What dogs ‘see’ when they smell something

What dogs ‘see’ when they smell something

Recent research suggests that dogs have a mental image of what they are searching for when they use their nose for tracking.

In the experiment, the dogs toy was used to make a scent trail to the hidden toy. The dog isn’t present during the setup of the experiment. In one group, the toy that made the scent was at the end of the trail. In a second group, a different toy was hidden at the end of the trail. Early trials of experiment B resulted in “surprise” by the dog, suggesting they had a mental image of what they expected to find. After further trials of experiment B, the dogs were less surprised and actually continued to search for the proper toy.

The full article is here (behind paywall):

A ball is not a Kong: Odor representation and search behavior in domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) of different education.

Bräuer, Juliane,Belger, Julia

Journal of Comparative Psychology, Mar 05 , 2018,

http://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fcom0000115

I’ve written about dog smell before:

Time for some smelly science

https://plus.google.com/u/0/+ChadHaney/posts/hA46K5pgdUX

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/03/what-dogs-see-when-they-smell-something