Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know

by Alexandra Horowitz

You write “dogs are anthropologists among us.” What do they know about us? Based on smell alone, they seem to know a lot about individuals. They can tell if you’ve recently had sex, smoked a cigarette, had a bath; they know if you’ve just eaten, or gone for a run, or petted another dog. They can smell your emotions: dogs have the ability to sense the hormones we exude when we are scared; they can most likely detect other emotions too. Smell is not their only source of information about us. Dog owners are sometimes impressed with how dogs know when they are packing for a trip, or getting ready for a walk. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Humans are creatures of habit, tending to act similarly when we get dressed, get ready to go out, prepare dinner, and so on. Dogs are very good at observing the series of events that leads to a consequence of interest (like a walk), and remembering the chain of events that preceded it. Sometimes it seems that dogs know our intent before even we do.