Dogs have a sense of taste, but their sense of taste is relatively poor. They usually judge the taste of food through their sense of smell rather than their sense of taste, so dogs’ sense of taste is not strong. The dog's taste sense is located on the tongue, and its stomach secretes gastric juice due to olfactory stimulation. Because the dog's mouth has more solanaceous organs that humans do not have, the dog's sense of taste is very slow.

Research shows that dogs can taste the same four flavors as us: sour, sweet, bitter, and salty. However, dogs’ perception of these four senses of taste is different from humans.

1. Acid

Compared with humans, dogs’ taste cells are more sensitive to sour taste, and their tolerance to sour taste is weaker than ours. In addition, sourness is a rather irritating taste for them, so most dogs will avoid sour fruits such as oranges, grapefruits or lemons.

2. Bitter

Bitterness initially appeared along with poison. Plants began to gradually evolve toxicity in order to avoid being eaten, and animal ancestors also gradually evolved the ability to identify poisons - the bitter taste of taste buds. Bitter taste has always been associated with poison, so aversion to bitter taste has become a common characteristic of all living things. Dogs also don't like bitter tastes. Taking advantage of their dislike of bitter tastes, some businesses also produce anti-licking sprays that remove natural bitter tastes.

3. Sweet

The taste of carbohydrates that provide energy is sweet, and sweetness is an irresistible taste in our instincts. Dogs have a sweet tooth just like us, and fructose and lactose are their favorites. Sweets such as candies, ice cream, and pudding are not only loved by children, but dogs will also salivate when they see them. However, owners should remember that although dogs love to eat sweets, sweets are not good for their bodies. In particular, processed sweets are often too high in sugar, and owners cannot let their dogs eat more of them.

4. Salty

Dogs generally get their salt from meat. Unprocessed meat has a natural salty taste, and dogs are used to it. This may be the reason why dogs can eat boiled meat with relish. Perhaps because the meat has already tasted enough saltiness, dogs are not interested in salt that is also salty except meat.