The Nose Knows – 5 Facts About Dog’s Sense of Smell

There’s is one thing for sure, a dog has a strong sense of smell.

It doesn’t matter if they are hybrid puppies or purebred, all dogs possess this strong sense. So basically they can hear better than us and they have an amazing sense of smell! How much do you know about a dog’s nose? To learn more, continue reading.

Their sense of smell is stronger than ours.

When it comes to the sensitivity of a dog’s nose, you should know that they beat humans in this category, hands down! There’s no getting around it. Sure there are variables that contribute to what they can smell, but facts are facts. There’s a cool analogy that sheds light on just how strong they are. When you walk into a doughnut shop, you smell the sweet glaze on doughnuts or coffee scents. If one of your hybrid puppies walked into the same shop, he’d smell the ingredients of the sweet glazed doughnut. Makes sense?

You stink…

…to dogs that is. Even though you’ve showered and sprayed your smell goods all around you, to a dog it’s putrid! We are stinky to them, but they love us regardless, as do we to them!

There’s no tricking a dog’s scent.

Research has shown that a dog’s sense of smell can easily pick up on and detect anxiety, fear, and sadness. An increased heart rate and blood flow are normally accompanied by fear or anxiety. When this happens our body chemicals rise more quickly to the surface of the skin and guess what…your dog smells that! So, if you’re feeling anxious and try to brush it off with a smile around your dog, don’t think for a second that they’re buying it. They’ve already sniffed you out!

Did you know a dog’s nose has two functions?

This is true! One function is for smell and the other is for respiration. If you’ve got hybrid puppies or purebred ones, it’s all the same. The dog’s nose has the ability to separate air. A portion goes directly to the olfactory sensing area (for scents), and the other portion is dedicated strictly to breathing.

They breathe in and out simultaneously.

Dogs also have the interesting ability to breathe in and let out air at the same time! When a dog is sniffing, it creates a circulation of air, unlike with humans. We can do one other the other but not at the same time.


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