Why is a dog’s sense of smell so sensitive?

Jan 01,2024
2Min

The nose is the most sensitive of dogs’ sensory organs. We humans mainly rely on our eyes to observe environmental things and obtain information, while dogs rely on their noses. Their keen sense of smell is mainly reflected in their sensitivity to odors and their ability to distinguish odors. We often describe a person's sensitive nose as a "dog nose", which shows how excellent a dog's sense of smell is.

1. Nose structure

There are many wrinkles in the dog's nose, so the surface area of ​​​​the dog's nose is increased a lot, so that it has more olfactory cells. Their sense of smell is 1 million times better than ours!

 2. Olfactory mucosal cells

The olfactory organ of most mammals is called the olfactory mucosa. The area of ​​the dog's olfactory mucosa is about four times that of humans. There are approximately more than 200 million olfactory cells in the olfactory mucosa, which is 30 to 40 times that of humans. Some people have done experiments, and dogs can still distinguish sulfuric acid after diluting it by one ten millionth.

3. Contact with odor molecules

A dog’s moist nose can be exposed to more odor molecules present in the air.

4. Melanin in the nose

The dog’s nasal mucosa is black, and the melanin in the nose can also help the dog increase its olfactory sensitivity.

Previous article:How to tell if your dog is in good health
Next article:How to choose dog shower gel
Related articles
[!--temp.footer--]