HOW A DOG'S
NOSE WORKS
When a dog takes a short deep sniff
(rather than normal breathing) moisture on the surface of a dog's nose helps
to capture scent molecules in the air and dissolve them. These molecules
then come into contact with the olfactory membranes deep inside the dog's
nose which send nerve impulses to the olfactory centre of the brain (which
is forty times larger in ratio to the olfactory centre of a human brain).
These nasal membranes cover the nose's wafer-thin turbinate bones and have
convoluted folds to ensure that the minutest amount of scent can be captured
within them and assessed accurately.