It is widely known that dogs have an excellent sense of smell, but scientists are still discovering how advanced dogs’ smelling capabilities are. Dogs are able to smell many things that humans cannot. For example, dogs can detect boxes that contain electricity from those that don’t. Researchers believe dogs are able to smell the tiny amounts of ozone released from electricity, thanks to their keen sense of smell.
Dogs breathe very differently than humans do. They are constantly drawing more air into their nostrils, which gives them more opportunity to analyze for scents. Dogs’ noses have around 200 to 300 million sensory receptors which makes them very sensitive to even the slightest scents and compounds in air. Human noses have only about 6 million sensory receptors. In fact, dogs can even smell cancer in humans, although they do need to be trained to look for the scents caused by cancer cells.
More about dogs:
- Dogs have about 1,700 taste buds, more than three times the number found in cats.
- Dogs should not be fed chocolate because the theobromine found in chocolate can be poisonous to a dog.
- Contrary to popular belief, dogs do not see the world in black and white. Dogs cannot see as many colors as humans, but they are not color blind.