When I see our dog, Eby, snooping in the garden around my house, I sometimes try to imagine what he is smelling. It’s like a shopaholic at a thrift sale, smelling anything and everything that comes your way. And almost all the dogs I have met know that the best way to discover and obtain their favorite thing is through the nose.
From the moment they are born, dogs have a wonderful sense of smell. Although newborn puppies cannot see, they can still detect their mother’s scent and warmth and easily locate her. Its sense of smell improves as it grows and develops to such an extent that some say it is up to a million times better than humans.
A dog’s sense of smell is so keen because dogs have at least 25 times more olfactory receptors than humans. Your nose can even distinguish between cheese, meat, and ketchup on a cheeseburger. This is why they are considered man’s best friend, some of them are trained, working side by side with humans to retrieve survivors under the rubble, tracking drugs, and even landmine detection work. There are many sniffer dogs who dedicate their lives to serious work, such as tracking down fugitive criminals or missing (or drowned) persons for the police force. Dogs can effectively identify bombs, firearms and drugs by sniffing for small scent trails at international borders and at airports. They are loyal partners in the fight against crime and perform difficult tasks as only our best friends can!
Dogs can detect and distinguish the smell in 2 ways, by an airy smell left by something that just happened or an earthy smell. Puppies and adult dogs use their sense of smell to communicate with each other. With their nose, they can read the messages that other dogs have left. Their way of shaking hands or introducing themselves is by sniffing.
The length of a dog’s muzzle can affect its ability to smell. Longer nosed dogs have more scent receptor cells. Even short-nosed dogs can smell hundreds of times better than a human.
Nasal nutrition for your dog
Remember that as a dog ages, it loses some or all of its ability to smell. It can also be a sign of immune problems if a dog’s nose is normally black, but begins to lose pigment; take him to the vet.
Make sure your dog continues to eat and drink when he suffers from any type of nasal problem; Remember that most of a dog’s ability to “taste” food resides in its nose, and if it cannot smell the food, it may not want to eat it. Also, even a mild fever will quickly dehydrate a sick animal, and if you can’t get him to drink at home, consider going to the vet for fluids. Older animals may need to be tempted to eat, and some seem to find spicy foods more appetizing. A healthy diet is recommended to improve your overall sense of the nose and your overall health. The best “nutrition” we can give a dog’s nose is a daily dose of natural scents, generated from nature, the perfect way to accumulate the reserve of sensory cells and brain connections related to smell.
Your dog’s sense of smell is a powerful and useful tool for the animal. Basically, their ways of smelling and smelling are simply part of their nature.