Why do dogs have a cold nose than normal temperature?

According to a new study, dogs with a colder nose than normal are not accidental but because they are super sensitive heat detectors.

This feature allows dogs to detect the presence of small mammals in less than 2m distance.

We know that the dog's muzzle is a few degrees cooler than the surrounding temperature, but many researchers have previously assumed that it was just the adjustment of body temperature .

Picture 1 of Why do dogs have a cold nose than normal temperature?
The dog's nose has a lower temperature than normal because it acts like a heat sensor.

Until the latest study, European researchers found that the hairless skin around the dog's nose was about 5 degrees colder cooler when the ambient temperature was around 30 degrees Celsius. They thought this allowed it. Dog nose with many nerve endings, detecting hotter things around it.

To get the results of this study, the researchers used dogs that participated in the experiment. They will be tasked to recognize the difference between two identical objects that are radiating different heat levels.

This temperature difference is too weak for humans to feel without touching but the dogs can feel it from less than 2m away.

"All of the stimuli of radiant heat used in our experiments are too weak to be perceived by human hands, even at very short distances ," the research report said.

To further support the theory that the dog's nose functions more than just regulating body temperature, the team also measured the brain activity of 13 dogs. The investigation found that placing a warm object near the dog's nose causes increased brain response.

Lead author of the study, Anna Bálint from Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary, said: "From two additional experiments, we can conclude that dogs are really capable of sensing heat radiation emitted from kinetic energy. Use this sensory information to guide behavior that may be related to hunting capabilities and a specific area of ​​the system triggered by infrared radiation. '

The study, conducted by scientists from Sweden's Lund University and Eotvos Lorand University in Hungary, was published in Scientific Reports.

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