Recent research at Lund University in Sweden suggests dogs live in an even richer sensory world than we expected. They can directly detect the warmth of a body from several feet away, and they do it with their cold, wet black noses that contain a set of nerves researchers believe to be responsible.
It seems that the cool, black skin on a dog’s nose can absorb the tiny amount of infrared light leaking from a warm object, and that the many nerves inside the skin quickly sense that extra energy, signaling to the brain that something warm is nearby.
Source: Wall Street Journal, May 13, 2020. Link. Link to PDF. Dogs keep their noses cooler than their surroundings at most ambient temperatures . . . when a dog goes to sleep, its nose warms up to normal body temperature, but within 15 minutes of waking up the nose has cooled back down.
INSIGHTS: This is a fun discovery to share with colleagues and especially with clients who own hunting dogs and scent hounds. It might lead to some additional puppy testing and breeding selection criteria to ensure the best traits are selected for next generations.