How do dogs "see" with their noses? - Alexandra Horowitz

View full lesson: ed.ted.com/less...
You may have heard the expression that dogs ‘see with their noses.’ But these creature’s amazing nasal architecture actually reveals a whole world beyond what we can see. Alexandra Horowitz illustrates how the dog’s nose can smell the past, the future and even things that can’t be seen at all.
Lesson by Alexandra Horowitz, animation by Província Studio.

[@mitjakocjancic2205]

A piss-covered tree is a Dog's facebook wall.

[@ibrahinmenriquez3108]

Did you mean... Piss-book? :D

[@vincent4724]

LOL

[@justabitch4671]

Ibrahinm SciMath pissbark

[@justabitch4671]

Ibrahinm SciMath get it “bark”? Like a tree bark and dog barking

[@shayyemini3406]

Mitja Kocjancic lol

[@downdacourt]

I did not think I could love my dog more than I already do, but I was completely wrong.

[@mikeyd946]

My friends dog is 100% blind but it acts like its not even phased. I am always in awe by its ability to navigate this world! This is why he is so well adjusted!

[@julesoxana3630]

Dogs are awesome❤️ your friends dog sounds sounds so amazing and your friend is an amazing owner❤️

[@tweaker1bms]

I had a blind dog that would be able to escape the house and follow us for miles down a winding mountain road, a road we were driving down mind you! He was able to follow us when we were in a car 😳

[@5LAY3R]

@@tweaker1bmsdamn that’s crazy! What kind of dog?

[@artwelve22]

So that means a dog can definitely tell if their owner petted another dog... “welcome home, CHEATER”

[@tomasdelcampo2]

This video wasn’t necessary to realize that

[@arikakarin2323]

Smart boi

[@Amit_Pirate]

I have neighbors in my house and both the families have one dog and when my dad comes home my dog Max smells him like a thousand times just to confirm that he didn't meet any other dog 😂

[@apillow666]

"Why do you smell of the neighbor's DOG?!"

[@heatherbillington4906]

To true

[@suzanneshelton4798]

Thank you - this made me appreciate the importance of dogs having the opportunity to get outside their own yard and smell different smells. Atticus and I go for a lot more walks now.

[@da_poopoo_dealer3152]

Lol i do this with my cat ill drive around letting her smell out the window for a bit then ill pull over and let her walk around and sniff stuff and even rub her face on stuff to mark it if she wants

[@tangerine8345]

I looved this video. Dogs are beyong amazing. My 10 year old rottie passed away almost 2 years ago, and we are still missing her deeply. She was the joy in my home, we were very blessed to have her ❤❤

[@sortagoodish8491]

Do you have a new dog yet? My 11 year old golden retriever is going to be put down tomorrow, so I know the pain - and yeah I know I'm responding to a 4 year old comment, sue me - but I at least have two other, much younger goldens; there are always more dogs, each wonderful in their own way, always coming anew even as our older canine friends pass. I'll miss my old good boy, but he lived a good life, and my younger dogs will stay with me - and in future days when they too pass, new pups will have been born, each to live long and well.

[@sayhey2538]

Nowadays people tend to love dogs more than their family members👍

[@fernandajaor3559]

Dogs are the most beautiful creature on Earth

[@rtrimble]

AGREED!!!

[@kompot505]

No, they aren't.

[@kompot505]

No, they aren't. Period. Game over.

[@fernandajaor3559]

Nutella Spoonful Why do you think they're not? What's the most beautiful creature then?

[@kompot505]

Nothing. Nature is the most beautiful thing.

[@Garbeaux.]

I’ve always thought dogs and humans have a symbiotic relationship that makes up for each other’s strengths and weakness. We work together in a mutually beneficial partnership. Some have argued we wouldn’t have started civilization without the help of dogs.

[@fakemadereal]

I never knew dogs were 5th dimensional beings....

[@random_person_on_internet]

Ha ha ha lol😂

[@aguas_de_marco]

*dun dun*

[@user-pi1lb4tf2f]

It's not spelled G O D backwards for nothing.

[@you_tube8119]

@@user-pi1lb4tf2f damnn, v both hv the same usernameee

[@dstanl]

I read somewhere that when you take your dog out for a walk/sniff, for them it’s like reading the paper. They find out everything they need to know. I always let my dog have a good sniff even if it drives me crazy.

[@user-my8qj]

But why would that drive you crazy?

[@eyglo89]

@@user-my8qj It can drive you crazy bc it's very time consuming, just a 10 min walk for you alone can be double the time with a dog. Always stopping and sniffing/peeing, sometimes we only take 2 steps and then they stop again like it's the most important sniff they will ever have. I do allow my dog's to stop this often, when I take them out it's for them, I try to not combine me doing stuff and taking them with me and walk there. If I'm walking for the exercise I will choose a path where they can run free and I don't need to stop this often. I call these slow walks Nosebook 😅 but if someone was standing over me while I was on Facebook or other social media I would also try to read/see everything at once

[@eldash2801]

They are so perfect, we dont deserve them at all 💕 And now people can hurt them, is beyond my understanding.

[@toreshi]

Watching this with my dog :)

[@rolandviado]

lucky7 same

[@caninebroccoli9543]

How good of a boy/girl/non binary is she/he/they?

[@ATBZ]

:)

[@Viridiana_0]

same :)

[@choco8970]

Same

[@Chorum28]

I knew my dog was special.

[@innovacionservicioded2038]

OMFG BEST COMMENT EVER

[@kevinren2044]

i was ur 100th like lol

[@boobatherapper2595]

Give them daltonian glasses😎😎

[@MichaelMiller-rg6or]

My dog drives me crazy sometimes, my home wouldn't be the same without him

[@KrzysztofKotarba]

I use public transport... I don't want to have such a good smell like dogs.

[@joshuarosen6242]

The point about time is what fascinates me about this. I can see my dog can smell the recent history of where we go. It would be really interesting to know what that feels like.

[@animatrix1490]

I feel like this is part of why people (including myself) like dogs. They can literally sense our emotions and respond to them.

[@adamstriebel7815]

CRAZY HOW LUCKY WE ARE to be able to access all this knowledge. I LOVE me some TED-Ed! Alexandra's book is great too!!!

[@kevobrando95lx44]

The little air vortexes caused by the exhaling makes the quick sniffing sensible

[@SilverSugarwings]

God has blessed us with such wonderful creatures :) 💙

[@thatoneguy7451]

if they had thumbs and a bigger brain, they’d pick up a knife and kill us

[@professoreg3801]

@@thatoneguy7451 you’re thinking of cats dude

[@thiagomoutinhoramos]

That's why dogs are SO adorable

[@RandomCanEHdian]

I think this video helps me explain to myself why my dog has such an obsession with the window near her couch always being open.

[@judypa38]

Interesting: I live where there are deer. I noticed I won't see a deer if I am outside working. If I stay inside all day, sometime during the day I have a family of deer hanging out in my yard. I had seen cougars and wondered how the deer avoided the cougars; then I learned deer smell other animals and they know who the predators are. There was a couple of times peoples dogs would run over to me and let me pet them; the owner would say: my dog doesn't let others pet them. My favorite animal story: I was really tired one day and fell asleep sitting up on the couch. My friendly dog, was acting chaotic and really wanted my attention - I got up because he was acting so weird and followed him, he took me to the door and I saw a mans hand reaching for the door knob and I noticed the door wasn't locked. I locked it, and the man said, sorry wrong house. My dog knew- he smelled or sensed danger.

[@MrMysticphantom]

holy crap i knew the differences would be complex.... but not this complex... this is amazing

[@ElectricIguana]

I fell in love with the animated dog in this video

[@brokensunnier4098]

What a wonderful lesson! I have a gluten detection dog and this is a great explanation of how he can do what he does! Thank you to all who made this!

[@ljre3397]

I know this is 7 years old but this is a really good video. Thanks if you’re still listening.

[@bayla2011]

What a beautiful study! The animation was great too- quite child like. Thank you for sharing!

[@tsueberm]

One big difference not really made clear in the video is, that we humans are limited to distinguish one smell at a time (try it out - you can one smell one thing at a time). While dogs do not have time limitation. As they can smell many things at once, the comparison is rather about one colour at a time vs. seeing a full 3d vision.

[@ADEehrh]

dafreergdf That may be cause their face is almost all nose. Long live fido!

[@achalsood3705]

All this sniffing power and my dog still struggles to find the treats I hide for him. My dog is a little derpy but I still love him very much.

[@50zezima]

dogs do not see like that, they are red-green colorblind by default. that means that they still see vibrant yellows and blues

[@xivwords5448]

Too poo not totally rg color blinds. The rods and cones

[@youwantmyname9208]

Dogs could sense your emotions, sickness or your genetic even if you didn't even know you had it! Dogs smelling ability is so amazing

[@jalajarmenon8680]

Genetic?

[@NguyenMinh792]

Genes

[@deadblasterjs]

Ted ed dogs don't see in black and white you know... They see a lot less colors but they do see colors Human beings have 3 cones of color receptors in our eyes Dong only have 2.. Mantis shrimp has 12 receptors :D

[@FunnyLittleFrog]

And how do these receptors/cones make each thing look different? Just curious

[@siyacer]

@@FunnyLittleFrog 3 different cones means 3 different primary colors. Less cones means less colors, because there's less colors that can be made by combining with the primary colors.

[@thatoneguy7451]

Dogs see blue and yellow, but don’t see green and red; green and red looks like just gray to them.

[@random_person_on_internet]

@@thatoneguy7451 means color blind peoples also have 2 cons instead of 3😄😆😂

[@random_person_on_internet]

Looks like world is always very colorful for mantis shrimps :D

[@Cayleona]

That animated dog was absolutely beautiful! And thanks for this video :)

[@marieindia8116]

I cant tell you how much I love this video. I have recommended it to several people.

[@bassinblue]

I'm watching this video and looking at my cat like ''see? Why can't you be like that?"....he just crapped on my bed.

[@rolandviado]

David Harrison OMG!!! 😨

[@siyacer]

Potty training time

[@christosvaid4454]

Wrong animal pet

[@shawoo]

Please let dogs sniff and don’t yank on their leash while you walk them. Sniffing time is their time

[@nonsibicunctis]

Great presentation - simply explained, attractive graphics, entertaining & informative. Good one. AAA

[@AdnanAhmed]

Great voice over for the dog.

[@ronmecredy]

I always find it funny when other dog owners comment about how my dog is probably smelling their pooch when she greets them

[@jackjohn4882]

My dog could tell if I had bought chicken for dinner way before I was even close to the house's gate.

[@juliusgoze1380]

Maybe it should be "how do good Bois smell good food"

[@yeaijachoudhury7100]

dogs are love💖.... the bestest greatest friendliest creature of all time 💖💙💚💛💝💜

[@ha8008]

the animation is so cute i love it

[@danielparra9271]

This is amazing! thanks.

[@gowasnoga]

dogs are awesome

[@teke735]

Amazing information, delivered wonderfully! Quite a few questions answered for me. Kudos!

[@idkwtvr4844]

In English, we can directly describe how things look (ex: this is green), or we can say that it looks like something else (this looks like an apple). There are a lot fewer direct description words for smell, and we usually describe smells by saying what something smells like. This is because most humans do not rely on the sense of smell as much as sight, so we have more descriptive words for sight. However, dogs have a relatively strong sense of smell and worse eyesight, so if they had a language, I can’t help but wonder whether they would have a lot more words to describe smell that we humans will never be able to understand. (Just imagine a dog being like “your apple smells green”)

[@hrrawr]

It's been a long time since I've learned so much in less than 5 minutes!

[@diwesta]

This dog art is really cute

[@1127jim]

They should do another one on dog hearing. My dog can hear the UPS and FEDEX truck long before it passes near the house.

[@Lena-ld1qc]

Have long wondered the same thing. My uncle's guard dog, who stays in his front yard, starts welcoming me when I'm almost a block away whenever I go visit them. I can hear him bark like crazy and I know he can't see me. Though, I've always thought he could smell and not hear me, cus he does not bark for strangers when they're that far, but he does bark for me and my brother.

[@o001857]

I love the narration by Pen-Pen Chen.

[@ronque23]

Watched this while my dog lay on my lap, right before he’s sniffing around even though I’ve got no treat for him. Great bonding video!

[@ArjunShenoy]

Didn't know there is so much !! Thanks for the share TED-Ed !!

[@ItBeHayley]

dogs are just amazing

[@_charlotteevee_]

The dog in the video is so cute!

[@adrianapibai4500]

Thanx Alexandra Horowitz for your contribution to science, especially to our knowledge and interaction with dogs. Regards from Buenos Aires.

[@pepsi-man2826]

And yet, when I’m having a bad day, my dog just sits there waiting for pets.

[@rafiasruti9430]

This doggo is way too cuteo😍

[@domenica1976]

this is amazing. Thanks for sharing!!

[@danilovilela1784]

After watched this video I undestand my dog better and see the things as its point of view. Thanks for that! Grat job

[@valen8560]

3:05 that is kind of sad

[@noahsmit5663]

so helpful

[@BharathRamMS]

I was left speechless by this video.

[@morkwa]

fire hydrants and trees are kind of a dog "foursquare". they're like "sniff-sniff, let's see who checked in here?"

[@valentijnraw]

amazing story here from the Netherlands. Police were searching with dogs for something i dont know. and the dogs picked up another smell.. turns out they smelled a car that had been laying under water for 17 years!! with 4 persons still in it. incredible right?

[@studmuffin4785]

Hahahahahaahaha @2:36 and her voice is so serious loool- funny yet educational :)

[@LaylilyWoods]

awwww i wanna hug my little buddy now like always love you Yoda and Jaxxy

[@diamantbelallari669]

It turns out that dogs have a pretty developed nose.

[@Ayan44]

i love dogs

[@ChadMichaelSimon]

The enrichment dogs get from good sniffing is vital. Sometimes we walk for me, where she keeps pace by my side for longer distances. But I vary those with walks for her, with a longer lead and allowing her sniff as long as she wants. They say a quarter-mile of great sniffing is more rewarding than a 2-mile hike. Of course, having a balance is good. A metaphor I developed during our walks: Imagine you’re on a leash with a collar around your neck. Every walk is like going to an art museum. But your guide is blind. They can navigate the museum with you, but they can’t see the paintings. You can browse past several before one really catches your eye, a Monet or Degas or “Sunday Afternoon in the Park” by Seurat. You’re moved by the style, colors, and composition. Suddenly, your guide is tugging on your leash, pulling you away. “But… I want to look at this painting!” We can’t explain looking at a painting or sunset to a dog any more than they can explain what they experience with a good sniff. I remember that every time we’re walking. :-)

[@TommyAndGracie]

My chihuahua has radar smelling and hearing! : )

[@trentigalaxy]

i love my dogs sponge nose

[@isabellahaddad8091]

At first I thought it wasn’t highlighting the human olfactory bulb but after a hot second I realized it was a tiny speck almost as thick as the line and that’s how small it is

[@Miyao05]

This is why I love dogs. Just another amazing facts about them

[@genesisonaroll1040]

That dog is sooooo cuteeeee

[@nay979]

now i want a dog

[@RandomRyan]

So this is why my dog sniffs everything lol

[@dipro001]

AWWW this dog is SO CUTEE! I want to give it a hug ^_^

[@elgrande3934]

A dog's sense of smell is so acute they can literally discern everything you have eaten the entire day from a fart.

[@penand_paper5112]

Dogs can see colour but only in yellow and blue

[@Simonmallink9]

fantastic love it .. Will be using it as a training aid at our academy ...

[@gatorchomp3371]

amazing, great video!

[@ryandupuis5860]

Dogs dont see in black and white

[@melissaphillips386]

I know. I hope their smelling science was more accurate than that....

[@emilyhancock3456]

SO cool!

[@goldenhorn15]

What a wonderful video! My dogs never cease to SNORT me, when I have been away from the house. I love dogs so fking muchly :)

[@hugoscaxtiwalter0186]

Dogs can even smell microscopic things like bacterias, and they can make themselves know whether the person is ill or healthy by just sniffing them

[@youdontknowme55517]

amazing video! love it

[@GirlDreamer90210]

If only dogs could speak, they would tell us so many things

[@rootnac]

Dog noses are the best thing in the world ❤️

[@aaronzamoranos9119]

That's why I love dogs

[@gsantoscms]

What a fascinating video. As a fellow dog lover, Thank you! Something else I have always wondered is why do they lick humans so much?

[@munk47]

when i would walk my dog i would always think "are the other dogs doing okay" as she sniffed everything on our way. glad to know she can actually tell those things lol crazy.

[@kellytozarindamasceno6709]

I liked the animation, simple and cute!

[@wongenom4042]

I really want a dog :'(

[@kukithecat9730]

dogs are amazing

[@vjnikm8730]

Animation is awesome...hope u make each video like this only....and dog look so sweet...I'm definitely gonna adopte one soon...

[@marcusbarnes2756]

They can smell the past? And emotions? Haha so next time we all see a "Lost Dog" sign we now know they just escaped.

[@OscarstacyPretty]

I want my dog like this ❤

[@sumper_man]

watched this with my boi in my lap lol