Dogs Sense of Smell

Last winter I discussed how I found it interesting to watch my dogs track in fresh snow. They were following scents, and the snow allowed me to see the footprints of other dogs, rabbits, squirrels, etc. As humans, I think we have great difficulty appreciating how a dog's keen sense of smell changes how they see the world. We simply lack and comparative experience.

All dogs have a better sense of smell than humans, but some dogs are better at following scents than others. I have a hound mix that has a "great nose", but a second dog that's better at tracking because he is more disciplined and tracks very systematically.

In any event, I ran across a very well done video this week discussing the science behind how dogs smell things. It's an animation, but very educational. If you have 5 spare minutes, and find the topic interesting, I think you'll find watching the piece is time well spent....