Putting Their Noses To the Test: The Benefits of a Dog’s Sense of Smell

It’s a well-known fact that man’s best friend has an incredible sense of smell, but did you know that it is thought to be a thousand to 10,000 times better than a human’s sense of smell? 

Well, it’s true! In a recent National Geographic article, it was reported that this sense of smell can help save wildlife and ecosystems from further disruption as the human population nears eight billion. Whether it’s sniffing out different animals’ feces or being able to identify different fish species based on their slime, dogs are helping conservationists all around the country in more ways than one. 

Megan Parker, the co-founder of Working Dogs for Conservation (WD4C), was exploring Yellowstone National Park with her experienced sniffer, Pepin the Belgian Malinois. She wanted to get a better idea of how wolves, cougars and bears (OH MY!) were using their territory by having Pepin smell out different droppings. This expedition led her to realize dogs were able to smell things underwater as Pepin came across Brown Bear scat 10 inches below a fast-flowing river. According to National Geographic, from there, her team discovered canines could be trained to identify the presence of fish by smelling the air above the water, tell the difference between fish species based on slime and more specifically, distinguish waters with only native trout species versus waters that also inhabit invasive trout species. This discovery provides fisheries with a faster, cheaper and safer way to survey water. 

Conservation K9, another super-sniffer dog program helping the environment, is planning on using pups to avoid the infiltration of invasive species in the waters of Alberta. National Geographic writes that Zebra Mussels are a type of filter-feeder that has taken over the Great Lakes, causing more harm than good. This invasive species has taken over beaches, clogged power plant cooling systems, ruined aquatic food chains, and are only spreading faster across the continent with threats of branching into Canada. Cindy Sawchuk, invasive species specialist for the Ministry of Environment and Parks in Alberta, expressed great concern about the arrival of Zebra Mussels and their potential damage to the irrigation channels and pipes that support the agriculture industry. 

With that being said, Sawchuk is including dogs from Conservation K9 that are trained to detect the presence of these invasive creatures at check stations along major highways for vehicles hauling watercraft. These dogs are even able to smell the mussels’ transparent larvae in stray puddles of water, which cannot be seen without a microscope!

A dog’s sense of smell doesn’t just stop when it comes to helping the environment. Throughout the years, dogs have been a crucial part of search and rescue teams for natural disasters, detecting hidden explosives, assisting police looking for jail escapees and looking for contraband at the borders. Their skills don’t end there – now they can even detect COVID-19 in humans! 

Tommy Dickey, a retired oceanographer and dog-lover, recently got involved in scent research with Heather Junqueira, an academic involved in coronavirus research with BioScent. Santa Barbara Independent states that together, they discovered dogs “could detect COVID-19 in the 80 to 90 percent range on average”. By smelling the sweat of humans with COVID-19, they were able to sniff out the virus within minutes. Because of this recent revelation, there have been studies around the globe with plans to train virus-sniffing dogs and place them at points of entry in large venues such as sporting events and airports. 

Who knew the pet you have curled up at home at the foot of your bed (who steals a sock or two now and then) can have so much power behind that cute little nose! 

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