The dog and its nose

A dog's nose is a true marvel of nature. With 250 million olfactory cells, it provides the animal with comprehensive information. Dogs also smell in stereo, and they have a separate olfactory nerve for each nostril. They store the scent in a special interlayer. In this way it is retrievable at any time, and the dog can compare new impressions. A simple pile of dog mess, which merely smells unpleasant to us humans, can give the four-legged friend a complete picture of the body's condition and the personality.

What the canine nose is all capable of

For many people it is sometimes incredible what scientists have already discovered. Dogs can find people, and they manage this because we lose around 30,000 skin flakes in a minute. The animals are able to recognise whether a person has gone to the right or to the left. They can also perceive whether a person has boarded a means of transport. There are special activities for dogs for scent work and mantrailing. Trained animals such as police dogs, for example, achieve feats that often seem incredible to outsiders.

• 250 million highly specialised olfactory cells
• Stereo smelling for precise directional determination
• Early detection of physical illnesses
• Sensitive perception of human emotions and stress signals

Practice fosters canine mastery

The animal's nose becomes almost infallible after targeted training. Dogs recognise illnesses, drugs, explosives and also moods. I find it particularly remarkable that dogs can be trained to detect, in the case of an allergy of their human – such as a nut allergy – whether the food contains such components. Here the close connection between biological capability and cooperation with humans becomes apparent.

Dogs perceive human fear

As a scientific study demonstrates, dogs can smell fear. This was proven using scent samples from stressed people that were presented to the animals. Added to this is the body language of people who are afraid of dogs. From this the dog recognises the situation, and if a person then backs away, the encounter could become uncomfortable.

A valuable piece of advice for encounters with dogs

In such a case I advise you to breathe out calmly, to let your hands hang loosely downwards and to keep them open. Do not stare directly at the dog, but look calmly over it and, above all, give it a smile. This signals relaxation and goodwill to the animals and contributes to a peaceful interaction.

This article serves as general information and to illustrate the wonderful sensory feats of our dogs.