Tidbit: Smell-O-Vision

People often ask what is the most surprising thing on this trip. One of the things I have marvelled at is how the dogs can find their way back to the boat after the first trip to shore.

The path is rarely straight forward. It often has a number of turns; beginning from which side we leave the boat. There are also ramps, gangplanks and stairs. Plus, multiple distractions along the way. However, even Rocco who is not the brightest of dogs can unerringly find his way back.

Apparently, dogs use their nostrils independently allowing them to determine the direction of an odour and use their sense of smell like a compass. I assume they follow their own “bread crumbs” of scent back the way we came.

Cornell University has discovered a link between dogs olfactory system and where their brain processes memory and emotion, which are similar to those in humans, as well as never-documented connections to the spinal cord and the occipital lobe that are not found in humans. “The dog’s sense of smell is so adept that a blind dog has much less difficulty adjusting to the loss of vision than a human does.”