Larry Wiland, age 15, of Warren, Ohio, for his question:
What makes a dog's nose moist?
A healthy pup, they say, has a moist nose. As a rule, this is true, but the test is not reliable. He may be sick and still have a moist nose. Sometimes the nose of a perfectly healthy dog is warm and dry to the touch. Nothing is wrong. It merely needs a lick of moisture.
The dog is a remarkable animal and his most remarkable feature is his nose. Few animals are sturdier, and at his best, few can outrun him. He is one of the very smartest, quick and alert. And biologists suspect that he may have .the most sensitive nose in the whole animal kingdom. The sense of smell is most acute in wild dogs. But noses of most domesticated dogs are almost as sensitive. The average dog lives in a world of odors. His vision is good and his hearing is sharp. But these senses do not compare with the keen quality of his nose.
A sense of smell always depends upon moisture. This is true in fishes and turtles, cats and people. Your smelling organ. is triggered by some 600,000 sensitive cells situated in a pair of grooves back in the nasal passages. The total area of this smelling tissue is too larger than a dime. In order to determine one odor from another, this area must be moistened by a thin film of the mucus normally present in the nasal passages. y The dog's special scenting cells are in the naked patch of rough skin on the end of his nose. They are not supplied with moist mucus by the skin. But without moisture they cannot sniff a rabbit or distinguish between the odors of friends and foes. The dog's tongue, however, is constantly moist with saliva. And the distance between his tongue and his∞nose is very short. Watch him for awhile, and you will see that from time to time he flicks his tongue over his nose. His sniffer is kept moist by constant licking.;
He smells by sampling microscopic fragments of this and that in the air. When these particles touch his properly moistened smelling cells, they react and send messages to his btain. A dog's hearing may be ten times sharper than human ears. But experts hesitate to estimate the far greater superiority of his sense of smell. And, knowing this devoted friend as we do, it is no surprise to learn that his sense of smell is at its best when it concerns his human master.
A good dog can detect the odor of his master on a baseball, even though his human friend has held the ball in his hand for only a second. He can, of course, recognize the smell of a cat. But he also can distinguish the odor of one cat from another. He sniffs, but does not react to his own family cat. However, if he sniffs a mere footstep of a prowling neighborhood cat, he starts off on a merry chase. In the realm of odors he is a genius and records of his scenting talents are astounding. But if he fails to keep his nose moist, he cannot sniff a thing.
A good dog, of course, can track a rabbit or some other interesting fugitive over hill. and dale. But his most amazing records concern his ability to find his way home. One dog Was taken 20 miles by train and padded his way back home along the tracks. True, he most likely spotted a few landmarks, but most of the return journey was deduced by his nose, his moist, doggie nose.