Dogs are well-known for their keen sense of smell, but how does this sniffing ability differ between various breeds? In some new research, border collies–a herding breed–actually outperformed some types of hunting dogs in scent detection. The findings are detailed in a study recently published in the journal Scientific Reports.
Dogs devote a lot of brain power to sniffing out and interpreting smells. They have over 100 million sensory receptor sites in their nasal cavity and bloodhounds even have 300 million. By comparison, humans only have six million. The region of the canine brain that is devoted to analyzing odors is roughly 40 times larger than the comparable part in our brains. Some scientists estimate dogs can smell anywhere from 1,000 to 10,000 times better than humans.
For this new study, a team of ethologists–who study animal behavior–from Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, Hungary was looking for a more comprehensive understanding of dogs’ scent detection capabilities. They also were also curious whether breed group, breed, training level, and dog personality influences their performance.
They recruited 551 dogs (524 family dogs and 27 explosive detection dogs). To test the dogs, the authors used the Natural Detection Task–a search test that had previously developed for use in wolves. The dogs had to find a dog treat that was hidden in a line of pots. No special training was necessary, since this test works by leveraging the dogs’ natural motivation to get to food.
The team used three tasks of various difficulty. The first level was a pre-test to ensure that they understood the task, were motivated by food, and did not rely on other problem solving methods like digging. The containers all had an open top with no lid and served as a control. In the second level, the containers were covered with lids that had five tiny holes. The third level used containers that were completely covered without any holes. Earlier studies suggested that those containers were not exactly airtight and some smells would get out.
During the test, a team member who was unaware of the location of the hidden food observed if the dog spontaneously indicated a pot by licking it, placing a paw on it, or poking at the pot with their nose. The dog’s choice was considered correct if it indicated the baited pot within the allotted amount of time.
They found that border collies were more successful than golden retrievers, Hungarian/German vizslas, and basset/bloodhounds. Traditionally, these breeds have been chosen for hunting which requires that dogs use their sense of smell to find various targets. However, beagles found the hidden food quicker than border collies, basset/bloodhounds, golden retrievers, Labradors, and cocker spaniels.
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“The findings revealed that different breeds exhibited varying levels of olfactory success,” study co-author and ethologist Attila Salamon said in a statement.
According to Salamon, breed-specific traits appear to be more influential than characteristics of groupings–or breeds that are selected to perform a specific task, like hunting or herding, or cooperation. Dogs with higher responsiveness-to-training personality scores were also more successful, regardless of breed. Surprisingly, the dogs with more advanced training were not more successful and completed the successful searches at a slower pace.
“We revealed that, in addition to a dog’s olfactory ability, what genetic and environmental factors, and their possible interactions, affect dogs’ success in even such a simple task,” study co-author and ethologist Márta Gácsi said in a statement. “This study may help to better understand the role of these factors and confirms that the Natural Detection Task is a useful tool for selecting young or inexperienced dogs for search work.”
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