It is well known that security dogs are an excellent asset for enhanced security operations because they can be trained how to behave in certain situations, i.e. when to be passive and when to be aggressive, and of course they can run much faster than humans to apprehend someone when needed. But the major benefit of security dogs is their sense of smell. This is far more effective than a human’s sense of smell, but very little is understood about why that is the case and how this valuable capability is achieved.  

A dog’s sense of smell is called its olfactory capability. It is far greater than a human’s and in terms of being useful for security purposes, a dog’s sense of smell can: 

• Gather current and historic information about a surrounding environment 

• Identify one specific source of odour amongst several sources of odour 

• Identify very low levels of a specific odour 

• Can be trained to detect odours which to humans are ‘undetectable’. 

This means that while a human can use their sense of sight and hearing for security purposes, a dog can use these, plus a highly sensitive sense of smell also. This makes security dogs an extremely valuable asset in many different situations. 

Why is a dog’s sense of smell better than a human’s? 

Dogs have over 100 million sensory receptor sites in their naval cavities, while humans have just six million. Combined with this, the area of the canine brain that is devoted to analysing odours is 40 times larger than the same comparable part of the human brain. Depending on the age and breed of the dog, a dog’s sense of smell could be between 1,000 and 10,000 times better than a human’s. Also, dogs like to have wet noses because these work better to capture scent particles. A dog doesn’t want to miss out on any odours in a particular environment, so it will lick its own nose to make it more sensitive.  

However, dogs also have a secondary system to aid their olfactory capability. This is an organ known as the Jacobsen organ, also known as the vomeronasal organ. The Jacobsen organ is inside the naval cavity but also opens into the roof of the dog’s mouth, behind their upper teeth. The nerves of the Jacobsen organ lead directly to the dog’s brain, but don’t just respond to ordinary smells, they can also detect ‘undetectable odours’, i.e. items with no discernible smell, at least to humans. This is perhaps where dogs earn their unique security expertise, by being able to detect smells such as explosives, cash and some types of drugs, which otherwise would not be possible.  

How does a dog use its sense of smell for security purposes?  

As mentioned above, dogs can be trained to detect one specific odour in amongst many other odours. This is how they become useful in detecting drugs in a queue of people for example, or for detecting explosives or guns in a busy airport or in a line of people waiting to enter a public building or event space. 

In a scenario where a dog handler is pursuing a thief or a trespasser, a dog’s sense of smell also comes in very useful. When humans sense danger they secrete flight or fight hormones, as a form of adrenaline. This can be detected by dogs as fear and anxiety. So if a dog had to identify a thief from a line-up or a group of several people, it could detect the sense of fear most likely being secreted by a guilty person. Just like a human loses the quality of their senses as they get older, particularly hearing and sight, so too does a dog. An older dog’s sense of smell won’t be quite as sensitive as a younger dog’s, this is why dogs used for canine security will only be trained and effective up to a certain age. This superior sense of smell also differs by breed, purely because of how the nasal cavity develops in different breeds. So popular breeds of dog used for canine security are Bloodhounds, Labradors and German Shepherds, because they have a better developed sense of smell than most dogs, coupled with great athleticism, great obedience and an ability to be suitably trained. 

Contact React K9 for effective canine security 

At React K9 we have studied the science behind canine olfactory capabilities and have used this to train dogs to our high internal standards. Our canine security teams can be used for various security purposes, such as vacant property patrols, site evictions and event security, as well as standard mobile security patrols. We are able to select dogs for you based on their current training skills, to ensure you have the very best canine security solution, so if you want to benefit from the superior odour sensitivity of our security dog teams, then contact React K9 today.