A dog's sense of smell is perhaps the most important sense for dogs themselves and at the same time underestimated by many people. As a dog handler, it is simply difficult to imagine how well our four-legged friends can actually smell. Even the technique of taking many short breaths, which can be observed when sniffing, offers dogs a small advantage. The sense of smell also benefits from around 225 million olfactory cells, while humans have at most a tenth of that. This means that our loyal companions can distinguish around a million different smells, whereas humans can only distinguish around 10,000.
Which dog actually has the best sense of smell? There is a clear answer to that. The so-called bloodhound, also known as the St. Hubertus dog or bloodhound, has 300 million olfactory cells. This sets it apart from its peers. Other classic sniffer dogs for work at airports or with the police are German shepherds, golden retrievers and Labrador retrievers. In contrast, the dachshund has “only” 125 million.
Combine the sense of smell with games
Since the sense of smell is so important for dogs, we recommend stimulating it when playing. A simple way to do this is to play hide and seek. Take a friend with you who can keep your four-legged friend in one place. In the meantime, find a good hiding place and when you are found, you can reward your dog with dog treats . At the beginning, you can also lay out dog chews on the path to you so that the dog understands the game system.
You can also use your dog's sense of smell outside in the garden. Simply hide the treats in the grass or lay a newspaper over them. Here, too, you can lay a trail at the beginning. This way, your dog can prove whether he has the right nose.
