We all know that dogs are amazing but did you know that they have super powers. Check out these facts and you will understand why dogs are so good at Mantrailing.
A dog’s nose print is as unique as a human fingerprint.
A dog is born with the sense of smell.
When a dog sniffs it takes in information that is both physical and emotional, for example when I dog sniffs your leg it can tell where you have been by the smell of the grass and trees that where around you as well as how the walk affected you emotionally (did you enjoy the walk or not)
Dogs can smell different chemical and hormonal changes in you, if you have been stressed or excited.
Dogs can smell if you are about to have an epileptic fit, heart attack, if your sugar levels have dropped and even your cells have changed due to the development of cancer.
A dog’s nose has 6 different functions:
- Respiration.
- Water Balance.
- Temperature Control.
- Vocalisation.
- Regulation of Tears
- Detecting Odourant Molecules.
When a dog sniffs air is taken up into the nostrils into the nasal cavities.
Each nostril works independently, the left nostril takes information to the left hemisphere of the brain and the right nostril takes information the right hemisphere.
The Right nostril/hemisphere detects:
- Arousal Odours
- Threatening Stimuli
- Novel/Unexpected Stimuli
The left nostril/hemisphere detects:
- Familiar Odours
- Food Odours
- Non-Aversive Odours
Olfactory System.
The part of the dog’s brain that analysis odour is called the Olfactory Bulb and is 40 x larger than the human counterpart.
The Olfactory Bulb is connected to different parts of the dog’s brain that are responsible for:
- Memory.
- Emotions.
- Behaviour.
- Taste.
Dogs have 300 million Olfactory Receptors and humans have 5-6 million.
Dogs have a scent memory and can remember the scent of another dog even if they haven’t seen each other for years.
Dogs have Neophilia, which means they are attracted to new and interesting odours.
Dogs can detect substances 1 part to 1 trillion.
A dog can smell better if its nose is wet.