I always knew dogs had an incredible sense of smell, but did you know they can smell 100,000 times better than humans? Or that dogs can smell things up to 40 feet underground?
There’s an article from the Animal Health Care Center newsletter about a dog’s sense of smell, it contains some very informative information.
Here are six interesting facts, how many did you know?
1. The USDA uses Jack Russell Terriers to detect brown tree snakes hidden on cargo being loaded on planes in Guam.
2. The US Customs and Border Protection has 800 canine teams which look for explosives, drugs, concealed people, and even hidden currency.
3. Dogs check international travelers at borders and airports for agricultural contraband and find 75,000 items a year.
4. Dogs check packages mailed and delivered to agricultural areas for pests and their diseases which could devastate the ag industry in that area.
5. Dogs work in IRS centers to look for explosives in letters and packages.
6. Dogs are used by some exterminators to detect termite infestations.
The article goes on to talk about why dogs have such an excellent sense of smell, one of the reasons has to do with the moist leathery surface of the nose, which determines the direction of air currents.
Go check out the newsletter to learn more about dogs and why they can smell human fingerprints that are a week old.
