain. This is an evolvement that helps dogs to navigate, reproduce, and survive in the world.
A lack of human understanding impedes the natural processes
Our dogs often engage in behaviors that we disapprove of. It seems impolite to allow your pooch to sniff the butt of another dog, especially in front of mixed company, but this is how he learns more about his pal. Even dogs that are familiar with one another sniff butts. Their keen sense of smell alerts them to a host of dog-relevant information. Dogs can tell if a fellow pooch is in heat, or if the other dog is sick, and it can also tell them if the dog has fraternized with other pups.
Why you should let your dog sniff all he wants
While it’s not recommended that you allow your dog to invade the privacy of humans, when it comes to other animals, it’s natural for them to want to sniff. It’s been discovered that dogs have an inborn need to sniff. If you discourage or disallow this behavior then your dog may end up suffering from sensory deprivation as a result. As long as he isn’t offending friends or relatives, let him sniff to his heart’s content. This is truly how your dog makes sense of the world around him. We can’t expect animals, even very smart ones to live up to the same standards of behavior that are exhibited by humans, so it really doesn’t make sense to try to condition these natural behaviors out of your pet. Sniffing is a vital function for your dog and in order to keep his sense of smell keen, he needs to continue to put it to good use.
Understanding our differences
As humans, we have a tendency to rely on our sense of sight more than our sense of smell. It’s the opposite for dogs but few people really understand this fact, or even stop to think about it. Dog behaviors seem to go in opposition to what people think are the right ways to act. We act and think in many opposite ways and it’s important that pet owners recognize these behavioral differences and understand what the dog is doing when he is sniffing and why he is doing it. It’s been an epic kind of misunderstanding that has gone on for centuries, but thanks to researchers who have a strong desire to know more about the psychology of dogs and how we can better communicate with our furry friends, years of clinical research have revealed this and other truths about why dogs do the things they do.
A new way to look at the world
The next time that you see Fido sniffing the butt of a friendly neighborhood pooch you might see things a little differently. It’s not a lot different than a handshake between friends, or a cordial hello. This is a form of communication between animals that is the equivalent of people meeting on the street who say hello and inquire about one another’s health and well-being.
Conclusion
Dog noses are some of the most amazing devices in the natural world. This is your pooch’s way of exploring the world around him and how he gains useful information about his environment. The next time he sniffs your pant leg, just remember that he’s probably just curious about where you’ve been and who you’ve seen. Dogs can pick up on these things and because they don’t have the ability to ask you where you were, this is the next best thing. Since humans have never experienced the keen scent detection that a dog possesses, we will never know just how much information is sent to a dog’s brain or how they even process the smells. We can only guess based on the information that we have. Let Fido use his sniffer whenever it is the least bit appropriate because he’s only getting the latest scoop when he’s doing it.
