People, Animals and Their Same Senses
Contributed by Angie Lewis
Alaska Animal Advocates
Dogs have the same 5 senses that people do, but to very different degrees. Some senses are less developed than in people, while others are extraordinarily more sensitive.
Sight - Dogs can see movement and light much better than people. In the retina of the eye, dogs have more of a specific type of cell called a rod, which is good at collecting dim light, so they have better night vision. A reflective layer in the dog’s eye, called the tapetum lucidum, magnifies incoming light. This reflective layer lends a characteristic blue or greenish glint to dogs’ eyes when light (for example, headlights of passing cars) shines into them at night.
However, dogs do not have as much visual acuity as people, meaning that they cannot distinguish fine details as well. They also cannot differentiate colors as well because they have fewer of the cells in the retina called cones, which are responsible for color vision. Contrary to popular belief, however, dogs are not completely colorblind.
Nictitating membrane, dog - A unique feature of the dog eye is the nictitating membrane, which is also called the third eyelid. This additional eyelid is a whitish pink color, and it is found under the other eyelids in the inside corner (near the nose) of the eye. The third eyelid extends up when needed to protect the eyeball from scratches (for example, while traveling through brush) or in response to inflammation.
Hearing - The ear canal of the dog is much deeper than that of people and creates a better funnel to carry sound to the ear drum. The average dog can hear about 4 times better than the average person, including sounds at higher frequencies than can be detected by the human ear. Dogs are also better at distinguishing the direction of a sound, which is an adaptation useful for hunting. Unfortunately, this deeper ear canal predisposes dogs to ear problems. Grease, wax, and moisture can build up in the ear, leading to inflammation and infection. Floppy ears or hair within the ears further limit ventilation, making matters worse. This is why many dogs need frequent preventive ear cleaning.
Smell and Taste - Dogs have an extraordinarily acute sense of smell; it is about a million times more sensitive than that of people. They can detect odors at extremely low levels and can distinguish odors that are subtly different. This is why dogs are able to sniff out drugs and explosives at airports, search for human victims at disaster sites (including victims deep under water), and follow the scent track of criminals.
Odor molecules dissolve in the moisture that coats the inside of the canine nose. Signals are then sent from the olfactory membranes in the nose to the olfactory center of the brain, which is 40 times bigger in dogs than in people.
Dogs also have an organ on the roof of the mouth that allows them to “taste” certain smells. As in people, taste and smell in dogs are closely linked. However, dogs gain much more information about food from smell than from taste. Dogs have only about one sixth the number of taste buds that people do, and their distinct sense of taste is actually quite poor.
Angie Lewis Alaska Animal Advocates