Dogs Nose II

Powerful Sense of Smell

Humans can’t completely understand all the information a dog gets from smelling another dog’s butt. At least 33 percent of a dog’s brain is designed to process smells, as opposed to about 5 percent of a human’s brain. A dog’s sense of smell is so powerful that he can tell, for example, whether the dog before him in the veterinarian’s examination room was afraid, just by the smell the previous dog left behind.

They Can't Shake Hands

Dogs sniff butts to greet each other, much as humans do by shaking hands. Dogs have anal glands just inside their rectums, which produce a strong odor. Dogs can find out all sorts of information just by getting a whiff back there. They can find out the sex of the other dog, whether the dog is in heat, what the dog ate lately and whether the encounter is likely to be a friendly one. Because the smell is unique to each dog, butt sniffing is the best way dogs have to identify each other.

It Calms and Grounds Them

When a dog already knows about the other dog from a prior sniffing, he still smells the other dog every time they meet. Two dogs who live together typically smell each other’s butts when they come in from outside. So butt sniffing has another purpose: it’s also a dog calming mechanism, according to Kevin Behan, a Vermont dog trainer and author. Anytime something new happens—especially something stressful—dogs tend to sniff each other’s behinds. It satisfies the urge to do something, and it grounds them.

Dogs Might Get into Trouble

Some dogs, when meeting another dog for the first time, are enthusiastic sniffers. But the dog being sniffed might not take too kindly to all that focused attention. Whenever your dog is meeting another dog, be attentive. If the butt smelling is an unwelcome gesture, it’s time to separate the dogs.

Dogs Nose

Your dog's unique nose

A dog's nose not only dominates her/his face, but her/his brain, as well. In fact, a dog relies on her/his sense of smell to interpret her world, in much the same way as people depend on their sight. Although this contrasting world view may be hard to imagine, know that your dog interprets as much information as you do. However, she/he does much of this by smelling an object or animal, not by staring at it.

Facts about a Dog's Dry Nose: When should I be concerned?

Dog owners frequently ask if a dry, warm nose means their dog is sick. The short answer is no, but there are a few things to look out for. Knowing what is normal and what isn't’ is an important part of being in tune with your dog and his needs.

A healthy dog's nose can fluctuate between wet and dry several times over the course of a day. Just like we experience dry noses with our allergies or variability in temperature or weather, dogs can experience similar dry noses. And there are many reasons your dog can have a dry, warm nose that have nothing to do with their health. Here are a few:

• Lying in the sun
• Spending time near a source of heat, like a radiator
• Dwelling in a room with poor air circulation
• Dehydration - not enough water.

More severe symptoms may be cause for greater concern. You’ll want to consult your veterinarian if you notice these with your loved one.

• If your dog has a dry, red nose or the nasal skin is flaking, sunburn may be to blame. Talk to your veterinarian about special lotion for protecting your dog from the sun. Dogs with pale or pink noses are susceptible to sunburn so protecting them from sunburn is important because repeated sunburn can lead to skin cancer.
• When examining your dog's nose, look for any nasal discharge. If your dog's nose runs, the mucus should be clear. If your dog’s nose has bubbly, thick, yellow, green or even black mucus, see your veterinarian.
• If your dog's nose is cracked, has scabs or sores, he may have a skin disorder. Ask your veterinarian to check him out to ensure everything is okay.

Your dog’s nose can provide hints that can help you understand his needs better. For the most part, you can rule out any major concerns. Don’t hesitate to contact your veterinarian for additional information and to ease your mind that your dog’s nose is normal.

Born to sniff

To gain more respect for your dog's olfactory ability, compare it to a person's nose. Inside the nose of both species are bony scroll-shaped plates, called turbinates, over which air passes. A microscopic view of this organ reveals a thick, spongy membrane that contains most of the scent-detecting cells, as well as the nerves that transport information to the brain. In humans, the area containing these odor analyzers is about one square inch, or the size of a postage stamp. If you could unfold this area in a dog, on the other hand, it may be as large as 60 square inches, or just under the size of a piece of typing paper.

Though the size of this surface varies with the size and  length of the dog's nose, even flat-nosed breeds can detect smells far better than people. The following table shows the number of scent receptors in people and several dog breeds.

A dog's brain is also specialized for identifying scents. The percentage of the dog's brain that is devoted to analyzing smells is actually 40 times larger than that of a human! It's been estimated that dogs can identify smells somewhere between 1,000 to 10,000 times better than nasally challenged humans can.

TA dog's nose not only dominates her face, but her brain, as well. In fact, a dog relies on her sense of smell to interpret her world, in much the same way as people depend on their sight. Although this contrasting world view may be hard to imagine, know that your dog interprets as much information as you do. However, she does much of this by smelling an object or animal, not by staring at it.

Species	Number of Scent Receptors
Humans	5 million
Dachshund	125 million
Fox Terrier	147 million
Beagle	225 million
German Shepherd	225 million
Bloodhound	300 million

Dogs' sensitive noses have long been used to track down missing people and sniff out bombs. In recent years, researchers have found a new way for man's best friend to live up to its designation—by detecting cancer. Dogs have been found capable of detecting bladder cancer as well as lung cancer, and now researchers are hoping the same will hold true for ovarian cancer. If it does, it will help scientists isolate the chemical marker that indicates the presence of the disease and develop an electronic sensor to detect it, hopefully leading to earlier diagnoses and increased survival rates