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We had taken somone who had never hunted before hunting and the dogs had struck off the box and we dumped them and eventually killed the hog. He asked me if the dogs would be able to smell/strike off the box again now that there was a dead hog contaminating the air in the back of the rig with the dogs . I said they can and the dogs struck off the box once more an hour later and we got another hog.
He asked me and the other guys how the dogs were able to differenciate between the still warm dead hog 2 feet away from them and the hog that they were striking that was hundreds of yard away. Nobody was really able to give a decent answer. This has really baffled me over the years. Is it as simple as hogs/game smell different enough for the dogs to tell the difference? Ive seen a dog get hosed by a skunk and then strike minutes later. My eyes were burnin and I could taste the skunk in my mouth and I was nowhere near it yet the dog was able to smell through the saturation of the skunk and find a hog. Can sombody explain or at least give their best answer to this question. The answer might be elementary but mabye I could at least give a better explanation than my hunting partners and I did last time.

I was once told that a dog could differentiate 18 smells at one time. I think this came from a border patrol agent who's pretty high up in the K9 unit program. He trains the handlers and the dogs for the border patrol.

The Lee brothers also believed that a dog could tell the difference between two different animals of the same species. They also believed the dogs could
tell if a bear was mean just by the smell of the track. They had dogs that would always be in the lead of a race. When that same dog was running in the back of the pack once in awhile they noticed the bear were always mean. Seems the dog didn't want to be the first one there.

They also caught and roped and tied a lion once. The dogs that they used were there best dogs and they rode home with this lion. After using this lion for awhile to train pups the lion broke the chain and got away. They came across a lion track and the old dogs wouldn't take it. They got the young dogs to take it then got the old dogs hissed on it. The lion wouldn't tree. One of the brothers told the other, I bet thats the lion we had tied at the house. A friend along on the hunt finally shot her when she crossed a trail. Sure enough it ended up being the same lion still wearing the collar. They figured the old dogs wouldn't run her because they had ridden so long with her and became used to her.

I don't know if this helps but dogs are alot smarter than given credit. They also have alot better nose than we could believe.

No matter the species of animal each animal has its own destinct scent! Its the same just enough to be one species but the diff genetic make up of each individual sets them up to have a slightly diff scent! Kinda like this! You have a litter of plotts but each it slightly diff but still a plott! God blessed all of us with individuality even animals! That would be the best answer i can give you!

Just like momma dog can tell her babies apart. Just a little different smell to each.

Yea I'm with you fellas I have laid track for a friend when he is training his blood hounds right through busy shopping centers they can find their mark amungst 100's of people every time so I guess its the same for all types of animals.

I think "dead" has a unique smell also. I've seen a dog run a bobcat/coon, then kill it and lay a drag with it again and they won't take it.

I think the smell a dog trails and the smell of a dead animals is different and a dog can tell. Dogs also know whats expected of them and they know once the animal is dead the game is over.

Ive had dogs sprayed by skunks and can still trail an old lion track 30 minutes later. Its beyond me how they can do it but they can

I also believe dogs can tell one animal from the another just by the track left, just as they can tell there owner from another person from just the scent left

This is one that will baffle people even after they have heard these stories. The story of the Lee's lion Simple Amy was so fantastic becasue a great deal of time had elapsed from the time she escaped till they cut her tracks again and the dogs didn't want to mess with her. But this is another part of a dogs brain that is linked to their nose and memory.

I have seen bear dogs that would run at the lead of a pack when running a small or young bear. Next strike that dog acts like he has got one leg shot off he is dead last and losing ground. Why? That old big bear is putting off some kind of scent he remembers that smells an awful lot like a big old case of whoop arse to him and he is not all that interested.

I have seen dogs that would normally throttle and kill a big old boar coon scatter and run when a mad momma coon comes down the tree and bails off into them to eat them up because she has kittens in the tree. Why? Guess different attitudes smell different. LOL!

The short answer is that all dogs have the ability to scent discriminate. Humans do not. Dogs smell every single component of every single thing.

LCK is right, dogs have the ability to scent discriminate. This is how I explain it when I teach on my police dogs abilities. I use the beef stew example. If you walk into your moms kitchen and she’s cooking beef stew you only smell the stew as a hole. If a dog walks in he has the ability to break down every spice, ingredient, and sauce in it. The can tell it has beef, potatoes, carrots and so on. Humans do not have this ability do to not enough Olfactory receptors. (ORs), are the first dedicated molecules with which odorants physically interact to arouse an olfactory sensationol in the nose. This is one of the wonderful things that dogs can do for us. This is why they are such an valuable asset to us, whether it is hunting, working, or what ever we use them for.

Well tell me this, a old time hunter told me when I was running bobcats and jumped one and really got him running, all the dogs would be going crazy and he asked me why that cat was putting off so much scent. I answered that when the cat is running, scent is falling off of him and running through brush and so on and he said is that all the scent was coming from. I said yes and he said that dogs smell the air that has went in there lungs and back out and when you get him jumped the air is coming from deeper in the lungs, which has alot more scent. Just want to see what you all think about that. That could be why your dogs trail live game better than dead game.

I believe it is a combination of everything said. Every creature as a slightly different smell, and a finished hound can smell dead. A finished hound also knows the game and when that animal is dead it is time to look for a new one and they know that.