If you ever felt like your dog has a sixth sense about things, it’s because they do. Well, sort of. It´s not so much of a sixth sense, but a highly enhanced 5th sense. We’re talking about their sense of smell. It’s so powerful, that it puts a human’s sense of smell to shame. They can detect all sorts of things. They can even distinguish the smallest changes in scents, which can alert them to threats that we’re totally clueless about. That’s how awesome dogs are. So, if you’re feeling a bit intimidated by your pooch’s sense of smell, you should be.Dogs have the same five senses we have, but they navigate the world around them using mainly their sense of smell. So, next time they’re sticking their head out of the window, it may not just be to get some fresh air.
Each bulb weights 60 grams, which is four times heavier than our own olfactory bulbs. It´s also more efficient, since this gives dogs 4000% more scent receptors than we have. So, it’s no wonder we put their sense of smell to good use.
Haven’t you ever noticed how your dog is always there waiting for you at the door? It’s not that they’ve been sitting or standing there all day for you to come back from work. They can recognize the scent of your car engine as it pulls into the driveway, which essentially tells them you’re coming home.
They use their sense of smell to remember who you are. Even perfume and colognes can’t hinder their ability to sense that it’s you. It’s why they’re so welcoming to you, but growl when a stranger is nearby.
With training, they’re able to sniff through packages and determine whether something being brought over on a plane or a train is harmless, or contains potential deadly chemical explosives, or bio hazardous material.
In order to get them to recognize substances, they are first exposed to the scent of certain drugs. This gives them the ability to recognize and alert a security official that it has found something of great interest.
Greek historians have recorded seeing dogs fleeing the city of Helice before an earthquake hit. Aside from using their sense of smell, they also use their sense of hearing to sense the sounds of rocks grinding under the earth’s surface, so they can get out of dodge before disaster strikes.
Some dogs will sift through old clothes, even laundry to get a whiff of their owners. Others will lay on their human master’s bed. But some dogs will take things to the extreme and take a whiff of some stinky shoes.
They can sense the minor changes in the chemical composition in the human body. So even the slightest hormonal change can alert them to something being wrong with their owner’s health. This can lead to finding a quick solution to an ailment before it becomes terminally irreversible.
There’s no scientific proof as to how dogs are able to sense when someone’s about to have a seizure, but several hypothesis suggest that they can smell the oncoming seizure 20 minutes before it actually happens, making pooches a great warning system to have.
They can sniff out other animals, their pheromones in particular, to detect if another animal has marked their territory with their own scent. It’s why dogs sniff out fire hydrants and tree trunks, to see if he or she is top dog or if there’s someone else in charge.
Dogs have the ability to remember the scent provided to them from a piece of clothing. Then they just follow their noses until they can sniff their way, and lead others to find someone who may be lost, trapped in the ice, or dead.
Dogs can smell all sorts of dangerous materials that are not common to their environment. This includes things like drugs, and alcohol, which can totally rat someone who’s using or has recently used, out. The most obvious sign that your dog knows the truth is how they act up.
Most owners who were later diagnosed with cancer, noticed their dogs displaying unusual behavior. Many came to the conclusion that dogs can somehow sniff out the chemicals produced by a growing tumor.
A dog’s wet nose actually helps them to determine air currents. It also allows them to catch scent molecules so that the dog’s olfactory receptors can decipher different smells, and figure out how to react to them.
Imagine coming home from work, taking off your shoes, and then walking over to greet your dog with that impeccable sense of smell. But wait! Why is it pulling away from you? It’s probably because your body odor is overpowering its olfactory glands.
Dog are able to read body language better than we can. So, when a date or a friend shows up, your dog will sense if they’re negative, and passive-aggressive. This is a great way to detect who to keep in your life and who to get rid of.
It can be frustrating trying to figure out the difference between Braxton Hicks contractions and the real thing. But some dogs can sense emotional changes, body language, and can even smell when the baby is ready to pop.
Electricity ionizes air, so from a dog’s perspective, when they sense a faint metallic scent, their noses tell them that lightning is about to strike. This is why you might see them running to hide under the couch even before you even hear thunder or see lightning.
Dogs not only notice a radical change in your body language and movements, but they can smell the chemicals and sweat coming out of every pore of your body. It’s how they know that you’re terrified of them or of something else.
