Whether you own a 160 lb St. Bernard, bred to track down and hunt people, or like the company of an lovable able little Chihuahua, every dog has an incredible sense of smell that can detect the most subtle of scents.
Your canine companion may not have as good vision as you do, but his sense of smell is far better than any human. It is by his acute ability to pick up scents that he understands the world around him. Whenever your dog runs off and escapes, he is not wandering off in search of adventure. Rather, he is roaming on a scent tour.
And when those country hunting dogs head into the open field, their noses work in unison with all of his other senses to help direct him on the exact way toward their prey. These dogs are aware of people, things, animals, food, vegetation, everything through their amazing sense of smell.
How A Dogs Sense of Smell
The physical design of a dog's nose is suited for his laser accurate scenting talent. A dog picks up on a scent by drawing in several short breaths into the nose passage. This odor mixes with the air and comes into contact with mucous membrane which covers the olfactory nerves. Dogs have a much biggerr smelling membrane surface than people do.
Every living creature around us gives off molecules of smell. When a dog inhales these molecules, they are dissolved onto the mucous membrane. Once this occurs, the scent is ready for the dog's highly subtle smelling equipment to take over. There are tiny nerves that send the message of an odor, which travels to the olfactory nerve, and then shoots directly to the brain.
Once the complete message is picked up in the brain, the dog's scenting ability is so precise in reading the odor, that he can distinguish each one from hundreds of other similar type of odors. For example, if a stick is marked and touched by a dog's master, the trained canine can single out this same stick out of hundreds of other sticks.
Dogs also have the power to remember each smell it comes and match it to the experience the brain produced. This memory will last a dog's entire lifetime. A particular odor of a dog picked up could be remembered 8 - 10 years later in a dog's life.
Content written by Deb Brantley of www.ohmydogsupplies.com, check out our cool selection of personalized dog dishes online.
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