If you live with a dog, you may have noticed that your dog’s nose is always cold and wet. In fact, although some pet owners may be concerned, a cold nose for furry dogs is quite normal. However, dogs can have a slightly warmer nose when sleeping, as when they rest their nose tends to get dry. Do you know why dogs tend to have cold noses and what are its benefits?
Various investigations
One of the most widespread ideas is that the nose helps them regulate their body temperature. However, dogs’ noses are usually so small that they probably do not contribute significantly to overall thermal regulation.
Therefore, to discover if the nose of dogs really works as a thermal regulator, a team of researchers from the University of Budapest measured the temperature of the noses of many animals, including a dog, a horse and a moose. After carrying out this research, the scientists concluded that carnivorous animals (including dogs) have colder noses than herbivorous animals.
They also found that dogs can detect weak thermal radiation at a short distance (similar to hunting prey).
They can detect heat
On the other hand, in a second investigation, the scientists discovered that the left hemisphere of the dog’s brain (in charge of processing stimuli to food, which in turn is related to its predatory instinct) has a higher response when the tip of the nose has been exposed to a warm surface. For this reason, it is possible that dogs (and other cold-nosed animals) may be using a heat-sensing sense when they are searching for prey in the wild.
However, the study is far from conclusive, so scientists continue to search for answers to why dogs’ noses are always cold. In addition, the researchers also want to find out at what specific distance they can detect heat. For now, only our four-legged friends know.
