The Dog Nose

If you share your life with a dog, you’ll already know just how powerful their nose is.

They can sniff a crumb from across the room, appear the second you open the dog food, and somehow always manage to sniff out the stinkiest things on a walk.

A dog’s nose is an extraordinary tool, allowing them to make sense of the world through scent. It has two main jobs: breathing and smelling. What makes it even more incredible is that dogs can separate and combine different odour profiles to work out exactly where a scent is coming from. That’s why they’re so talented at detection and searching games.

When they sniff, dogs can move air in and out at the same time, creating a continuous flow. They also have a special organ in their olfactory system that detects pheromones released by other animals, which can play a big role in behaviour.

To put it into perspective, dogs have around 300 million scent receptors compared to our 6 million. No wonder they can detect something as tiny as half a teaspoon of sugar dissolved in an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

Scentwork is a brilliant activity to enjoy with your dog. There are courses and workshops across the UK where you can both learn fun skills that build on your dog’s natural sniffing ability. It’s hugely rewarding because it stimulates them both mentally and physically.

I’m a Scentwork UK instructor, so if you’d like to join a course or try a 1-1 session, please get in touch.