#163 The Hidden Language of Sniffs

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
So let's break down what's really happening when a
dog sniffs, because it's notjust a casual breathing in and
out of the nose.
A single sniff, in dog terms,usually isn't one breath.
It's actually three to fiverapid inhalations, each pulling

(00:24):
scent deeper into the olfactorysystems.
For analysis, dogs have aspecialized nasal structure that
splits airflow.
Part of the air goes to thelungs and part goes to a
dedicated scent processing areacalled the olfactory recess.
Scent processing area calledthe olfactory recess.

(00:51):
This space is lined withhundreds of millions of
olfactory receptors, far beyondour human capabilities.
For comparison, we have around5 million and dogs can have
upwards of 300 million.
Once odor molecules hit thosereceptors, the information
travels to the olfactory bulb inthe brain, which

(01:12):
proportionately is about 40times larger in dogs than in
humans.
But that's just the start.
As dogs continue to sniff, theirbrain doesn't just register the
current scent, it activelycompares it to the one that they
just sniffed before it.
This sequential comparisonhelps them detect changes in

(01:36):
odor strength and direction,which is critical for following
scent trails.
Dogs can also sniff with eachnostril independently.
That stereo input allows themto pinpoint where a scent is
coming from Left, right, near,far.
It's the reason they can zigzagtheir way precisely to the

(02:01):
source.
And while all this is happening, their brain isn't just storing
data, it's filtering throughmemory and emotional processing.
Some scent combinations triggeralertness, others recognition,
and some even predict reward.
Their entire perception of theenvironment is being updated in

(02:25):
real time, sniff by sniff.
So when you see a dog stop anddo a series of quick sniffs,
it's not idle curiosity.
It's a highly active sensoryand cognitive process unfolding
in milliseconds, shaped bybiology that's built for this

(02:46):
exact task.