It is proven that dogs have much more powerful abilities than human beings themselves, especially when we talk about smell, a highly developed sense.
The questions to ask are not only "How evolved can the sense of smell be in dogs?" or "What kind of odors can you pick up?" but rather, and very importantly, "Can dogs interpret emotions, feelings or sensations through smell?".
In this new article on our site we investigate the popular belief that dogs smell people's fear. Continue reading and you will know if this concept has scientific validity, is a myth pure and simple or has a bit of everything.
A hormonal issue
The point is this: while it is true that dogs, by sniffing, can identify body odor released by certain hormones when there is a sudden change of emotions (such as stress, anxiety or excitement) it is not known for sure if the dog is capable of analyzing, identifying and labeling these reactions.
These hormones are released both into the blood and into other body fluids (sweat, tears and urine) that is, they When a situation occurs in which the body must generate these hormones, the person or another animal will smell different and the dog will detect that there is a change.
The fact that the dog reacts in a strange or negative way, as the grandmothers say "don't get nervous because dogs smell fear and can approach or even attack you" not proven Some dogs will come to you simply because there is a special smell. However, other dogs won't even notice.
Keep in mind that our beloved canine companions have a world of scents around them, all available at the same time.
Body language also influences
Dogs' ability to read our body language is even more impressive than the sense of smell itself. It is possible that they detect fear more accurately through a behavior or expression, however small it may be. Dogs are very sensitive animals and have investigative skills, being very capable of feeling fear just by looking at us.
Our fear, being in many cases an irrational and unconscious emotion, and by way of protection, could lead us to have an aggressive or apprehensive attitude towards the dog. The dog could react both according to our behavior in that moment of tension, and to his own emotional education.
In conclusion, it is not that we should remain stiff and breathe a hundred times in the presence of a dog, but it will always be positive to try to remain calmbefore any situation that may generate some anxiety. Finally, and although we fully trust dogs (because they have always been man's best friends) they are still creatures of the animal world, an enigmatic world that we have yet to discover.
