I recently took a canine nose work course and a good chunk of the curriculum went quite into depth on the anatomy of sniffing. Jacobson’s organ, turbinates, olfactory receptors were all covered. I was amazed by the extent and depth of the canine olfactory world!
One thing I found interesting to learn was that large, floppy ears on dogs are there for good reason. They act like a catcher’s mitt scooping up invisible scent particles and directing them towards the nose. They also limit a dog's ability to hear far away sounds, forcing dogs to rely more heavily on their sense of smell. So not only are Georgia’s soft, velvet ears super adorable but they are super functional too.
By understanding all the intricacies of a dog's sense of smell, I can truly appreciate the immense potential scent work training holds. This is a dog sport I would like to delve deeper into in the near future.
Scent work is a big part of our ‘Enrichment Program’ here at Camp K9. I feel this is an important service to provide to our daycare clients. The list of benefits of the games and activities we engage in, no matter how simple they look are long and I won’t bore you with the details but I would just like to emphasize that a dog’s nose is their most important sensory organ.
Letting your dog sniff, even out on your walks is a simple favour you can do to make your dog’s life way more awesome. So don’t always hurry out on your walks and tug at their leash, let them sniff! While you are taking in the scenery with your eyes, they are making sense of the world with their nose. I assure you, it will be the highlight of their day!
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