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Are Dogs Better Than Humans

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Dogs’ senses are quite a bit different than humans- in an interesting way. Nevertheless, what most know is that dogs have a sense of smell that is far more superior to humans’, but not all know how much better. An average dachshund will have about 125 million scent receptors alone, far beyond a human’s 5 million (Coren 1). However, though canine noses are so impressive, canine mouths are not. Dogs, on average, have about 1,700 taste buds compared to those of a human, which is about 9,000 (Compton). Seeing that dogs don’t rely heavily on taste, some dog owners think dogs will eat any food they’re given- but is this true? However, though the taste may not matter as much, other factors such as smell and texture matter quite a bit. Although mainly the smell of the food matters most above all other factors. Dogs have a special nose, far more complex than a human’s. A fascinating part is the extra organ in their nose called the Vomeranasal Organ or Jacobsen’s (“Dog”). Jacobsen’s Organ works as a combination of smell and taste, effectively allowing dogs to, quite literally, taste the air. Jacobsen’s organ rests in the bottom of the nasal passage, picking up pheromones (Tyson). Pheromones are chemicals that animals advertise to signal mating readiness and other sex-related things …show more content…
On their tongues, akin to humans, they have taste buds spread all over. Each group has different chemical groups and recognizable tastes. They taste “sweet” around the front and side parts, “sour” and “salty” at the further back, sides, and water at the very tip of their tongue (Ramnath). It was proven in an experiment conducted by Katherine Houpt and Sharon Smith at NCBI that dogs have a natural penchant for beef, pork, and lamb over chicken, liver, and horse meat (Houpt). They also prefer canned to fresh, ground to cubed, and cooked to raw. It was also found that canned or semi moist food is preferred over dry food

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