Can Dogs Smell Out Stress And Disease In Humans?

I think it’s safe to say that most of us think all of our fur babies are special, but did you know that dogs have special abilities that chump most other species within the animal kingdom? 

Not only can dogs be taught high levels of obedience and skills, but they can also be trained to use their superpowered noses to sniff out particular substances. 

So far, some of these substances include explosive compounds and illicit drugs but according to recent research, dogs may also be able to sniff out diseases and stress in humans. 

Thanks to their incredible noses which have 300 million scent receptors in comparison to humans’ measly six million, dogs can detect some odours in parts per TRILLION. 

Researchers put this to the test, measuring a dog’s ability to detect stress in a human’s breath and sweat and the results were nothing short of incredible. 

Dr Sophie Calabretto is joined by Cosmos Magazine Journalist Imma Perfetto who shares some fascinating facts about our furry friends, their unbelievable perception of both the human body and mind and how we could utilise these skills in the future. 

Tune into the full episode of this week’s The Science briefing with Dr Sophie Calbaretto below…