Cool Stuff About Us

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OUR SENSE OF SMELL: 

The part of our brain where smell is processed is FORTY times larger than a human’s (even though our total brain size is smaller). Our sense of smell is so good we can smell a drop of sweat in a swimming pool! And, yes. We CAN smell fear. The things we smell (you don’t even want to know...) send info directly to the part of the brain responsible for mood, emotions, and memory. Because smell and memory are so closely linked, different smells can be used to change the way we feel! (see "Why use food to train...")

OUR EYESIGHT: 

Contrary to what you may have been told, we don’t just see in shades of grey. We actually see in shades of yellow and blue (and grey). I think they make so many dog toys red because you humans like them! We don’t see as well as you do, though (only about 20/75), but we do see a little bit better in low light (left over from hunting at night...) 

OUR HEARING: 

We can hear up to 45,000 Hz (people can only hear up to 20,000). That’s why it sometimes seems like we’re psychic, but we really CAN hear your car coming from around the corner.  

COOL, MIND-BLOWING STUFF:

Did you ever notice how some of us are “right-pawed,” and others are “left pawed,” and some use both about the same?  Well, left-pawed dogs are right-brain dominant . They tend to be more cautious around new people or things. Right-pawed dogs are left-brain dominant. They tend to be more confident, less easily aroused, and cope better with new places, people, and situations. Dogs with no paw preference (ambilateral) may be more reactive to loud noises 

The direction the dog’s head turns indicates which side of the brain is responsible for processing.  Dogs turn their head to the right in response to words without emotional content, in response to other dogs crying/howling/whining (distress signals), and to canine play vocalization,  Dogs turn their head to the left when they hear words with emotion,  thunder, or in response to pictures of cats and snakes, but not to other dogs.  

Both dogs AND humans begin looking at the left side of a human face and end on the right (it's better at expressing emotion). This applies ONLY to human faces, though. 

Smells that go into the right nostril are processed by the left side of the brain and vice versa. We always start with the right. If we're at the vet (a negative smell), we stick with the right nostril, but if we like the smell of something (like steak), we switch to the left. Wild, right?

You probably already know about the whole butt-sniffing thing, but did you know dogs greet each other in an arc: first sniffing mouths then butts? We can tell the other dog's age, gender, health, sexual availability, and emotional state through pheromones released from their urine and anal glands! 

Lastly, why do we like to pee on fire hydrants and telephone poles? We try to scent mark as high as possible to put our smell at nose height for the biggest dogs, allow it to travel farther, and make it harder for other dogs to mark over it. It's the same reason we "mow the lawn" after we pee. It rubs the smell of our paws into the ground AND it lifts the scent of our urine into the air so other dogs can smell it. 

Pretty amazing!!