Canine Olfaction: Physiology, Behavior, and Possibilities for Practical Applications

Agata Kokocińska-Kusiak,Mikołaj Zybala,Michał Dzięcioł,Julia Maciocha,Martyna Woszczyło,Katarzyna Barłowska

doi:10.3390/ani11082463

Abstract

Simple SummaryDogs have an extraordinary olfactory capability, which far exceeds that of humans. Dogs’ sense of smell seems to be the main sense, allowing them to not only gather both current and historical information about their surrounding environment, but also to find the source of the smell, which is crucial for locating food, danger, or partners for reproduction. Dogs can be trained by humans to use their olfactory abilities in a variety of fields, with a detection limit often much lower than that of sophisticated laboratory instruments. The specific anatomical and physiological features of dog olfaction allow humans to achieve outstanding results in the detection of drugs, explosives, and different illnesses, such as cancer, diabetes, or infectious disease. This article provides an overview of the anatomical features and physiological mechanisms involved in the process of odor detection and identification, as well as behavioral aspects of canine olfaction and its use in the service of humans in many fields.Olfaction in dogs is crucial for gathering important information about the environment, recognizing individuals, making decisions, and learning. It is far more specialized and sensitive than humans’ sense of smell. Using the strength of dogs’ sense of smell, humans work with dogs for the recognition of different odors, with a precision far exceeding the analytical capabilities of most modern instruments. Due to their extremely sensitive sense of smell, dogs could be used as modern, super-sensitive mobile area scanners, detecting specific chemical signals in real time in various environments outside the laboratory, and then tracking the odor of dynamic targets to their source, also in crowded places. Recent studies show that dogs can detect not only specific scents of drugs or explosives, but also changes in emotions as well as in human cell metabolism during various illnesses, including COVID-19 infection. Here, we provide an overview of canine olfaction, discussing aspects connected with anatomy, physiology, behavioral aspects of sniffing, and factors influencing the olfactory abilities of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris).

Highlights

This paper presents current information about the physiological mechanisms and structures involved in canine olfaction, the behavioral aspects of sending, receiving, and interpreting smells, the factors influencing the functioning of this sense, as well as information about practical applications of canine olfaction for humans
One of the advantages of fMRI is the possibility of obtaining a detailed evaluation of the brain’s reaction to a mixture of odors or to identify the particular brain region(s) activated by odors connected with some features, studies that would be difficult to carry out using traditional, behavioral methods of examination [194]
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Summary

Introduction

The sense of smell, used for chemical communication, is present in most creatures of the animal kingdom, and allows for the detection and recognition of chemical signals. Dogs interact with their world via all of their senses, olfaction seems to be one of the most important because it provides information about the current status of conditions of the Creative Commons. The environment, but can allow detection of signals from the past (presence of prey, enemies, or some new, unknown traces in the surrounding environment). This complex network of mixtures of smells creates a three-dimensional image of the surrounding world across time, playing a key role in maintaining such basic life activities as finding food, recognizing threats, or finding a reproductive partner. This paper presents current information about the physiological mechanisms and structures involved in canine olfaction, the behavioral aspects of sending, receiving, and interpreting smells, the factors influencing the functioning of this sense, as well as information about practical applications of canine olfaction for humans

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