Submitted by MrCSKing t3_ybwv84 in askscience
I would imagine you would take the scent in a lot better on one big inhale through the nose.
Comments
talkingprawn t1_itjx3js wrote
No with scent you need lots of movement of the particles over the nasal cavity for the receptors to catch them. Short sniffs do that. A long breath doesn’t as much — and if what you’re smelling ends up being bad, you just breathed the bad thing all the way to the bottom of your lungs.
marouane53 t1_itjxmzv wrote
Dogs have an olfactory system that is far more complex and sensitive than that of humans. They have up to 300 million olfactory receptors in their noses, compared to our mere 6 million, and their brains are able to process smells 40 times faster than ours can. When they take a series of short sniffs, they are effectively taking a "sniffing snapshot" of the air around them and sorting through all the different smells they are taking in. This allows them to identify a particular scent more quickly and accurately.
One-Plane7101 t1_iu5bgl1 wrote
It’s because breathing in deep takes all those particles in the air and sends them into your lungs. They won’t do much good there. Breathing in and out rapidly means olfactory has more contact with the air and is more likely to pick up a scent
[deleted] t1_itjwbtq wrote
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