A question we rarely ask our canine companions. And why not? A dog's sense of smell is way better than ours. A dog has 300 millions olfactory (nose) receptors to sense an odor vs a humans mere 6 million. The area in the dogs brain that is responsible for processing and analyzing what they smell is 40 times larger than the same area in a human.
12 percent of the air a dog breaths in their nose is diverted directly to the olfactory area in the brain. The remaining air goes to the lungs for normal breathing. As humans we don't do that. All of the air we breathe in goes to our lungs. It does however pass over a very small specialized olfactory area on the roof of our nasal cavity.
To put another way, dogs can detect some odors in parts per trillion. What does that mean? Well, in her book Inside of a Dog, Alexandra Horowitz, a dog-cognition researcher at Barnard College, writes that while we might notice if our coffee has had a teaspoon of sugar added to it, a dog could detect a teaspoon of sugar in a million gallons of water, or two Olympic sized pools worth.
So, when my dog Spike is happily walking on a trail or down the street and suddenly stops, smells the air and does an abrupt about face to high-tail it out of there, I should have always listened. But no, I thought I knew more. I thought he should have "sucked it up" and continued to walk. I wanted to walk and I didn't see a threat. I would then try to convince him to walk some more which usually just ended with me being frustrated and disappointed and Spike probably thinking, she is dumb and she doesn't trust me? It is amazing I have any credibility at all in his eyes.
I now believe him. Now I ask him in all situations - How is that for you? Why is that so important? Well, for one thing I have first and foremost acknowledged that his answer to the question "How is that for you" is DANGER WILL ROGER'S DANGER !! Let's get the hell out of here!! By acknowledging his reaction as real, and not minimizing it, tricking, coaxing, luring him to continue thus reinforcing his belief that - YOU ARE STUPID AND NOT TO BE TRUSTED, AND YOU NEVER LISTEN TO ME !! Why then should he ever listen to me if I do not listen to him? Humm..... Just because I walk on 2 legs does not make me better or smarter than my 4 legged friend.
I have to admit I am a slow learner ( in my own and probably Spike's eyes) in this regard. Since I have been acknowledging Spike's reactions as real and then giving him choices, our relationship has really become more solid.
I am wondering if we all employed this simple consideration in all aspects of our lives how it would be?
If you would like to learn more about this ELEMENTAL QUESTION™ and others to improve your relationship with your canine companion, please go to Suzanne Clothier's website.
See your dog, Elemental Questions™ by Suzanne Clothier
If you would like to learn more on the dog's olfactory functions here is the link to a good article. Dog's Dazzling Sense of Smell
