Dogs have been used by police, army, and narcotics detection squads for their ability to smell and detect. The most common dog breeds used by them are German Shepherd, Belgian Malinois, Labrador Retrievers, Bloodhound & Dutch Shepherd.
As per pet experts, dogs have more smell receptors than us humans and other animals. A receptor allows recognizing each smell particle. Apart from the smell receptors, the design of their nose allows them to move air efficiently for smelling purposes. In simple terms, you can say that the design of their nose makes them a better sniffer.
So, the question you were asking was
How far can dogs smell?
The distance a dog can smell can depend on a lot of factors such as wind, temperature, scent type, time spent, etc. Although if all the conditions are in the dog’s favor they can smell a person or object up to 20kms or 12.42 miles.
This great ability to smell is also found in other animals such as Bears, African elephants, Sharks, etc.
Are all dogs great sniffers?
No, all dogs don’t have the ability to smell their owners or other people from a distance. It is just like people that some have stronger noses and some don’t.
How Long Can a Dog Pick Up a Scent?
There are many sources that say that dogs can track a scent up to 5 days old. However, it is best if a dog is given the opportunity to track a scent in the first 24 hours. After this much time, it might get lost with other scents and mislead the dog. The dog sniffers employed by police at airports are specially trained for this so they get better at tracking scents.
Can dogs know about their owner’s arrival based on their scent?
Most dogs recognize their owner’s scent however they might always come rushing to the door when you come home. The reason being they are sometimes lazy, playing, or just not in the mood to use their sniffing skills.