How Many Scent Receptors Do German Shepherds Have?

It’s no secret that dogs generally have a much better sense of smell than humans. If you have a dog, you probably noticed that he could pick up scents that you can’t at all. You might wonder about breeds like German Shepherds and exactly how many scent receptors they have.

German Shepherds have about 225 million scent receptors, on average. They are one of the best dog breeds in terms of sense of smell and can perform many functions because of it. The only dog breeds that have a stronger sense of smell than a German Shepherd are Basset Hounds and Bloodhounds.

If you find the German Shepherd’s ability to pick up scents interesting, read on. You might just learn a few interesting things about them and dogs in general.

Scent Receptors In German Shepherds

Even though any dog will have many, many more scent receptors than a human being, the exact number will vary between breeds. For example, the Dachshund has about 125 million scent receptors, while the Bloodhound has more than any other breed, at 300 million.

German Shepherds are known to be one of the dog breeds with the best senses of smell. They have about 225 million scent receptors, which ties them with Beagles for third most among dog breeds.

A German Shepherd’s sense of smell is his most robust sense by far, although they do have excellent hearing as well.

What Does The Number Of Scent Receptors Mean?

German Shepherds can sniff out all sorts of things that humans would never be able to. This means that they can use their sense of smell to detect items buried 40 feet underground or under 80 feet of water and can detect scents that are more than a mile away on land.

Some German Shepherds can even sniff out cancer in a person and have been trained to do this. There is also some evidence that they can figure out what time of day it is via their ability to track ups and downs in temperature.

A German Shepherd will rely on his sense of smell to figure out whether an area is safe or not. Once this dog has learned a particular scent, it will permanently be stored in his brain and remembered as long as the dog lives.

How Is This Sense Of Smell Beneficial?

The strong sense of smell that has evolved with the German Shepherd does not only benefit the dog but also his human companions. German Shepherds have a powerful homing instinct that will make them capable of detecting their human companions’ scent when they are up to two miles away from the dog.

In some cases, when the wind is blowing in the right direction, German Shepherds can find their homes even if they are miles away.

There are many reasons for this, including their personality traits; they are fearless and obedient, forming a quick and strong bond with their handlers. They are also calm and level-headed, allowing them to function very well, even in high-risk and dangerous situations.

However, one big part of what makes them fantastic police dogs, aside from their sense of smell, is the behavior associated with it. When a German Shepherd is tracking something, a few things can throw him off his scent, such as severe weather conditions or pepper, but typically these only pose a temporary distraction.

Why Is A Dog’s Sense Of Smell So Strong?

If you have a dog, you know that his sense of smell is way more sensitive than yours. Typically, a dog will have more than 220 million olfactory receptors in his nose. Some dogs have even more, depending on the breed.

Additionally, the area of a dog’s brains that analyzes smells is about 40 times bigger than that in a human being.

Just like humans, dogs have pairs of nostrils that are used to inhale air, including odors. They also have a nasal cavity, which includes Ethmoturbinate bones that are covered with a layer of specialized olfactory epithelium.

The dog has a sub-ethmoidal shelf, a bony structure that is located under the ethmoturbinate bones within the nasal cavity. This will force the air that the dog inhales into the olfactory epithelium. The odor molecules within this air will be absorbed into a mucous layer. Then, these molecules will diffuse towards the receptor neurons, specifically their cilia.

From here, nerve impulses will be generated and then transmitted to the brain of the dog via the olfactory nerves.

This epithelium has many olfactory nerves connected with a very developed region of the dog’s brain, the olfactory lobe. There are also olfactory receptors in the vomeronasal organ (also known as the Jacobson’s organ), which includes elongated, fluid-filled sacs that will open into the dog’s nose or mouth.

The Jacobson’s Organ

The Jacobson’s organ is one of the organs that dogs have that humans do not. It allows them to pick up on chemical cues or pheromones. This enables them to communicate with one another and recognize the smells of others who belong to their pack.

If a dog wants to get more scent to his Jacobson’s organ, he can pull back his upper lip and lift his head. This movement will further promote the sense of smell of the dog and is particularly prominent among German Shepherds.

Smelling and breathing for humans are basically the same tasks. They are done at the same time and with the same parts of the human anatomy. However, a dog’s nose is engineered to separately breathe and smell. There is a tissue fold inside the nose of a dog that functions to separate the air that is smelled from the inhaled air.

When the dog takes a breath, some air goes towards the turbinate bones, which are dedicated to smell. The rest of that air goes to the lungs.

When a dog breathes, he takes long and deep breaths. However, when he is in the middle of smelling something, he will take shorter breaths. You will observe this if you ever see your dog sniffing something. When he exhales, he pushes air out the sides of his nose, which will create an airflow that can bring in new smells.

Why Is A Dog’s Nose Cold And Wet?

Have you ever wondered why your dog’s nose is usually cold and wet? It’s because of the mucous glands in the dog’s nasal cavity, which secrete moisture. This moisture will capture and dissolve molecules in the air, bringing them into contact with the dog’s specialized olfactory epithelium.

All of the components of a dog’s nasal anatomy and physiology function to make his sense of smell extremely strong.

Final Thoughts

You probably already knew that dogs have an excellent sense of smell. However, many people do not know just how superior a dog’s sense of smell is compared to humans. This is particularly true for breeds such as the German Shepherd, one of the best smellers even among dogs.

German Shepherds also make excellent police dogs due to their strong sense of smell and attitude towards their companion that allows them to perform many different functions and find many things that humans would not be able to find. The very strong sense of smell makes them very capable of sniffing out drugs or finding people, whether criminals or victims.

Sources

Science Direct: Homing