A Dog's Amazing Nose

Heat Seekers

Dogs’ noses are not only able to detect faint smells and diseases, but they are also capable of detecting heat.

In a recent study, scientists found that pooches can sniff out weak, radiating heat at short distances, Science Magazine reported.

The tips of dogs’ noses – known as rhinaria – are moist, colder than ambient temperature and rich in nerves, which can help them detect warmth.

In one experiment, researchers trained three pet dogs to choose between a warm and an ambient-temperature object, each placed more than five feet away. All three dogs were able to detect weak thermal radiation in double-blind experiments.

The team further tested this ability by monitoring the brains of 13 pet dogs of different breeds while presenting them with objects emitting neutral or weak thermal radiation.

The brain scans revealed that the dogs’ left hemispheres were more responsive to the warm thermal stimulus than the neutral one.

The team speculated that this ability to detect faint heat was inherited from a wolf ancestor which used it to sniff out warm prey.

“It’s a fascinating discovery,” said Marc Bekoff, an animal behavior researcher who was not involved in the study. “[It] provides yet another window into the sensory worlds of dogs’ highly evolved cold noses.”