canine sense of smell

 

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Dogs can smell very well, as much as a million times better than humans! First of all, this is due to the larger number of olfactory cells. The longer the muzzle is, the better the sense of smell.

 

Not all dog breeds can smell equally well. For example, a German shepherd can smell much better than a French bulldog. The Bloodhound is a Belgian dog breed that has a tremendously strong sense of smell and is good at tracking people, even old scent trails they can still smell. These dogs are also widely used for hunting.

 

There are several reasons why a dog can smell well. For one, a dog can inhale around 300 times per minute, so there is always a fresh supply of air.

 

The most important part of the sense of smell is the brain. In the brain, the incoming signals are processed. It has been shown, that dogs can smell "stereo. Thus, the dog feels whether a smell comes from the right or the left. In this way, he can judge the direction of a scent trail. The olfactory brain is also much larger compared to humans. In dogs, they occupy ten percent of the brain compared to one percent in humans.

 

A few more facts:

 

Sensitivity to smell increases when the animal is hungry, and decreases after a meal.

Gender also plays a role in olfaction. The bitch is more sensitive to odors than the dog, especially during heat. Castration greatly reduces the sense of smell.

In addition, age is also influential: the sense of smell is the first sense that deteriorates in aging dogs.