Dogs' noses are cute but also brilliant. Here's the proof
Dogs' noses are fabulous. They have an incredibly good sense of smell – sometimes too good if you’re trying to barbecue – but there’s way more to their snouts than being able to detect a sausage half a mile away. Here are some amazing facts about dogs’ noses.
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Dogs' noses can inhale and exhale at the same time.
It’s true. Dogs can breathe out while they’re sniffing, allowing them to stay alive without giving up their hunt for, historically, birds, game or rats, or these days, cheese subs and other dogs’ pee.
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Dogs' noses can smell in 3D
While we mere humans might be able to detect that someone in a restaurant is eating French fries, a dog can tell you which table they’re sitting at. In the same way that we use two eyes to give us depth perception, they use distinct olfactory signals in each nostril to do the same thing.
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They can also smell time
Ok, they don’t smell in 3D... they smell in 4D. Dogs can detect minute levels of degradation in the molecules that create scents and therefore how old they are. So, for example, they can tell in which direction an animal or person has gone.
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Humans can’t compete
A dog’s sense of smell is around 100,000 times better than that of a human’s. They can detect half a teaspoon of sugar in an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
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Dogs get a kick out of them
Dogs’ noses help feed their neophilia. A neophile loves new things and seeks them out. In a dog’s case, those things are new smells.
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There are two of them
Ok, that’s not strictly true, but dogs – and other animals – do have a ‘second nose’ of sorts. The vomeronasal organ, or Jacobson’s organ, sits in the base of the naval cavity and detects chemicals, even those with no odor at all.
Why get pet insurance?
At Petted, we think everything about dogs – all animals – is amazing, not just their noses. Because of that, we believe that pet insurance is crucial for all pet parents. Every animal is at risk from injury, illness and inherited conditions – and these things can cost a lot in veterinary bills.
If your dog gets sick and you don’t have sufficient savings, you could land a ton of debt (we’re talking tens of thousands of dollars in some cases) or – and we hate to think about this – be unable to pay for your pet’s treatment and having to either give them up or, tragically, have them euthanized.
For a few dollars a month, you can have peace of mind and your pet can have a healthier, more secure future. To find the perfect pet insurance policy for you, click here. We'll fetch you the best quotes in less than a minute.