Can dogs tell the time with their NOSES? Changes in scent may help canines keep track of passing hours

Dogs have long been known to have an extraordinary sense of small
Expert backs up claim that 'dogs smell time' in new book
While for most humans, the world is primarily visual, for dogs, their world is based on scents

Published: 07:35 EST, 7 October 2016 | Updated: 08:59 EST, 7 October 2016

e-mail

167

View
comments

Dogs have long been know to pick up scents that humans can't, but they may also be able to tell the time using their snouts.

The theory has been around for some time, but a new book backs up the idea that 'dogs smell time,'.

'As each day wears a new smell, its hours mark changes in odours that your dog can notice,' explains Professor Alexandra Horowitz.

Scroll down for video

Dogs have long been know to pick up scents that humans can't, but they may also be able to tell the time using their snouts. 'As each day wears a new smell, its hours mark changes in odors that your dog can notice,' explains Professor Alexandra Horowitz

SNIFFING OUT CRIMINALS

Police are recruiting specially trained dogs to sniff out USB sticks used by paedophiles.

The Franklin County Sherriff’s Office in Ohio has enlisted a 17-month-old Labrador retriever named Ruger, who can pick up on a single chemical found in flash drives, SD cards, and other electronics to find hidden caches of child pornography.

By isolating the odor specific to these electronics, a dog’s powerful sense of smell can be trained to hone in on unseen evidence.

The dog expert makes the claim in her new book 'Being A Dog', which is based on her research at Barnard College's Dog Cognition Lab, of which she is the founder.

While for most humans, the world is primarily visual, for dogs, their world is based on scents.

Dogs are often used to sniff out drugs, explosives, disaster victims, dead bodies and even cancers, thanks to their extraordinary power of smell.

Even for humans, scents can give clues as to what time of day it is, such as the smell of freshly brewed coffee in the morning.

The canine expert believes that dogs can detect subtle changes in scent during the day, giving them a sense of time.

The canine expert believes that dogs can detect subtle changes in scent during the day, giving them a sense of time

'Smells in a room change as the day goes on. Hot air rises, and it usually rises in currents along the walls and will rise to the ceiling and go kind of to the centre of the room and drop,' Professor Horowitz explained in an interview with Fresh Air.

'The dog, I think, can smell that through the movement of that air through the room' she adds.

This could explain why a dog can tell when its owner is due to return home.

If the loyal pooch is able to detect the level of its owner's diminishing scent since they left the house, they may be able to predict roughly when they are due to come back.