What Can Dogs Smell That We Can't?
Jen Flatt Osborn
Freelance Writer -- on-page SEO blogs, articles, and more -- for the pet industry. Looking for an animal-loving, expert writer? You just found one.
The nose knows.
It's common knowledge that a dog can "outsniff" a human by a landslide.
“Dogs noses are specifically adapted to function much better than ours,” explains Dr. Michael T. Nappier, DVM, DABVP, of the Virginia Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. They have up to 300 million olfactory receptor in their noses, versus only about 6 million for us...'" million for us..."
So I was wondering...What can dogs smell that humans can't? (Besides a hot dog from a mile away.) Let's break it down into bites.
1. Cancer
2. Pregnancy
3. People
4. Bed bugs
5. Heat
6. Natural disasters
7. Drugs
8. Emotions/Feelings
9. COVID-19
10.Bombs
Now let's break these down to try and understand a dog's experience with smell.
There are more things they get wind of before we do, but these are a good start.
a) Cancer -- They can not only smell cancer, they can diagnose someone who has it in the early stages.
Being able to pick up on a disease that's inside a human body seems implausible, but since the concept has been widely accepted, it proves they can trump our smellers every time.
b) Pregnancy -- Dogs can sense things so on top of their miraculous ability to sniff out pregnancy, they also detect changes in mood and body language among other things.
You could compare it to a dog's uncanny ability to realize he must be gentle with a new baby when they come home from the hospital. It's innate. They are sensitive animals and pick up all kinds of things from us. We'll probably never know all of their abilities.
c) People -- The talent dogs have to smell people has been acknowledged by most of us.
It's when their guardian is coming home from somewhere and he goes to the door before anyone even hears a car that they prove their unique skill.
It's when you're playing with him, you go hide, and he comes right to you. How? He sniffed you out.
It's when I have treats in my pocket and he figures it out before I even get to surprise him.
Dogs can smell us when we're not even anywhere close by. How could we ever doubt they'd have capabilities way beyond ours.
When a dog can find a deceased human being, and they can, they're called a cadaver dog and they perform heroic work.
d) Bed bugs -- Gross and Ew. But they're so good at it, they can find them in cramped crevices, inside walls, and other tough spots. They can even find the eggs.
e) Heat -- "Dogs have a type of infrared sensor in the tip of their nose which enables them to detect minute changes in temperature such as when other animals are nearby, according to new research."
March 3rd, 2020
So it explains a lot when we see dogs who will do everything they can to get to a female dog in heat. They can be up to three miles away and still find her from detecting her condition.
f) Natural disasters -- Before a major event like a hurricane or an earthquake hits, often we see dogs trying to hide or get under desks and other closed in areas.
When I was growing up, a neighbor's dog always knew when a storm was coming. He'd come over to our house, come in, and go hide in the woodpile beside the fireplace. Sometimes he wouldn't come out until the next day.
Some of us have seen a dog that gets restless before a major weather event and they can even become so anxious, they shake or get as close to their guardian as possible.
g) Drugs -- If a dog was known for something regarding his sense of smell, it would probably be sniffing out drugs.
"These dogs are called detection dogs or sniffer dogs which is a dog that is trained to use its senses to detect substances such as explosives or illegal drugs..."
https://www.3dk9detection.com/
Police detection dogs can only sniff out illegal drugs but there are private services who train them to recognize OTC medication, too. They can even imprint on nicotine.
One of those services is 3DK9 Detection Services where dogs can currently sniff out 13 types of illegal drugs.
h) Emotions/Feelings -- How many times have you heard, "My dog could tell I was grieving," or "I started crying and my dog understood."
They can smell our emotions. That's why it's so difficult to cover up how you really feel about dogs when you're around them. It's endearing and part of the reason why we connect to them so deeply. Do we even care HOW they do it?
i) COVID-19 -- But of course a pandemic comes along and dogs come to the rescue!
"...The dogs screened 1,680 passengers and found 158 positive SARS-CoV-2 cases that were then confirmed by other viral tests. Amazingly, Sarkis found that his dogs could correctly identify negative results 100% of the time, and correctly detected positive cases 92% of the time, according to unpublished results."
And if the American Lung Association green-lights it, it's good enough for me!
j) Bombs -- Do you think police officers would trust dogs with their lives, when they send them in to detect a bomb, if they weren't really able to do it? Just like drug-sniffing dogs, bomb-sniffing dogs are also called "Detection" animals.
"The first official American bomb dogs came into use in the 1940's for the purpose of detecting German mines in North Africa. By 1971, the United States was training dogs to identify explosives and illegal substances, notably marijuana, heroin, and cocaine."
https://sniffk9s.com/
It's only fitting this loyal, trustworthy animal would have raw natural talent to protect us like they do. They're all that is right in the world so of course they're practically human and can sniff out dangerous circumstances!
Pinnochio would be jealous.
https://www.petmd.com/dog/behavior/5-dog-nose-facts-you-probably-didnt-know
PetMD Editorial -- January 21st, 2021
https://www.readersdigest.com.au/food-home-garden/pets/10-things-dogs-can-smell-that-humans-cant
https://www.hillspet.com/dog-care/behavior-appearance/can-dogs-smell-cancer
"Fact or Fiction: Can Dogs Smell Cancer" by Erin Ollila, July 13th, 2020
https://www.pedigree.com/dog-care/dog-facts/can-dogs-sense-human-pregnancy
https://www.terminix.com/blog/education/bed-bug-dogs/
https://www.3dk9detection.com/
https://www.lung.org/blog/can-dogs-detect-covid-19 American Lung Association "Can Dogs Sniff Out COVID-19?" By Editorial Staff, 02-16-21
#smell #dogs #sniff #dognose
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3 年Some things I knew and some things I didn’t! Makes me wonder how sensitive to their own Cancer they are. Thinking about our Peanut Girl. ????????