Dogs are known for their incredible sense of smell but most people are not fully aware of how powerful those noses really are. A dog’s sense of smell is somewhere between 1,000 to 10,000,000 times more sensitive than a human’s, depending on the breed.
Our canine friends can smell tiny scent particles and in an environment filled with many different odours they can distinguish those particles with amazing precision! A dog’s nose can detect things that are up to 40 feet underground and scents that can be several days old.
This ability allows them to know a lot about another dog or even a human. When a dog smells you he knows what you have touched, what you ate and because they can also smell pheromones they will know if you are male or female, if you have recently given birth, what mood are you in and even if you are sick!
For many years this incredible sense of smell has been used to our advantage and nowadays dogs are trained to detect several specific odours. Our canine friends are used to look for missing explosives, narcotics, contraband and missing people!
Recent studies have shown that dogs are capable of detecting different types of cancer with an accuracy that is just as good or even better than modern advanced scanning techniques. The latest item in the long record of canine sniffing achievements comes from diabetes alert dogs. These dogs are trained to warn diabetes patients whenever their blood sugar levels are below or above the normal range, making a great difference in these patients’ level of independence.
Dogs are definitely our best friends!
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