Pies: Dogs have a very good sense of smell

Evidence: 45 • authority: 72

The dog sense of smell is the most powerful sense of this species, the olfactory system of canines being much more complex and developed than that of humans. It is believed to be up to 10 million times as sensitive as a human's in specialized breeds. Dogs have roughly forty times more smell-sensitive receptors than humans, ranging from about 125 million to nearly 300 million in some dog breeds, such as bloodhounds. These receptors are spread over an area about the size of a pocket handkerchief (compared to 5 million over an area the size of a postage stamp for humans). Dogs' sense of smell also includes the use of the vomeronasal organ, which is used primarily for social interactions. The d…

Evidence: 34 • authority: 72

The dog (Canis familiaris or Canis lupus familiaris) is a domesticated descendant of wolves. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. Dogs and the modern gray wolf share a common ancestor. Dogs were the first species to be domesticated over 14,000 years ago, before the development of agriculture, though genetic studies suggest the domestication process may have begun over 25,000 years ago. Due to their long association with humans, dogs have gained the ability to thrive on a starch-rich diet that would be inadequate for other canids. Dogs have been bred for specific behaviors, sensory abilities, and physical traits. Dog breeds va…

Evidence: 27 • authority: 72

Dog behavior refers to the internally coordinated responses of individuals or groups of domestic dogs to internal and external stimuli. It has been shaped by millennia of contact with humans and adaptation to human lifestyles. As a result of this physical and social evolution, dogs have acquired the ability to understand and communicate with humans. Behavioral scientists have uncovered a wide range of social-cognitive abilities in domestic dogs. Dog behavior is influenced by a combination of physiological factors, environmental conditions, and human interaction, all of which play a part in the development of a dog's behavior and overall welfare.

Evidence: 27 • authority: 80

Review for "What do brain oscillations tell about the human sense of smell?"

Evidence: 27 • authority: 80

Review for "What do brain oscillations tell about the human sense of smell?"

Evidence: 27 • authority: 80

Review for "What do brain oscillations tell about the human sense of smell?"

Evidence: 27 • authority: 80

Review for "What do brain oscillations tell about the human sense of smell?"

Evidence: 27 • authority: 80

Review for "What do brain oscillations tell about the human sense of smell?"

Evidence: 27 • authority: 92

Reliability, repeatability, and age associations of the dogSIT (dog Smell Interaction Test) battery in untrained companion dogs (Canis lupus familiaris).. Current olfactory tests for untrained dogs have limitations due to use of a single odorant, requirement for ambulation, and potential for vision interference. We hypothesized that our new dogSIT odorant test battery measures would be reliable, repeatable, and age-associated in untrained companion dogs. Gently restrained dogs were presented with 18 odorants (in 9 pairs, one pair was subsequently excluded from analysis); odorants were contained in identical stainless-steel tea-balls. Odorants were presented for 30s in a habituation-dishabit…

Evidence: 27 • authority: 92

'Teleonomes in Tatters': The Welfare Costs of Selecting Dogs for Extreme Phenotypes, and the Case for Change.. The domestic dog is the most morphologically diverse domesticated mammalian species. That diversity has arisen from deliberate, sustained artificial selection over the most recent 1% of the domestic dog's evolutionary history. However, artificial selection has pushed many individual breeds so far from the ancestral canine form that many dogs within these breeds can no longer perform the critical biological functions their bodies evolved to serve. Indeed, much of the popularity of many dog breeds is predicated on them no longer being functional dogs; rather, they are representations…

Evidence: 26 • authority: 92

An overview of the benefits of animal-assisted interventions in medical and therapeutic contexts for human health: cognitive mechanisms, sensory perception and welfare considerations.. Animal-assisted interventions (AAIs) are programs that incorporate animals as a therapeutic factor to improve human well-being. To date, these programs have been associated with significant physical and physiological benefits to human health. Animals have been incorporated as monitoring companions, such as diabetes-alert and seizure-alert dogs. Moreover, animal therapy for people with mental health issues, physical impairments, or autism spectrum disorders has shown social and communicative benefits. Although…

Evidence: 26 • authority: 72

Olfactory receptors (ORs), also known as odorant receptors, are chemoreceptors expressed in the cell membranes of olfactory receptor neurons and are responsible for the detection of odorants (for example, compounds that have an odor) which give rise to the sense of smell. Activated olfactory receptors trigger nerve impulses which transmit information about odor to the brain. Vertebrates have a total of four olfactory receptor families: OR, TAAR, V1R/ORA, and V2R/OlfC. This article focuses on the OR family. This consists of members of the rhodopsin-like (class A) G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). OR forms the largest multigene family in vertebrates consisting of around 400 genes in humans…