Student Article
What Do Mountain Rescue Search Dogs Actually Smell?
Olfactory (adjective): Related to the sense of smell.
Pheromone (noun): A chemical substance produced by animals that affects the behavior of others.
Downwind (adjective): In the direction the wind is blowing.
Have you ever wondered how rescue dogs find people? Let's explore their amazing sense of smell!
Super sniffers at work
Rescue dogs have an incredibly strong sense of smell. They use their noses to locate people who are lost or in trouble. A human nose has about 5 million olfactory receptor cells, but a dog's nose has about 200 million! This helps dogs detect scents much better than humans.
Two kinds of search dogs
Tracking dogs follow the scent trail of a person, mostly smelling skin cells that fall to the ground. Mountain rescue search dogs are different; they are called air scenting dogs. These dogs smell the air to find people. They can detect sweat, body odor, pheromones, and even artificial smells like deodorant and perfume.
Following the wind
Air scenting dogs don't need to follow a trail. They can find any person in a large area by following the scent cone that spreads in the wind. Sometimes, they can even find people who are downwind.
Rescue dogs are incredibly valuable and can save lives with their remarkable noses!
© Luis Villazon / Our Media
Olfactory (adjective): Related to the sense of smell.
Pheromone (noun): A chemical substance produced by animals that affects the behavior of others.
Downwind (adjective): In the direction the wind is blowing.