Chapter 1 Canine Olfaction : Scent , Sign , and Situation (original) (raw)
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Canine Olfaction: Scent, Sign, and Situation
Domestic Dog Cognition and Behavior, 2014
Canine olfaction is a rich field of study for the behavioural sciences and neurosciences, and it is rich in interdisciplinary connections. This chapter will explore the neurocognitive and neuroconative bases of olfaction (the neurophysiological foundations of cognition and motivation), and discuss the behavioural, psychological, and semiotic dimensions of scent processing. It will cover the basic psychophysics of olfaction and the methodologies allowing us to explore this sensory modality, as well as the complex cognitive and motivational dimensions of scent. This chapter will open with an overview of the different disciplines involved in the study of canine olfaction. Some basic anatomy and neuroscience will be reviewed, mostly with direct reference to behaviour and associated psychological processes (e.g., cognitive, motivational, and affective systems). For the behavioural aspect of olfaction, a discussion of the contrasting, yet complementary methods of ethology and experimental psychology will be examined. The importance of both field and laboratory research will be highlighted. Olfaction ''in context'' will also be discussed in reference to zoosemiotics and in order to understand the canine olfactory psychoethology in its most meaningful and functional dimension: processing ''signs'' (including symptoms as with dogs trained for biomedical applications such as symptom detection). We will conclude with a short commentary on the human-canine sensory symbiosis with sniffer dogs.
2014
Canine olfaction is a rich field of study for the behavioural sciences and neurosciences, and it is rich in interdisciplinary connections. This chapter will explore the neurocognitive and neuroconative bases of olfaction (the neurophysiological foundations of cognition and motivation), and discuss the behavioural, psychological, and semiotic dimensions of scent processing. It will cover the basic psychophysics of olfaction and the methodologies allowing us to explore this sensory modality, as well as the complex cognitive and motivational dimensions of scent. This chapter will open with an overview of the different disciplines involved in the study of canine olfaction. Some basic anatomy and neuroscience will be reviewed, mostly with direct reference to behaviour and associated psychological processes (e.g., cognitive, motivational, and affective systems). For the behavioural aspect of olfaction, a discussion of the contrasting, yet complementary methods of ethology and experimental psychology will be examined. The importance of both field and laboratory research will be highlighted. Olfaction ''in context'' will also be discussed in reference to zoosemiotics and in order to understand the canine olfactory psychoethology in its most meaningful and functional dimension: processing ''signs'' (including symptoms as with dogs trained for biomedical applications such as symptom detection). We will conclude with a short commentary on the human-canine sensory symbiosis with sniffer dogs.
Canine Olfaction: Physiology, Behavior, and Possibilities for Practical Applications
Animals, 2021
Olfaction in dogs is crucial for gathering important information about the environment, recognizing individuals, making decisions, and learning. It is far more specialized and sensitive than humans’ sense of smell. Using the strength of dogs’ sense of smell, humans work with dogs for the recognition of different odors, with a precision far exceeding the analytical capabilities of most modern instruments. Due to their extremely sensitive sense of smell, dogs could be used as modern, super-sensitive mobile area scanners, detecting specific chemical signals in real time in various environments outside the laboratory, and then tracking the odor of dynamic targets to their source, also in crowded places. Recent studies show that dogs can detect not only specific scents of drugs or explosives, but also changes in emotions as well as in human cell metabolism during various illnesses, including COVID-19 infection. Here, we provide an overview of canine olfaction, discussing aspects connected with anatomy, physiology, behavioral aspects of sniffing, and factors influencing the olfactory abilities of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris).
Animals, 2019
Generalizing to target odor variations while retaining specificity against non-targets is crucial to the success of detector dogs under working conditions. As such, the importance of generalization should be considered in the formulation of e ective training strategies. Research investigating olfactory generalization from pure singular compounds to more complex odor mixtures helps to elucidate animals’ olfactory generalization tendencies and inform ways to alter the generalization gradient by broadening or narrowing the range of stimuli to which dogs will respond. Olfactory generalization depends upon both intrinsic factors of the odors, such as concentration, as well as behavioral and cognitive factors related to training and previous experience. Based on the current research, some training factors may influence generalization. For example, using multiple target exemplars appears to be the most e ective way to promote elemental processing and broaden the generalization gradient, whereas increasing the number of training instances with fewer exemplars can narrow the gradient, thereby increasing discrimination. Overall, this research area requires further attention and study to increase our understanding of olfactory generalization in dogs, particularly detector dogs, to improve training and detection outcomes.
Conspecific recognition of pedal scent in domestic dogs
Scientific Reports
Carnivores rely heavily on scent to communicate with conspecifics. Scent glands located on the underside of the feet provide an especially efficient way of leaving a scent trail. Although domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) are well-known for their olfactory abilities and scent marking behaviours, their use of pedal scent for communication remains unknown. We studied the reaction of intact dogs of both sexes to male and female pedal scent as well as a control sample of scent taken from the ground, using sniffing time and nostril usage as an indicator of interest level and emotional valence. In male subjects, only the sniffing duration for other males differed from the control samples, with no clear difference detected between male and female scent. Females showed no difference in the sniffing duration for any sample type. Conversely, male nostril use did not differ between the sample types, whereas females demonstrated a right nostril bias when sniffing the scent from other females and...
Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research, 2012
Olfactory dysfunction in older human beings has been shown to be associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline, yet age-related changes in olfactory behavior have received little attention in the dog model of human aging. We developed an odor habituation and fine odor discrimination paradigm to test the hypothesis that dogs would show a novelty response toward unfamiliar urine from entire male conspecifics. We tested 26 odor detection dogs (14 females, 12 males) from the New South Wales police dog unit, ranging in age from 1 year 2 months to 11 years 10 months. First, dogs were familiarized with a master odor over 2 presentations. Second, we measured difference in investigation time of a master odor as compared with 5 odor mixtures using the following ratios of novel-to-master odor: 100:0, 80:20, 60:40, 40:60, and 20:80. Dogs habituated to the master odor after the first presentation (t(25) 5 6.048, P , 0.001). After 2 dogs that failed to habituate were excluded, there was a nonsignificant trend (t(21) 5 21.968, P 5 0.062) for aged dogs (.8 years, N 5 6) to show reduced habituation as compared with middle-aged dogs (5-8 years, N 5 9) and with all dogs aged ,8 years (N 5 18, t(21) 5 21.883, P 5 0.072). Approximately half of the dogs tested (N 5 11) failed to show a novelty response toward the 100:0, novel:master odor. The remaining dogs (N 5 15) showed a significant novelty response toward this odor (mean difference 5 1.89 seconds, confidence interval 5 0.86-2.84). Investigation of the remaining odor mixtures was not significantly different from investigation of the master odor in all dogs. Further development of this paradigm is needed using naive pet dogs before it can be used as a reliable measure of fine odor discrimination. The current, weak trend for an age effect in habituation warrants further investigation in a larger cohort to determine if this effect becomes significant or if it is simply a manifestation of small sample size and low statistical power. It is recommended that future studies use dogs that have not been trained against or actively discouraged from investigating urine because previous learning may have had a significant effect on the outcomes of this study.
Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 2003
In two experimental studies, we observed whether dogs rely on olfactory and/or visual information about the hiding place for food in a two-choice test. However, for some dogs direct olfactory (smelling the food) or visual (observing of the food being hidden) experience has been contradicted by human pointing (a well-known communicative gesture for the dog) to the 'incorrect' hiding place. We have found that dogs were able to use both olfactory and visual cues efficiently to choose above chance in a choice situation when there was no human cueing. However, in other experimental groups the dogs tended to choose the bowl pointed at by the human. This change in their behavior was more pronounced if they had only olfactory information about the location of the food. In contrast, if they had seen where the food was placed, dogs were more reluctant to follow the pointing gesture, but even so their performance worsened compared to the case in which they saw only the bowl baited.
Canine Smell Preferences—Do Dogs Have Their Favorite Scents?
Animals
The available evidence on dogs’ scent preferences is quite limited. The purpose of this study was to verify the canine response to selected odors that may also be preferred by humans. The experiment was performed using 14 adult dogs (10 female and 4 male) of different breeds, body size, and age (1–14 years). During the experiment, dogs were exposed to 33 odor samples: a neutral sample containing pure dipropylene glycol (control) and 32 samples containing dipropylene glycol and fragrance oils. The dog was brought to the experimental area by its handler, who then stopped at the entrance, unleashed the dog, and remained in the starting position. The dog freely explored the area for 30 s. All dog movements and behavior were recorded and analyzed. The methodology of observing the dogs freely exploring the experimental area allowed us to determine the smells that were the most attractive to them (food, beaver clothing). Our study shows that dogs interacted more frequently with the scents ...
A Pilot Study on Behavioural Responses of Shelter Dogs to Olfactory Enrichment
Veterinary Science Research
The influence of essential oils (EOs) on emotions has been widely described among humans and animals. Several studies have investigated the effects and the actions of EOs on behaviour, mood and perception. In this study, shelter dogs (n=23) were exposed to olfactory stimulation through diffusion of 9 anxiolytic essential oils in one blend (olfactory enrichment) for 8 weeks in order to check long-term effects on behaviour. First, dog’s postures have been evaluated in both groups before and after exposure. Secondly, in order to collect the preliminary results on the distance necessary to obtain an effect of EOs, dogs were divided in 2 groups according to the distance from the diffuser. Our results indicate that olfactory enrichment with this blend of EOs is related to less time spent by dogs in high posture. More research is needed to investigate a potential gradual effect of distance and concentration of EOs on dog’s welfare.