What's the deal with a dogs sense of smell? Bailey's nose was wiggling this morning. He's a sniffer… especially when the kitchen is full of yummy food cooking. Bacon wafting in the air. I drool smelling fresh bacon frying in the pan. I can only imagine how Bailey feels.Anyone who lives with a dog knows that dogs have a keen sense of smell. When Bailey saunters over to sniff the Sunday newspaper that my honey is reading, he (my honey) says, "He can smell the trees and the birds in the trees that this paper came from."
I get a kick out of that. But there's a good reason to love a dog's sense of smell.
Yes, a dog's sense of smell is huge, much bigger and better than us mere humans. It's the way a dog adjusts and adapts to the world and to the home.
Bailey is a smart dog. I'm not prejudice. He really is. I'm sure he can sniff out smells I can't. Since he's my protector, I'm glad he can. I count on my dog to alert me to danger, including people with less than honorable intentions. He does. That doesn't mean he attacks or bites. I am proud to say that Bailey is a well trained and well behaved puppy dog.
I quick search on the Internet opened my eyes to even more respect for Bailey and his ability to sniff out trouble. In truth, a dog's brain is meant to identify scents. According to The Dog's Mind: Understanding Your Dog's Behavior (Howell Reference Books) the percentage of the dog's brain devoted to analyzing smells is actually 40 times larger than that of a human! It's been estimated that dogs sense of smell and a dog's ability to identify the smell is somewhere between 1,000 to 10,000 times better than nasal-challenged people. We human beings are just not as smelly as dogs. [lol] This appears to be true no matter what the size of the dog is.
Bailey is now 110 lbs and he has a big nose, but our little Lhasa was only 12 lbs and his dogs sense of smell was amazing.
What's amazing is that dogs smell our love. Something about endorphins. No words needed. I think that's one of the most wonderful things about our Bailey. He knows we love him. He senses it through his nose. No fibs here. A dog knows.
Dogs can also smell fear, danger and of course, they smell where we've been when we come home. Bailey's nose goes into high gear when we come home after being in contact with another dog. I told you he was smart. Is your dog a sniffer?