K9 Facts

How do the K9 noses work compared to humans?

A dog's nose is unique in many ways, including its high sensitivity, ability to detect odors in trace amounts, and its ability to separate air for breathing and smelling.  Dogs have up to 300 million olfactory receptors in their noses, compared to about 6 million in humans. Their brains have a region dedicated to analyzing smells that's about 40 times larger than ours. They also can detect substances at concentrations of one part per trillion.  Dogs have a fold of tissue inside their nostrils that separates air for breathing and smelling, this makes it so they can breathe in and out at the same time. Unlike humans, dogs have an additional olfactory tool that increases their ability to smell. Jacobsen’s organ (or the vomeronasal organ) is a special part of the dog’s olfactory apparatus located inside the nasal cavity and opens into the roof of the mouth behind the upper incisors. This amazing organ serves as a secondary olfactory system designed specifically for chemical communication. The nerves from Jacobsen’s organ lead directly to the brain and are different from the other nerves in the nose in that they do not respond to ordinary smells. In fact, these nerve cells respond to a range of substances that often have no odor at all. In other words, they work to detect “undetectable” odors. 

All of these factors make the Search K9 an invaluable asset to have looking for those that have gotten lost. 

There are many search disciplines that the K9 can be trained for.  Some K9's have the ability to cross train into more than one discipline. The common disciplines that they are trained in are; Wilderness Air Scent, Trailing, Human Remains Detection, Firearm Residue, and Article Detection. See our Black Mountain K9 Minimum Standards for descriptions of each discipline.

The top Search Dog breeds are debatable, however you will see Bloodhounds, German Shepherds, Labrador Retrieves, and Border Collies often used.  Mixed breeds have proven to work very well and be successful also.  The main necessity is that the K9 has the drive to search.