It\u2019s no secret that dogs love to sniff\u2014 you would too if you had a nose as powerful as theirs! But instead of just smelling flowers, dogs tend to seek out all sorts of strange scents. Dogs aren\u2019t shy when it comes to smelling their favorite humans, and most dogs will gladly get a whiff of their owner\u2019s breath.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s in our mouths that\u2019s so interesting to dogs? Why do dogs smell our breath?<\/p>\n
Your breath contains a lot of information about us that our dogs want to know! Your dog smells your breath to learn new things about you, like what you recently ate or your current health. There\u2019s also a chance your dog is sniffing your mouth and face to greet you rather than smelling your breath.<\/strong><\/p>\n This article will cover why exactly dogs enjoy smelling our breath as well as some of the interesting things they can detect.<\/p>\n\n Although humans and dogs may have a lot in common, we have different ways of learning about the world around us. While people gain information about their surroundings primarily through sight, your dog is able to learn all about its environment through smell.<\/p>\n This may seem strange until you realize that dogs have a sense of smell 10,000 to 100,000 times stronger than our own. With over 300 million smell receptors<\/a>, massive portions of their brains dedicated to olfaction, and the ability to smell even when exhaling<\/a>, it seems like dogs were simply made to be sniffing machines.<\/p>\n Your dog instinctively wants to use this important tool to discover information about everything around it, including you.<\/p>\n While there’s a long list of reasons why your breath is so interesting to your dog, it should be no surprise that food and treats are one of the biggest motivators<\/a>!<\/p>\n Unless they\u2019ve eaten a plateful of garlic or just drank a cup of strong coffee, most of us don\u2019t know what others have eaten through smell alone. Your dog, on the other hand, can detect what you\u2019ve eaten even hours after the fact.<\/p>\n With the ability to detect an odor as dilute as one to two parts per billion (that is, a teaspoon in two Olympic swimming pools,)<\/a> your dog is equipped to smell trace particles from previous meals. Of course, you may be wondering why<\/em> your dog cares what you ate.<\/p>\n An interesting study by animal behaviorists in 2009<\/a> gave surprising insight into why dogs tend to smell each other\u2019s noses.<\/p>\n In it, dogs were paired up. One dog (the demonstrator) was allowed to search a nearby room for hidden treats. After they returned, the remaining dog (the observer) would typically greet them and smell their breath.<\/p>\n If the demonstrator had found food, the observer typically ran to the room they had been in to find more treats. If the demonstrator had not found any food, the observer was much less likely to search the other room.<\/p>\n In other words, the study showed that dogs sniff one another\u2019s breath to get clues about where a nice treat might be! When your dog sniffs your breath, there\u2019s a good chance they\u2019re hoping you\u2019ll share whatever yummy food they detect.<\/p>\n But it isn’t just about food when it comes to your pup can learn a lot about your health just with a few sniffs of your breath.<\/p>\n There is plenty that a single whiff can tell your dog about you. A person\u2019s breath can reveal a surprising amount about their wellbeing, such as intestinal health and lung health.<\/a><\/p>\n This is due to the gases and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)<\/a> that we give off in our breath with all of the processes that go on in our bodies, such as gases given off by bacteria in our gut.<\/p>\n In a way, our breath can serve as an important marker for how we\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n As a loving companion, of course your dog cares that you\u2019re doing well!<\/p>\n Exactly how strong a dog\u2019s sniffer is varies from breed to breed, but every dog is equipped to smell otherwise often undetectable things.<\/p>\n Alongside more famous things such as specific chemicals or lost individuals, dogs are known to be able to detect a variety of diseases and disorders with better accuracy than many medical sensors<\/a>.<\/p>\n Dogs are regularly used to detect things such as cancer, stomach ulcers, and possibly oncoming migraines<\/a>. Some dogs are even trained to regularly smell their human\u2019s breath for isoprene, a chemical that spikes when blood sugar is low!<\/a><\/p>\n The amazing video below shows a cancer-detection dog in action:<\/p>\nReason 1: Your Dog Is Just Curious (And Your Breath Smells Interesting)<\/h2>\n
Reason 2: Your Dog Wants To Know What You Ate<\/h2>\n
Dogs Can Smell Food Even Hours Later<\/h3>\n
Your Dog May Be Hoping For A Bite<\/h3>\n
Reason 3: Your Dog Wants to Know About Your Health<\/h2>\n
Dogs Can Smell General Health<\/h3>\n
Dogs Can Smell Disease<\/h3>\n