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.
Disperse (verb): To spread over a wide area.
Have you ever wondered how rescue dogs find people? Let's delve into their amazing sense of smell!
Super sniffers at work
Rescue dogs possess an extraordinarily strong sense of smell, enabling them to locate individuals who are lost or in distress. While a human nose contains about 5 million olfactory receptor cells, a dog's nose boasts approximately 200 million, allowing them to detect scents with remarkable precision.
Two kinds of search dogs
Tracking dogs follow the scent trail of a person, primarily detecting skin cells that fall to the ground. Mountain rescue search dogs, however, are known as air scenting dogs. These dogs are trained to smell the air to find people, detecting sweat, body odor, pheromones, and even artificial scents like deodorant and perfume.
Following the wind
Air scenting dogs do not require a trail to follow. They can locate any person within a large area by tracking the scent cone that disperses in the wind. Scents can also cling to undergrowth as the target brushes past, which allows them to identify individuals who are downwind.
Rescue dogs are invaluable assets, capable of saving lives with their extraordinary olfactory abilities.
© 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.
Disperse (verb): To spread over a wide area.