ON THE SCENT TRAIL

ll members of the canid or dog family have a far better sense of smell than any human, and they probably remember scents better than sights. That is to say, whereas humans remember how objects are placed in a room and what they look like, a dog will remember the arrangement of the objects by theor different scents. In all wild canids – wolves, wild dogs, jackals, and foxes – smell is the most highly developed of all the senses. The animal hunts with its nose, find its mate with its nose, and identifies every new being that comes into its territory with its nose. It can even tell whether other animals are relaxed or afraid by their smell. This acute perception of scent is made possible by the long nose of the skull which contains rolls of very thin bone ever which the particles of scent are drawn. With certain hunting and gun dogs, there has been selection for the sense of smell in preference to the other senses. These dogs, such as the bloodhound, can smell very well but are short-sighted.