Ellen Furlong provides reflection on our dogs’ abilities to care about us and the uniqueness of their sense of smell. She believes dogs might be happier if allowed an occasional “sniffy walk” which lets them lead the way and take as much time to smell as they would like.
Hers is a unique perspective that dog owners will appreciate and take to heart.
Source: The Conversation, October 26, 2020. Link. Humans have about 6 million olfactory receptors, dogs have a staggering 300 million. Their epithelium, or nasal tissue, is about 30 times larger than ours.
A dog’s sense of smell is estimated to be 10,000 to 100,000 times better than that of a human.