It’s hardly news that dogs have an excellent sense of smell and can track scents in ways that astonish us olfactory-impaired-by-comparison humans. Despite the large number of studies and anecdotes related to how well dogs’ noses work, there is not much work on what dogs understand about what their noses detect. A recent study explored this question.
In “A ball is not a Kong: Odor representation and search behavior in domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) of different education”, the researchers conclude that when dogs are tracking familiar scents, they form a mental representation of what they are looking for. That is, they have expectations of the future because they anticipate finding something in particular based on the scent they are tracking.
via Whisker Therapy