16/03/2026
🧬Buckle up for some scenty science!🧬
Have you ever noticed your dog licking scent when they're searching? Or when they're on a walk, they might lick p*e? and then you might even see them chatter their teeth or curl their lips.
They're doing this for good reason.. the Jacobson's organ (or the vomeronasal organ)!
This organ is located in the roof of their mouth just behind their incisors, and the reaction they often have to licking scent is called the Flehmen response. This helps to efficiently fast-track odour to the organ ready for processing. When out and about, the organ will be used to obtain information from pheromones - it's like a social network! Who has been here, are they fertile, do they have puppies, are they healthy? etc.
When the dog licks a scent, they push the odour towards the organ, which helps them to process more information, including volatile compounds.
❓What are volatile compounds?
It isn't just pheromones that are processed by the Jacobson's organ. Volatile compounds are too - these are chemicals that easily evaporate into the air and form airborne molecules that can be picked up by a dog's olfactory system. These can be things like:
- Sweat
- Explosives residues
- Plant oils
- Disease
So whilst we're walking, maybe scrolling on our phone, and getting frustrated that our dogs take so long to walk and want to sniff everything, they're actually processing MASSES of information.
When we learn to channel this into scentwork, magic happens.
It's our Tracking and Mantrailing start week - keep your eyes p*eled for more science and a front-row seat to dogs and their humans learning how to turn sniffing into sorcery!
