I talk to a lot of gun dog trainers in the process of writing this blog, and one training message gets delivered over and over: You need to think like a dog. Recently I received a new book that helped illuminate how a dog thinks. Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know by Alexandra Horowtz is not aimed at gun dog owners nor is it a training guide. But it did provide some insight into the world of the dog. Here are a few things I found interesting and helpful:

The Nose Knows: I’ve always assumed a dog’s sniffer worked the same way a human’s schnoz did. That is, we take air (scents) in, expel it, then take in some more. But that’s not quite the case. According to Horowitz, a dog’s nose is built to allow a continual passage of air over the scent receptors. As inhaled air escapes through the slits of the nose it creates a vacuum that pulls in more air. In other words, a dog never loses touch with the scent as air is flowing inward at all times. For a dog, the world of scent can be compared to our world of vision. Imagine that they see the world in scents. Pretty cool.

Color: I’ve always heard that dogs are color blind. Not so, says Horowitz. But they do see colors a bit differently than we do. Yellow, red, and orange don’t look that way to your pup. Red resembles a faint green. Remember this when you want pup to use her nose when retrieving a dummy. Toss a red/orange dummy into a field of green grass and it will be camouflaged in its surroundings. (But only do this after pup is rock-solid on retrieving. Don’t make early retrieves tough.)

Use Your Eyes: The book also points out that dogs react better to commands when they see the eyes of their trainer. Your dog understands you mean business when you look it in the eye and deliver a command. Sure this isn’t always practical when training a gun dog, but it does bring up a mistake I’ve made a few times. Don’t wear sunglasses when training your pup. Let her see your eyes, and she’ll have a better idea that you mean business. She’ll also have a better read of what you want.

Your Dog Is Not One of Us: What I found most interesting was Horowitz’s description of umwelt…a word that essentially means you know nothing of a dog unless you know how a dog thinks. For example, when a dog licks your face he’s not letting you know he loves you…he’s more likely looking for leftover food from your lunch. How does a dog think? Not like us. The problem is when we think they do. When training a gun dog remember to think like your pup…not like a trainer.

Comments (9)

from pinopolis wrote 3 weeks 6 days ago

I'm fascinated by my dog's nose. The other day we were walking down the street—her nose to the pavement, as usual—and an older man stopped me and said: "Their brains are in their nose." Couldn't be more true!

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from buckhuntr wrote 3 weeks 6 days ago

Thats pretty cool about the constant scent thing.

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from Dave DiBenedetto wrote 3 weeks 6 days ago

buckhuntr-- I thought so, too. Another pretty interesting fact was that the average dog could detect the equivalent of a spoonful of sugar dissolved in the amount of water it would take to fill two Olympic-sized swimming pools. Pretty wild..that sniffer on the end their snouts... -D

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from Ruckweiler wrote 3 weeks 5 days ago

The "continual passage of air" seems to explain why bloodhounds can track so well. They never lose the scent. Interesting thesis in the story.

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from bowhrad wrote 3 weeks 5 days ago

Good write! So many of these observations and training tips are spot on. I am continually impressed by my Setter's nose each year we hunt. Into our seventh season now, he never fails to impress me. It's incredible watching a dog run then lock up instantly, usually piling his backend into himself as he puts on the brakes. I always know there is a bird close when he's locked and I see his mouth opening and closing a bit, almost tasting the air. Then I know there is a woodcock within three feet of him; hidden somewhere.

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from muskiemaster wrote 3 weeks 5 days ago

whenever my dog licks my face she usually rubs her leftover food on me. eeewww.

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from tony32 wrote 3 weeks 4 days ago

Although dogs do not think like us I think its safe to say that they do share some of our logic. I think we've all had experiences where our dogs level of intelligence has surprised us.

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from Ruckweiler wrote 3 weeks 4 days ago

tony32:
I always think of those dogs who can sense cancer and those which bounce up and down on someone who has passed out thereby reviving and saving them.

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from MLH wrote 3 weeks 3 days ago

A friend's son came home, went into the kitchen, through the living room, and then upstairs to his room. Their schnauzer came in, caught his scent, and tracked his exact steps through the kitchen, the living room, and up the stairs to his room.

Several years ago I had a mild heart attack. That same dog sat on my lap and wouldn't lie down, even though he couldn't keep his eyes open. I moved him to the floor and onto his bed but he came right back each time and sat there leaning against me. At a party a friend's golden walked through a crowd into the kitchen, where he was not allowed, and sat at my side, leaning against me, nuzzling my hand. He would not leave until she collared him. Another day a German Shepard came at me barking with hair raised. He got within arm's length, stopped barking, put his head down and his tail between his legs and cowered away, looking back at me as if to say, "Sorry." Some think it is a scent. Others think it is a damaged aura. Dogs know. Cat's might know but don't give a damn.

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from pinopolis wrote 3 weeks 6 days ago

I'm fascinated by my dog's nose. The other day we were walking down the street—her nose to the pavement, as usual—and an older man stopped me and said: "Their brains are in their nose." Couldn't be more true!

+3 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from buckhuntr wrote 3 weeks 6 days ago

Thats pretty cool about the constant scent thing.

+3 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from MLH wrote 3 weeks 3 days ago

A friend's son came home, went into the kitchen, through the living room, and then upstairs to his room. Their schnauzer came in, caught his scent, and tracked his exact steps through the kitchen, the living room, and up the stairs to his room.

Several years ago I had a mild heart attack. That same dog sat on my lap and wouldn't lie down, even though he couldn't keep his eyes open. I moved him to the floor and onto his bed but he came right back each time and sat there leaning against me. At a party a friend's golden walked through a crowd into the kitchen, where he was not allowed, and sat at my side, leaning against me, nuzzling my hand. He would not leave until she collared him. Another day a German Shepard came at me barking with hair raised. He got within arm's length, stopped barking, put his head down and his tail between his legs and cowered away, looking back at me as if to say, "Sorry." Some think it is a scent. Others think it is a damaged aura. Dogs know. Cat's might know but don't give a damn.

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from Dave DiBenedetto wrote 3 weeks 6 days ago

buckhuntr-- I thought so, too. Another pretty interesting fact was that the average dog could detect the equivalent of a spoonful of sugar dissolved in the amount of water it would take to fill two Olympic-sized swimming pools. Pretty wild..that sniffer on the end their snouts... -D

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from tony32 wrote 3 weeks 4 days ago

Although dogs do not think like us I think its safe to say that they do share some of our logic. I think we've all had experiences where our dogs level of intelligence has surprised us.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Ruckweiler wrote 3 weeks 4 days ago

tony32:
I always think of those dogs who can sense cancer and those which bounce up and down on someone who has passed out thereby reviving and saving them.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Ruckweiler wrote 3 weeks 5 days ago

The "continual passage of air" seems to explain why bloodhounds can track so well. They never lose the scent. Interesting thesis in the story.

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from bowhrad wrote 3 weeks 5 days ago

Good write! So many of these observations and training tips are spot on. I am continually impressed by my Setter's nose each year we hunt. Into our seventh season now, he never fails to impress me. It's incredible watching a dog run then lock up instantly, usually piling his backend into himself as he puts on the brakes. I always know there is a bird close when he's locked and I see his mouth opening and closing a bit, almost tasting the air. Then I know there is a woodcock within three feet of him; hidden somewhere.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from muskiemaster wrote 3 weeks 5 days ago

whenever my dog licks my face she usually rubs her leftover food on me. eeewww.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

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All submitted comments are subject to the rules set forth in our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.