Today I’m going to talk about your dog’s superpowers… her sense of smell!

Did you know that dogs can smell 10,000 to 100,000 times better than smelling?!

This is really cool…

They pick up so many things that our noses can’t even smell them.

This may be the reason why your dog’s nose always drops to the ground on your daily runs! And try to sniff every person or animal that comes into your house!

While it can be annoying for your dog to constantly smell your guests, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. What they smell says a lot about their surroundings. They can tell where they are based on the smell of the place, while we rely on sight to tell us that.

And many dogs have “working noses”. They are trained to use their noses to sniff out drugs at a train station, bombs at airports, or even missing people.

Have you ever wondered why dogs smell everything (and everyone)?
Let’s dive into why your dog smells all  the time  .

Your dog’s nose: their window to the world

When we try to decide between two things, we humans use our vision to decide. We look at two pairs of shoes, for example, to see which pair we want to buy.

The primary sense of a dog is the sense of smell. The scent of a person, animal, or thing reveals a lot of information to a dog.

Just take a look at how dogs say hi to each other.

They smell each other (and they smell them, too)!

Everything a dog understands about their surroundings is given to them from their snout.

With a simple sniff, dogs can tell if they’ve met that dog, or person, before, where they’ve been, and they can even learn about medical issues (we’ll get to that in a bit).

Since they rely so heavily on scents, it’s no wonder that they smell everything compulsively!

Their autopsy reveals how important a dog’s sense of smell is…

Dogs are only connected by smell

A dog’s genetic makeup and internal organs reveal how much they smell like.

They actually have an organ dedicated just to help them smell!

It is called the ethmoidal organ (or Jacobson’s organ), and is located in the lower part of the nasal passage near the roof of the mouth. This organ contains receptors that are used to detect pheromones, which help dogs communicate with each other.

Even their minds show us how to process odors. The dog’s brain has a larger olfactory cortex than humans. In fact, it is 40 times larger than ours! This helps them process and understand smells at a much better rate than people do.

Can you really blame them for sniffing all your friends? They are doing what is natural for them.

A dog’s nose can do amazing things

Aside from simply interpreting the world around them, many dogs are trained to use their noses for a specific purpose.

Because their keen sense of smell can do so much good!

A dog’s nose can help find missing children, sniff out drugs or bombs, and even search for truffles in the woods. 

Dogs can even sniff out medical conditions like low blood sugar (a critical lifeline for someone with diabetes) and even cancer. 

It’s really cool what dogs can smell!

And while dogs do practical things with their ability to pick up scent, they also do weird things like sniffing out tramps.

How embarrassing when a guest enters your house and your dog immediately runs to sniff his ass?!

While it might make you apologize for your dog’s behavior, your furry friend gathers a lot of information in this simple act.

By smelling someone’s scent, a dog can say:

• If they have met this person before
• If they are male or female
• Where have they been lately
• Even what they might eat
• And much more!

So, while you may find it a little awkward, your dog is actually greeting your guest in the best way he knows!

This can become annoying when your dog ignores you when it picks up an interesting scent.

What do you do when your dog ignores you to follow his nose?

While it is important to allow your dog to investigate the use of their sense of smell (which satisfies their natural instinct of smell), it can become a problem when your dog compulsively follows his nose rather than listening to you.

If you find your dog running away from you looking for a scent at the dog park or spending a lot of time sniffing your friends’ tramps, a little training can go a long way!

I certainly don’t advocate preventing your dog from sniffing, but she should always look to you for guidance and follow your lead even if her nose is pulling her in a different direction. 

So how do you try to train a dog when he is inundated with so many interesting scents?

The same way you train them when there are other distractions like squirrels or food near you…

You need to speak his language and make up your dog’s mind!

Once you learn to communicate in a way they understand, you can train them to listen to you, no matter what’s going on around them.

So, even if their noses are telling them to smell this person’s mouth, they will look to you for direction. This is the time when you can invite them to sniff the guest’s hand instead of their back to say hello.