COLUMN: The canine sense of smell
The canine sense of smell has made dogs very useful and humans use them to accomplish a number of different activities.
• Local dog trainer Nadine Whittal writes:
A dog’s sense of smell is one of its more unique characteristics. It is far stronger than the human sense of smell and operates in very different ways. The canine sense of smell has made dogs very useful and we use them to accomplish a number of different activities.
Also read: COLUMN: Fear aggression in dogs is not ill discipline
Dogs can smell a gram of human sweat in a 10-storey building. This is an incredibly impressive feat. Humans have learnt how to train that sense of smell to accomplish very specific goals. One of the best-known is dogs being used to identify explosive devices. This allows humans to move in and disable the device safely.
We have also trained dogs to identify drugs, and they are used in airports and drug raids very often. Dogs have also been used to track down criminals like poachers, thieves and murderers. Each of these are useful, but how do we utilise a dog’s sense of smell in our own lives?
There are several theories about dogs being used to sniff out diseases like cancer and even Covid-19. Studies regarding the effectiveness of this are still ongoing but there is hope that by using the dog’s strong nose, we can identify the sick before it becomes too late to administer treatment effectively. Already, dogs are used to sense when epileptic seizures are going to occur in epilepsy patients.
So, what should we know about how a dog’s nose affects his behaviour?
Well, where a human’s strongest and most utilised sense is sight, a dog’s is smell. This means that a dog’s nose, while very useful, can also be very distracting for the dog. The dog’s nose is directly linked to its brain. So, when you take your dog for a walk, don’t walk at breakneck speeds to tire your dog out. That won’t work and the fitter your dog gets the more you will have to walk him before he tires out.
Let him sniff around. The more he engages his brain, the more tired he will be.
Of course, this means that you will have to override this instinctual need to sniff when training your dog. Like I said, the nose can also be a distraction and get in the way of the dog’s ears telling him what to do. So, the yummiest, smelliest treats you can find will be useful in overriding this distraction and improve your dog’s responsiveness in training.
