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Why Your Dog Loves the Open Car Window |
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We all think it is cute when we watch out dog sticking their nose out the window and sniffing. Is my dog just enjoying this car ride that much? The truth is that dogs can smell up to one million times what a human can detect. So it is not uncommon for them to stick their noses out of the car just to smell a restaurant that could be miles away, or a backyard barbeque in the next town.
What’s that Silly Look on Their Face?
When your dog is sniffing out the window, you might see a very distinctive facial expression. Usually they will wrinkle their nose, curl the top lip, have their eyes almost closed, and their ears folded back. This facial expression is usually why us humans assume they are in a moment of pure excitement over being in the car. But it is more than excitement, your dog is concentrating intensely on all the smells around them and in order to concentrate on smell, they start to shut down their other senses.
The Smell Systems
Dogs have evolved into super smelling machines and smells are one of their most important senses. Smell is so important that a dog actually has two different systems working to detect every wonderful scent. In the nose system, your dog has tissue usually called olfactory epithelium. This tissue is packed which receptors for scent. In a human, this olfactory area only takes up about a half of an inch, but in dogs it can take up 20 square inches in some breeds.
One of the largest determinants in smell for your dog is airflow and the more air that passes over the olfactory, the more scents your dog will be able to detect. Therefore, your dog smells things the best when they are moving fast.
Interestingly enough, your dogs second sense of smell is actually located in their mouth. In the top of their mouth near their incisors there is a duct that lead to a special gland called Jacobson’s organ. This gland can capture and interpret almost any type of smell. Jacobson’s organ is specifically used to identify prey, pick a mate, and find other dogs. When your dog squishes his face up while running, it usually means they are getting a lot of scents in this organ.
Let Them Have Fun with Their Smells
Smells are an important part of your dogs’ life and when they get to go for car rides, it is an exciting experience because they get to smell the world around them. It does not matter what size of dog you have. They all have extraordinary senses and enjoy the concentration game of finding new scents while out exploring in the car. So the next time your dog is running and makes a funny face, you will know that it just means they are smelling a lot of great aromas from the world around them.
Article by Kelly Marshall of Oh My Dog Supplies
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