Ever had to come across a situation where your house keeps smelling for days, but you are not able to detect the place where the rotten food item is hidden? Well, with a sniffer dog, this problem gets solved easily. These dogs have excellent smelling capabilities that make them great candidates for scent-related activities.
But, mind you, they are not good only at finding the sources of foul smell at your home or locating a hidden treasure; they are marvelous at solving high-profile and intricate police cases. With their great receptors, they can easily go after an old scent and even find lost humans.
Let’s scoop out some excellent nose work dog breeds that can easily decipher complex scent trails.
Excellent Nose Work Dog Breeds
1. Bloodhound
One of the best scent-tracking dogs in the world, the Bloodhound is known for its exceptional sense of smell.
Its sense of smell is so good that a lot of pet owners jokingly say it’s a nose with a dog attached to it!
This dog has olfactory cells that are as many as one thousand times better than humans. As a matter of fact, they have as many as 300 million scent receptors, which makes them a one-of-a-kind dog. The sensitivity of its nose makes it the best choice for police and military tasks.
Even this Quora question hails Bloodhounds’ scent detection capabilities.
With its keen nose, this dog can distinguish the scent trail of one individual from another. In tasks where they have to find a missing person, they are known to show splendid results.
What’s even more?
A bloodhound can even detect water (we thought water was odorless?)
Bloodhound, with its floppy ears, is surely an asset for the secret agencies!
2. Labrador Retriever
The Labrador Retriever is yet another dog that is known for its extensive olfactory sensory cells.
This dog has as many as 125 to 300 million olfactory sensory cells, one of the largest in any living creature!
This dog, being a dedicated worker that it is, is known for impressive performance whenever it comes to helping police and military forces in solving a crime case. They can detect a scent from far away. This is why, when it comes to detecting drugs, humans, or even dead bodies, they are exceptional at it.
For search and rescue operations, this dog is an absolute asset!
In medical cases, this dog can detect malignant melanomas by sniffing patients and help start the skin tumor treatment.
Oh, and it also needs a mention here that thanks to its amazing sense of smell, this dog is able to win most of the canine sports it is a part of!
At home, you need to keep this dog busy in various activities for its physical and mental stimulation. As it has a lot of energy to spend, make sure you drain most of it through outdoor activities so it doesn’t turn destructive.
3. Beagle
Beagles, with their 220 million receptors, are some of the best scent detectors out there.
When it comes to tracking, beating Beagle is not an ordinary job. This dog can detect missing people and criminals simply by smelling.
It is also a great partner for the hunters. Thanks to its agility and speed, hunters love to have these dogs as their companions during excursions. With them, they take up the role of hunting dogs!
Even if an element is as far away as 50 to 500 yards, this dog will easily be able to detect it. This canine scent work is truly impressive.
At home, these dogs are fun and joyful. They love playing with kids and engage with them in various activities. You can use its scenting ability to your benefit and engage it in scent-related games to drain its excessive energy.
This Reddit Thread about scent games will give you many new ideas.
4. Belgian Malinois
Belgian Malinois is also known for its impressive smelling sense. It comes with around 300 million olfactory receptors. Like many other dogs with a similar extraordinary sense of smell, these ones are also used to track scents and find missing humans.
Bomb detection? Check
Medical alert tasks? Done
Search and rescue missions? For sure!
This dog is a great choice when it comes to showcasing great performance in intricate tasks.
At home, the Malinois is an ideal family pet. It is strong and with its big muscles, it surely knows how to protect its family. As a pleasure for people, it is easy to train and will not test your patience. Harshness would not work with it. You need to use positive reinforcement methods to train it.
Their textured double coat makes them appropriate even for extreme weather, as it protects them from the harsh outdoors.
5. German Shepherd
If there is one dog that comes with an absolute capability to find lost humans and can do it efficiently, it is the German Shepherd!
By simply giving an article belonging to the missing person to the dog, it can follow the trail and find the individual gone missing. What further sets this dog apart from other rescue dogs is its ability to discriminate between scents. Hence, it knows exactly which scent to focus on and which one to ignore.
As per VCA Hospitals, these dogs’ exceptional noses are a great choice for service work as well.
At home, these dogs come with a playful nature and thrive in family life. It is full of energy, hence, when compared to other breeds, you need to give them enough workout opportunities to drain their energy and ensure adequate physical and mental stimulation.
With their boundless energy and a powerful sense of smell, they make great hunting companions.
6. Springer Spaniel
Springer Spaniels are also excellent scent detectors and showcase great performance when it comes to detecting drugs and checking for special medical diseases.
When compared to humans, these dogs have their smelling senses as much as 40 times stronger when compared to humans. They not only identify scents properly but can also distinguish between different smells.
They are exceptional workers. These dogs thrive on challenges and perform exceptionally well where challenges are involved.
As per AKC, they are easy to train, thanks to their intelligence. Using positive training methods works pretty well on it.
7. Cocker Spaniel
This massive dog with dreamy eyes is also one of the best scent detectors out there.
Cocker Spaniels are highly intelligent, which makes them quite easy to train. This, combined with a finely tuned nose, makes them wonderful sniffing dogs. Whether it is distinguishing between various scents or learning new commands, this dog is exceptional in everything!
Their friendly nature and energetic personality make them great pets for active families. They have a friendly disposition, which helps them get along with kids effortlessly.
As per this Reddit Thread, they are a great choice even for first-time dog owners.
These dogs with a keen sense of smell can easily detect drugs at the airport and even spot a foul-smelling hidden item in the house.
Conclsuion
Be it a mold inside a wall, an old piece of food item under the carpet or a poop somewhere in the garden, these dogs can sniff out everything! They are exceptional at scent detection tasks. As they are highly trainable, they are ideal candidates even for intricate police and military operations.
Some other dogs with the best noses in the dog world are the Basset hound, English springer spaniel, the Tan coonhound, and the Dachshund. Those who live in your home will easily detect hidden infestations in the house.
