Researchers compared the smelling abilities of dogs across different breeds to see which types of dogs might make the best searchers.
Introduction
Humans keep dogs for a wide range of reasons. Many people choose a certain dog breed because they are cute, friendly, or energetic. But in the past, we needed dogs to help with tasks such as hunting, herding sheep, or guarding against predators. To do this, humans chose dogs for a certain trait. The selected dogs reproduced and had puppies, many of which had the desired trait. Humans, then again, chose those puppies most suited to the particular task. Over time, that trait became more pronounced and more common. We call this artificial selection.
Dog breeds emerged from artificial selection for different traits. For example, German shepherds were bred for herding sheep. In contrast, beagles were bred for hunting small game animals. In our study, we wanted to know whether dogs bred for olfaction (their sense of smell) are still talented sniffers today! We also wanted to know if the personality of a dog affected its ability to smell well. Some of the dogs in our study had various levels of previous training, but some had none at all. This allowed us to focus on the dogs’ natural ability to smell food.
Methods
We used the Natural Detection Task to find out whether some dogs naturally have better olfaction than others. This is a simple activity in which dogs have to find a certain amount of food in a natural search situation. It takes place in a field or in an empty room. Before the test, we laid out four pots in a line (see Fig. 1 on p.2). One of the pots concealed a food container. Once the test began, the dog needed to identify the pot with the food within a minute.
There were three levels to the test. Each dog needed to pass one level before moving to the next. In the first level, the food containers were open under the pots. In the second level, the containers had lids with holes. In the third level, the food containers were fully sealed. The test was over if the dog did not choose the correct pot three times in a row.
We used three factors to measure how well a dog did in the Natural Detection Task:
If the dog passed the third level.
How many levels the dog passed and how many tries it took.
How quickly the dog made successful choices.
We compared breed groups (groups of dogs selected for smelling, cooperation, or both). We also compared breeds. Finally, we examined traits like responsiveness, activity, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and previous training. We wanted to see if these had an impact on their success.
Results
We were able to compare dogs within the same breed and between different breed groups.
Breed groups → none of the breed groups had significantly better scores than another (Fig. 2). Each breed group had better and worse performing breeds.
Breeds → some breeds were more successful. But other breeds were quickest at completing the levels. For example, border collies were especially good at reaching the highest level in the task. But beagles were quickest at completing the last level successfully.
Personality and training → dogs that were more responsive to training performed better overall. Other traits (such as excitability and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) did not affect success. Dogs with more advanced training were slower on the last level.
Discussion
Our results show that breed groups don’t really tell us if a dog will be good at smelling or not. Dogs that were bred for olfaction, for working with people, or for both had similar task results. This might be because people used to breed dogs for these skills, but this has decreased in recent years. This is called relaxed selection. Today, people usually breed dogs based on how they look or how well they get along with people.
We also saw a lot of differences between dogs of the same breed. This shows that each dog’s genes and individual life experiences matter a lot.
The Natural Detection Task is a helpful tool for comparing how well different dogs can smell. Unlike many previous studies, the task relies on the natural lure of food, so dogs with no training can be tested. This can provide early information about how well a dog might perform if trained as a search dog. After all, dogs don’t naturally want to find things like explosives or drugs. These smells don’t mean anything to them, so they need training to identify them and then alert the handler. The Natural Detection Task allows us to assess a dog’s natural, untrained olfactory ability.
Conclusion
Modern research shows that some old ideas about animal skills or traits may not be true. We are always learning new things about how animals think, learn, and solve problems! You can explore these ideas by asking questions and observing animals around you. You can also use this thinking in your own life. Do people make assumptions about others based on how they look, where they’re from, or what group they belong to? Instead of accepting those ideas, first ask yourself: “Is that really fair or true?”
