Why Do Dogs Have a Better Sense of Smell Than Humans?

“Why do dogs smell better than we do?”

Great question!

God created the canine kind on day six of creation week. And he made them with pretty amazing noses. Some studies even show that a dog can smell a single drop of blood in an Olympic-size swimming pool!

But what makes a dog’s sniffer so super?

The average dog has around 300 million nasal receptors in its nose. Scientists don’t know for sure how many humans have, but they know that dogs have more. You might be able to smell fresh-baked cookies before you see them, but a dog’s extra scent receptors allow him to smell each individual ingredient used to make those cookies!

On top of all those nasal receptors, humans and most animals have a space in the brain devoted to interpreting smells, called the olfactory (ole-FAK-tor-ee) bulb. A dog’s olfactory bulb is about 30 times larger than a human’s.

Dogs also have an extra organ in their noses called the vomeronasal (vah-mer-OH-nay-zul) organ. This organ is special because it allows dogs to smell odors that humans can’t.

You can learn more about this super sense of smell and the other amazing abilities God gave to dogs in the July–September 2024 issue of Kids Answers, where we talked about K9 (police) dogs.

Do you have a question about God’s Word or his world? Ask your parents to help you submit your question here. We’d love to hear from you!