5 Diseases That Dogs Can Smell on You
Dogs’ sense of smell far outstrips our very human nasal capacities, that much is general knowledge. Just how much of a stinky world that opens up is interesting, though. I’ll say that when I think about a dog’s advanced sense of smell, I just assume that means they can smell chicken from farther away, or smell strawberries more or whatever. I think of it as the same olfactory music we’re hearing, just at a louder volume.
But in reality, it’s more like they’re listening on a hi-fi while we’re using $10 CVS earbuds, and there are whole instruments we don’t even know are playing. Some of these smells are probably best left unsniffed; some of them, though, would be highly useful to be able to pick up. For example, there’s multiple medical maladies that have a trademark scent.
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Here are five medical conditions that dogs seem able to smell…
Cancer
Given that cancer is basically the big bad as far as human health goes, and how helpful early treatment is, dogs might be able to up their “man’s best friend” reputation even higher. It’s scientifically accepted that dogs do have the capability to smell cancer in people and in medical samples. They've earned that recognition through studies, and were rewarded, I assume, a copious amount of treats for a task they probably won’t ever understand.
Which might be part of the reason that it’s hard to put the knowledge to use: Without immediate positive reinforcement, an impossibility when the cancer isn’t already known, or any idea of the stakes at play, the dogs just get bored.
Parkinson’ s
Cancer might be a more widespread enemy, but the kind of fate that Parkinson’s disease thrusts on victims is arguably more horrific. Cancer at least has the good grace to leave most patient’s mental faculties intact. Parkinson’s is also a disease that’s famously hard to diagnose. That said, recent studies show that dogs might just be able to beat classical medicine to the punch when it comes to detecting it.
Of course, even if the studies bear out the best possible results, we’re still dealing with some pretty heavy baggage, given that Parkinson’s is incurable. At best then, we’re just turning certain dogs into actual Black Shuck-style omens of death, which isn’t too cuddly.
Diabetes
To pull ourselves out of the pit of despair I just created (sorry!), let’s look at a side of medical dog smell that’s genuinely saving lives. Dogs are well aware of spikes or dips in their owner’s blood sugar, no blood drops required. They can smell differences in our breath and sweat, like an apparent fruity and sweet aroma created by high blood sugar.
Thanks to this, diabetic alert dogs can call out possible blood sugar episodes before they occur.
Migraines
I hope they have those little barrels on their collars like St. Bernards do, except it’s filled with liquid Excedrin.
Narcolepsy
Beyond migraines, another smell I’d be very curious to get a whiff of is the apparent scent of an oncoming episode for narcoleptics. I’m imagining some sort of lavender-chamomile bouquet, like a sleep potion was just released in the room. I’m sure that’s wrong, but until a dog tells me otherwise, I choose to believe it.
Narcolepsy service dogs are a real-life, existing thing, and they serve their purpose by notifying their owner that they’re about to suddenly fall asleep, so that they can lie down. Which I understand isn’t funny. But also, is just the LITTLEST bit funny. Just imagine a dog feverishly barking at a chaise lounge and tell me I’m wrong.
