The Dog's Nose Knows!
Discover the science behind the ultra-sensitive K9 olfactory superpower!
How well does K9's nose really work?
In a 2018 peer reviewed study on amyl acetate (a common test odorant) in fluid mixtures found thresholds down to 1.5 parts per trillion in trained dogs. This is is the study:
Concha, A. R., Guest, C. M., Harris, R., Pike, T. W., Feugier, A., Zulch, H., & Mills, D. S. (2018). Canine Olfactory Thresholds to Amyl Acetate in a Biomedical Detection Scenario. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 5, 345. DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2018.00345
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6350102/)
Are Dogs noses better than human noses?
Olfactory receptors: Humans have about 5–6 million scent receptors in the nose. Dogs have 125–300 million (depending on breed), roughly 20–50 times more.
Brain area for smell: The portion of a dog's brain dedicated to analyzing odors is about 40 times larger (proportionally) than in humans.
Overall sensitivity: Estimates vary, but dogs' sense of smell is commonly described as 1,000 to 100,000 times more sensitive than humans'. Some sources cite up to 1 million
"How powerful is the discernment of a dog’s nose? Just a few molecules is all it takes." https://x.com/BrianRoemmele/status/2035735645541597369?s=20
Brian Roemmele
K9 Olfactory training has led to significant support for humans and their activities. Can you guess which of these pictures depict actual K9 service?
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THE Dog's Nose Knows
