| If you thought dog noses were just a source of | | | | about your dog's nose and health, be sure to check |
| smeary prints on your windows, think | | | | with your vet!=======Why Dog Noses are hard to |
| again!========How Nose Prints save dog's | | | | fool========We know that dogs have traditionally |
| lives======Nose prints are used to identify dogs in | | | | been used for tracking, search and rescue due to |
| the same way finger prints are used to identify | | | | their keen sense of smell.A dog's sense of smell is |
| human beings. Breeders and trainers keep a dog's | | | | about 40,000 times better than ours, and that's not |
| nose prints on file as part of its permanent record | | | | all. You can't throw a dog off by "covering up" one |
| and insurance companies now require them whenever | | | | smell with another. A study was done in which a |
| a dog is to be bonded. At one time paw prints were | | | | number of different objects were sprayed with |
| used as a means of canine identification, but these | | | | skunk odor, and trained tracking dogs were still able |
| proved less accurate than noses. And while some | | | | to distinguish the objects from each other! So forget |
| owners have had microchips "installed" in their pets, | | | | about trying to fool Fido!Here's another intriguing |
| these are more invasive and can be detected and | | | | story about the dog's famous sense of smell: A |
| removed. If you dog is ever lost or stolen, having his | | | | yellow lab named Parker wasn't a trained "nose dog", |
| nose print on record could save his life!======Why | | | | but liked to sniff everything, all the time. Then he |
| Dog Noses are Wet=======Why are dog noses | | | | began to constantly sniff a blemish on his owner's |
| wet? Fluid from the lateral glands in a dog's nose | | | | leg, which had been there for a number of years. |
| lubricates the outsides of his nostrils and makes them | | | | The dog was pushing his nose hard into the area, and |
| moist and shiny. But mostly, the nose stays wet | | | | really concentrating. So, the owner decided to have it |
| because your dog is always licking it (along with other | | | | looked at. The skin specialist immediately detected |
| parts). So, a moist nose has generally been | | | | the early signs of skin cancer, and ordered the |
| considered as a healthy nose, but this isn't always | | | | blemish removed immediately. Once the lesion was |
| true. For example, if a dog falls asleep in a hot place, | | | | gone, Parker lost interest in the leg! Similar stories |
| his nose may be dry when he first wakes up. Once | | | | have reportedly led doctors in the US to train dogs |
| he cools down and has a little Gatorade (kidding!) -- I | | | | to "sniff out" skin cancer. Apparently, dogs can |
| mean, gets rehydrated, his nose will soon look wet | | | | detect skin cancer long before any conventional |
| again.Distemper can permanently alter the nasal | | | | methods can!! More recently, dogs have been given |
| glands. So, a dog who suffers from distemper early in | | | | urine samples from cancer victims to see if they can |
| life may have a perpetually dry nose.=======Why | | | | also smell bladder and prostate cancer. The results |
| Dog Noses are Cold=======Cold normally goes | | | | have been promising.======Fun with Dog |
| along with wet, which I heard has something to do | | | | Noses=======There are only a few websites that |
| with convection cooling, or some such law of physics, | | | | devote themselves entirely to this quirky topic, but |
| which I've long forgotten. So, if a dog's nose dries | | | | they're always worth a visit if you're a fan of "the |
| out (see above), it will feel warm to the touch. This | | | | nose". They're loads of fun--a real nose full!Try |
| is OK, as long as the nose gets wet again. However, | | | | searching for "dog noses" on eBay. I did, and found a |
| a chronically dry nose could be sign of illness and | | | | cute rubber dog nose mask complete with whiskers |
| should be seen by a vet.Note: if you have concerns | | | | for a couple of bucks! |