# What is it about dogs and their noses?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-dogs-and-their-noses/21841>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 9, 2000, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-dogs-and-their-noses/21841 "2000-06-09T04:37:12Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Lor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ea666f/32.png) [@Lor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lor)\
**Post date:** [June 9, 2000, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-dogs-and-their-noses/21841/1 "2000-06-09T04:37:12Z")

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Everybody knows that dogs have a far superior sense of smell than humans, but what I can’t figure out is why they seem to enjoy, and even seek out, smells that we find revolting?? Logic dictates that a more sensitive nose would find the smell of, say, another animal’s bodily excretions disgusting, and a less sensitive nose wouldn’t mind it. Plus, most dogs hate smells that don’t seem so bad to us, like perfume. Any thoughts, people?

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**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\
**Post date:** [June 9, 2000, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-dogs-and-their-noses/21841/2 "2000-06-09T05:03:42Z")

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My WAG…

I’d say like and dislike are subjective. To a dog a pile of poo is a calling card and worth investigation. Perfume is probably VERY powerful smelling to them (so our weak noses can pick it up) and relatively worthless to them as a source of information.

I imagine nature programmed them to ‘like’ smells that benefit them…poo, pee, sweat, blood, food, etc., since it’s to their benefit to identify those smells.