Dogs are able to find people buried under many feet of snow and dogs can be trained to detect gas leaks underground, to sniff out drugs and even to discover when a cow is in season.
A dog nose is very moist when they are scenting. Many people asked, if dogs scent is so good, why dogs who stray become lost and unable to find their way home? The answer is because dog smell was not developed to cope with the numerous odours created by human beings and their urban lifestyle.
Nevertheless, dog smell is remarkable when it comes to finding food. The dog smell can be affected by a number of illnesses such as distemper, hepatitis, diabetes hypothyroidism and tumours or by irritation, infection or obstruction of the nose and ageing.
Dog scent or dog’s sense of smell problem
Dogs are often attracted to smells which we find abhorrent. Golden retrievers love to roll in fresh horse manure and other nasty odours. The smell of food from the kitchen may be a great temptation to some dogs.
Dogs may end up stealing food. Rubbish bins are frequent drawcard for both domestic and feral dogs. Eating rubbish can be extremely dangerous due to the possibility of injury, poisoning or eating sharp bones which can puncture the intestine.