Social and Behavioral SciencesThe nasal tissue lining the domestic dogs’ (Canis familiaris) nasal cavity can have over 200 million sensory receptor sites all dedicated to receiving smell molecules to be processed in the brain’s olfactory bulb. But how dedicated are dogs to their extraordinary olfactory abilities? It has generally been assumed that dogs depend more on olfaction than vision and audition to investigate, problem solve, and overall perceive the world. However recent research has shown evidence that contradicts this assumption (Horowitz 2013), making it unclear under what conditions dogs actually utilize olfaction. The goal of the present research is to further investigate the question of how much and when dogs utilize olfaction. It was assessed whether shelter dogs would investigate and choose greater over smaller quantities of food through olfaction alone, if provided with a short investigation period to smell two closed containers with differing amounts of food (1:5). The preliminary results of the present research indicate that dogs were not successful at choosing greater over smaller quantities of food through olfaction alone, choosing the container with more food at only chance levels (binomial test, p > 0.05). Perhaps, due to domestication and their reliance on human communication, dogs may need training in order to use olfaction for problem solving. Likewise it may be found that only certain dog breeds, ages, or temperaments have this ability. Future analysis will examine initial investigation time of the food sources, as well as possible age, breed, and stress effects on olfactory ability. Results of this research will contribute to our currently limited understanding of olfaction, and give clearer insight into how dogs perceive and learn about the world, that could extend into developing more efficient training methods for service dogs.OSU Undergraduate Research OfficeThe Capital Area Humane SocietyAcademic Major: Psycholog
