How Does a Dogs Nose Know?
In canines, their primary sense is smelling. Ask any veterinarian, and they will tell you that a canines sense of smell is a thousand times more sensitive then that of people. A canines nose contains over 220 million scent receptors, compared to our 5 million. Canines do not see the world as humans do, they rely their sense of smell instead of their sight. This is why canines are constantly smelling their surroundings when they go for a walk, play in their yards, and sniff the people, or animals they meet. The information they receive while smelling is then processed, kind of like humans reading a newspaper.
Much like humans, a dogs nose has a two nostrils in which they breathe in, and a nasal cavity. At the side of the canine nose, they have a slit, this slit is where air is exhaled. Their noses, like ours, have palates which are called Turbinates. Turbinates are where the air that is breathed in, passes through onto the olfactory bulbs. It is here where the majority of the smell receptors are located, and the nerves that relay the information to the canines brain where the information can be processed. The canine nose is designed to be moist, and the purpose behind this is so that even the minute molecules of scent can be captured while they inhale.
For example, when a dog is sniffing the ground, they will breathe in the air, then exhale, the act of exhaling stirs up the air where the canine is sniffing, capturing additional scent molecules for their next breath. This air that they breathe in a second time will then pass through the Turbinate, on to the olfactory bulb, which are located at the end of each of their nasal passages. The olfactory bulb relays the information of the smell to their brain, where it can be processed. Now they know what animal, person or object they have just encountered.
It is no wonder that dogs are used in the work force as cadaver dogs, narcotic dogs, and hunting dogs. With their sense of smell, they can perform work that human beings can not accomplish on our own. Canines have saved many peoples lives with their sense of smell, and taken many drug traffickers off the streets. It is no question that a dogs nose, knows it all.
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Published by dessy321
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