At the beginning of the 20th century, the ethologist Jakob von Uexküll coined the term ' umwelt ' which refers to the differentways that animal species have of perceiving the environment in which they live according to their sensory capacities. In other words, entering the umwelt of an animal would consist of trying to put ourselves in its skin in order to imagine how it behaves in its habitat.
Human beings are visual animals, because it is through our sight that we obtain more information about everything that surrounds us. However, if we were to analyze the umwelt of a dog, the first thing that would strike us would be the enormous importance that the sense of smell has for this species. The dog's olfactory capacity is extraordinary and is what allows it to relate optimally with its environment. In this article on our site we tell you how a dog's sense of smell works, the most surprising curiosities about this sense and the funniest ways to stimulate it in your furry dog,! Do not miss it!
How does a dog's sense of smell work?
When dogs inhale, their nasal turbinates split the air into two separate streams:
- One of them goes into the lungs to make breathing possible.
- The other travels to the olfactory membrane, where the odor molecules are captured and processed by special cells.
Thanks to their characteristic anatomy and physiology, dogs never stop detecting odors in the environment and, if they want to maximize their olfactory capacity, they simply have to increase the speed of their breathing pattern, inhaling and exhaling very quickly in a motion we know as a "sniff" or "breathe".
Once the odor molecules are collected by the olfactory membrane, this information is quickly sent through nerve impulses to the brain, where the area specialized in its processing is activated:the olfactory bundle or bulb After analyzing the information, the dog emits a response that, depending on the context, can be innate (such as salivating when smelling food) or learned (such as sitting down or giving us the paw).
Dogs inhale through the central area of their nostrils, while exhalation occurs slowly through the side "wings" of the nostrils. As a consequence, air does not mix at any time, but instead creates a kind of flow that allows the animal to retain even more information and detect odors even when it is expelling the air.
Dog vomeronasal or Jacobson's organ
But this is not all, because dogs also have a special structure for detecting certain odors called the 'vomeronasal or Jacobson's organ'. This organ is located on the roof of the animal's palate, behind its upper incisors, and is closely related to its social and sexual behavior, because thanks to it the Dogs are able to smell pheromones, hormones and other chemical substances that humans are not capable of picking up. This is very useful for them to recognize other individuals and obtain information about them and is the reason why dogs sniff the urine of other dogs or even lick them to stimulate the activation of the Jacobson's organ.
How many times is a dog's sense of smell more powerful than a human's?
The olfactory capacity of dogs is extraordinary and far superior to that of human beings, as shown by the data obtained in the different investigations that have been carried out in this regard.
First of all, the epithelium or olfactory membrane of dogs covers an anatomical area of between 150 and 200 square centimeters, while that of humans has an area between two and 10 square centimeters. Knowing this fact, it is evident that dogs have many more olfactory receptors than us, specifically they have about 250 million compared to the five million of the human being
If we compare the size of the brain area devoted to processing odours, humans also lose out, because our olfactory bulb occupies much less space in our brainthan in dogs, as they do not need to process as much information. For all this, we see how the sense of smell of dogs is, without a doubt, incredible.
Thanks to the study and recognition of the olfactory capacity of dogs, human beings have been able to train dogs to help us in countless tasks that require the identification of odors that for us are undetectable. Thus, we have dogs specialized in locating human bodies in the water, under the snow or among the rubble, others capable of finding drugs or explosive substances in large areas and from long distances and even dogs that can smell chemical changes in our body to warn us in advance. cases of being suffering from hypoglycemia, an epileptic seizure or some other illness. We talk more about this topic in this other article: "Can Dogs Detect Cancer?"
Curiosities about the dog's sense of smell
Now that you know how many olfactory receptors dogs have and exactly how this sense works, let's see some more curiosities:
- Dogs don't get used to smells When people detect a smell in the environment we get used to it little by little. so that, after a while, we are no longer able to perceive it, because a process called 'habituation' has occurred. This phenomenon does not occur in dogs, since, as smell is their main perceptual channel, they never stop detecting the smells that surround them, even if they have been exposed to them for a long time.
- Dogs can establish temporal sequences through their sense of smell This is so because they are capable of detecting the concentration of odoriferous molecules in the environment and the way in which said concentration varies in space. The higher the molecular concentration, the more intense an odor, and therefore the less time the source of that odor has been around. Thanks to this talent, dogs can easily follow the tracks of people or other animals.
- Not all dogs have the same olfactory ability Breed, skull morphology and genetics, among other aspects, influence the development of the sense of smell in dogs. The dog with the best sense of smell, currently, is the bloodhound, also known as the Saint Hubertus dog, a hound of Belgian origin that has more than 300 million olfactory receptors. For their part, brachycephalic dogs (flat snout), such as the bulldog, and dolichocephalic dogs (very long snout), such as the greyhound, have this sense slightly less developed than mesocephalic dogs (proportionate snout), since their anatomy makes it somewhat difficult to the passage of odoriferous molecules.
- Each one of the dog's nostrils works separately Unlike our nose, the dog's has two nostrils or nostrils capable of independently detecting odors to locate their source and send different signals to the brain. This is colloquially called "sniffing in stereo or 3D."
- The pattern on a dog's nose is unique to each animal The lines and patterns that make up the skin tissue of a dog's nose dog are unique in each individual and no two are alike, just as it happens with our fingerprints. This discovery has led to the fact that in several countries the nasal impressions of dogs are already used as identification evidence in case of loss, theft or abandonment.
How to stimulate a dog's sense of smell?
A dog that does not use its sense of smell on a daily basis cannot fully develop or enjoy an optimum level of well-being, since the use of this sense is essential for it to be able to connect adequately with its environment, recognize other individuals and interact with them successfully.
To guarantee a good quality of life for your furry, you must make sure to stimulate his sense of smell and, to do so, here are some ideas on how to do it:
- Take advantage of the walks You don't need to spend too much time thinking about how you can encourage your dog's sense of smell every day, just offer him enriching walks and allow him to explore what he wants through his nose. The ideal is to frequently visit large, quiet and green places such as the field or the park, wear a long leash and let your dog come closer to sniff as much as he wants, even if he spends several minutes investigating the same point (there should be information very interesting there). If your dog doesn't usually sniff during walks, you can encourage him to do so by distributing bits of food around a grassy area and encouraging him to look for it, lending him your help if you consider it necessary.
- Use puzzles and interactive toys The sense of smell can also be stimulated without leaving the house and for this there are hundreds of toys and puzzles in which food can be hidden for the dog to locate and extract. These products have a double advantage, as they not only invite the dog to sniff more, but also offer a mental challenge, promoting decision-making and other cognitive functions. Of course, we must adjust the difficulty of these games to the abilities and level of experience of our furry, because if they do not understand their use well, they can be tremendously frustrating. Discover in this other post some homemade Smell Games for dogs.
- Try smell rugs or create sensory boxesAnother option to make it easier for your dog to use his sense of smell inside the house is to hide small pieces of food, feed or "candy" for dogs inside a scent rug. These rugs can be easily found in pet supply stores and are designed precisely to encourage dogs to use their sense of smell, as this is the only way to locate hidden food. You also have the possibility of doing something similar in a completely homemade way by inserting some newspaper or crumpled cardboard into a cardboard box, hiding bits of food inside and adding scented elements, such as aromatic plants or essential oils (suitable for dogs). Always watch your dog when he is playing to prevent him from breaking and ingesting any dangerous element
- Play hide and seek with your dog It is not always necessary to have materials or physical toys to stimulate your dog's sense of smell, you can also do it by playing hide-and-seek with him inside or outside the house. While a person is holding and distracting the dog, run and hide in a room or behind a piece of furniture. Along the way, you can touch different objects to leave a trail that the dog will follow. Once hidden, say his name or whistle once for your furry to come to meet you. He will surely come to where you are guided by the sound you have made but once there you will have to use his nose if he wants to find you. With time and practice, you can make it harder for him and watch him become an expert tracker.
- Dare to practice some canine sportThere are many sports that you can practice with your furry and some of them are specifically focused on training the his sense of smell. Many schools and dog training centers offer introductory courses in sports such as mantrailing (tracking people) or sports detection (location and marking of specific scents). Any dog profile can practice these sports modalities, the most important thing in this case is to make sure that the training methodology used is respectful with the animal and that it really enjoys the activity.
