Why do dogs have cold noses?

Especially with a good stomach, a dog can jump on it Nose To its man as a means of giving thanks. Most of the time, this snout boop feels cold and wet. The owner may think: Is it normal for a dog’s nose to feel like this?

The answer is yes, this is normal. Anna Bellint, a researcher who studies animal behavior at the University of Etuos Laurent in Budapest, Hungary, said she has a warm nose, especially after snoozing. “When a dog sleeps, their nose usually gets hot and it gets dry,” she told LiveScience. Then, the dog wakes up and gives a lick to the nose, which cools it back down.

Why do dogs’ noses get cold, is there a benefit?

One idea is that a dog’s cold nose can help control the body temperature of a furry animal. But the tip of the nose is so small that it cannot make a meaningful contribution to a dog’s overall temperature control, Belint said.

To investigate further, a team of international scientists measured The temperature of the noses of many animalsIncluding a horse, dog, and moose. By the time Belint joined the project, the team had already realized that the nose tips of dogs and carnivores, or rhinos, were cooler than vegetarians. Perhaps, the researchers thought, the cold nose tip would be an advantage in the wild.

The team conducted two experiments to see if a cold rhinorrhea could detect the best heat – one for behavior and the other for the brain. In the first experiment, the team successfully trained three pets to select an object that was hotter than an object in the room. The results indicate that dogs can detect weaker thermal radiation from a distance similar to hunting prey.

In the second, brain-centered investigation, scientists introduced a box containing hot water and an insulating door for 13 pets. MRI scanner. Dogs’ brains had a high response when the insulating door was opened, revealing a warmer surface compared to neutral. The burned area on MRI is located only in the left hemisphere. This aspect of the brain is of interest to scientists because it tends to process responses to food, which has been linked to predatory activity in many vertebrates, Belint said. The specific area of light in dogs – known as the somatosensory association cortex – helps bring together different senses such as vision, body position, and warmth. This part of the brain combines these senses simultaneously and plans an action towards a goal as if it were an object.

If this left neural area is burned when the tip of the nose is exposed to a warm surface, dogs and other cold-nosed animals may have used heat detection consciousness along with other senses in their ‘hunting toolbox. ‘When they were looking for prey, the researchers said.

Although a recent study, it was published in the journal in February 2020 Scientific reports, The case is too small to close in cold noses, and a cold nose can be more sensitive to temperature differences, Belint said. “People think the Chinese are following their ol’ fiction [sense of smell]That’s really true, “Belint said. But windy or stormy weather can make it difficult for a working dog to follow the scent.” A heat signal will help them. “

Why, a dog’s nose is cold? Belint and his team continue to search for answers to this question. They are now wondering how far this kind of heat detection can go. Now, only the dog’s nose is known.

Originally published in Live Science.