Your dog can smell these 10 astonishingly crucial things but you can't at all

The potential of animals always seems to amaze us. Their capacity to listen, smell and even perceive is beyond our comprehension. Dogs, in particular, have an astounding ability to smell, even better than humans. While smelling and recognizing the scent of their owners and food, the adorable pets can also offer assistance by sniffing out several other elements, per Reader’s Digest. Police dogs are no strange concept to us. The canines have an excellent knack for finding culprits with their sense of smell. However, there are added surprising things that dogs can detect which humans cannot, per MSN. These 10 peculiar things that are impactful for humans can be sniffed out by canines flawlessly.

1. COVID and illnesses 

During the unprecedented pandemic, canines played a major role in sniffing out asymptomatic and other people with COVID-19. The creatures are trained to sniff out COVID-19 at airports and other public spaces. When ill, humans release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that leave an odor that may be intractable to humans but distinct to dogs.

2. Cancer 

Cancer can catch many humans off guard but not dogs. “Scientists have confirmed that dogs can smell cancer in its early stages, specifically lung and breast cancer,” explains pet expert Peter Laskay. Studies have revealed that dogs can provide up to 97% accuracy in detecting cancer. This detection is done by sniffing bodily odors and via urine, saliva and other samples.  

3. Epilepsy 

You may have come across canines who alert their owners before they can have a seizure. Dogs can smell an incoming episode anywhere between minutes to hours of the same. This is ideally due to a certain smell that is released. With further training, many canines even assist their owners with water, medication and requirements to get through such episodes. 

4. Diabetes 

Dogs can sense a change in glucose in the blood simply by the way a person’s breath smells. When sugar drops low, a person’s breath changes and dogs can instantly sniff and detect the change. This hugely aids humans if alerted in advance to prevent emergencies and untoward mishaps. Dogs can be trained to note and warn owners about a change in blood sugar well in advance to help take action. 

5. Pregnancy 

Many dogs are gentler and more understanding around members of the family who may be pregnant. This is because dogs can sense and smell pregnancy and ovulation. “Of course, hormonal changes are accompanied by changes in body scents that dogs can smell, even in the early stages of pregnancy,” Laksay explained. Hence, the canines can pick up the changes and be the fluffy, friendly support system we need them to be!

6. Criminals

Dogs aren’t just mushy and cute creatures but have a knack for catching culprits and warding off crime. Human scent is distinct to dogs and they can easily trace a person via the same. Canines can help track the steps of a criminal or denote their presence at a crime scene thus aiding investigations.

7. Arson

Trained dogs can detect arson and highly inflammable materials. Think of firefighters and service dogs who sniff out scenes to give whatever clues they can from what they sniff. Surprisingly, dogs can sniff and detect arson within 30 minutes while lab tests and human detection would take days and even months. 

8. Drugs and Explosives

With their smelling sense as a superpower, dogs have been known to find drugs hidden in the most unexpected places. Sensitive to these scents, dogs will immediately catch danger with highly explosive material and even illegal drugs. “A dog’s strong sense of smell and large olfactory gland is perfect for detecting these minute levels of chemicals,” explained Russell Hartstein of Fun Paw Care, LLC. 

9. Natural disasters 

Dogs can predict natural disasters quickly due to their sense of smell. The canines immediately sniff out the change in atmosphere, making storms, tornados and several other natural disasters detectable in advance. 

10. Human emotions

Last but not least, the adorable paw pals are known as man’s best friend for their empathy and support. “When we have changes in our emotions, our hormones change as well (think of stress hormones like cortisol or adrenaline, or happy hormones like oxytocin),” explained Jen Jones of Your Dog Advisor. Dogs can detect changes in hormones through breath and saliva that come with changes in stress and other feelings.