Dogs identify each other by sniffing

For dogs, the nose may be one of the most important organs in their entire body because their eyesight and other senses aren't particularly outstanding. Therefore, many times, dogs rely on "smell" to judge the flavor of food and navigate. As for how sensitive a dog's sense of smell is, it needs no further explanation—their olfactory ability is over 1,000 times that of humans, so even very subtle differences can be detected by their nose. For this reason, dogs can accomplish many things relying solely on their noses.

Recently, an interesting story emerged—a dog owner saw online that some dogs could recognize money, which they found quite intriguing. On a whim, they began training their own dog to recognize money. The training was quite successful; whether at home or on the street, if the owner's money was dropped, the dog would pick it up and hand it back to the owner. After long-term training, the dog became very sensitive to the smell of money. One day, the dog became restless beside the sofa at home and sniffed around, refusing to leave. The owner found this odd and lifted the sofa cushion, discovering 300 yuan hidden inside. Moreover, the dog found money hidden in several places in the house, eventually revealing that this money was secret savings hidden by the owner's husband.

Drug detection dog

This case is not only interesting but also demonstrates how excellent a dog's sensitive sense of smell is. It is for this reason that dogs are trained to accomplish various tasks. A dog's nose can distinguish about 2 million different odors and possesses a remarkable ability to analyze scents. They can detect the specific scent they are searching for even amid many mixed odors. The structure of all animal noses is roughly the same: the upper part of the nasal cavity has many folds, covered with a mucus membrane containing many olfactory cells. When the mucus secreted by the membrane often moistens these olfactory cells, odor molecules dissolve in the mucus and stimulate these cells. The olfactory cells then immediately send signals to the brain's olfactory center, producing the sensation of "smell."

A dog's olfactory sense is so excellent because it has a particularly large number of olfactory cells. Even the rhinarium (nose leather) has many protrusions and mucous membranes that continually secrete mucus to keep the olfactory cells moist and highly sensitive. The number and quality of dogs' olfactory cells surpass those of other animals, so their ability to distinguish various odors is much stronger.

Because of this sensitive sense of smell, dogs are trained for various occasions, such as disaster search and rescue, drug detection and investigation, security inspection for hazardous materials, and so on. Of course, this trait can also be used for some interesting purposes, like the previously mentioned finding of secret money.

Search and rescue dog

Dogs usually rely on their noses to identify others and to find the marks they have left along their path to determine which way to go. It is also said that dogs can judge a person's mood through their sense of smell and respond accordingly. Many cases show that dogs can smell whether a person has certain medical conditions, prompting the patient to take caution. Thus, the role of "dog doctors" has emerged, although the accuracy in diagnosing diseases is not especially high, and sometimes incorrect, so many people remain skeptical about dogs' ability to smell diseases.

A dog's sense of smell is very important to them. If a dog's olfactory ability is impaired, the inconvenience it brings to their life is hard to imagine, so it must be well protected. Avoid exposing dogs to gases with strong irritating odors, do not spray strong perfumes around them, and keep indoor ventilation to prevent excessive dust.