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Updated: Dec 27, 2025
07:12
Assessment of Sensory Thresholds in Dogs Using Mechanical and Hot Thermal Quantitative Sensory Testing
Published on: October 26, 2021
2.6K
Dogs can sense weak thermal radiation.
Anna Bálint1,2,3, Attila Andics4,5, Márta Gácsi6,4
1Lund University, Department of Biology, Mammalian Rhinarium Group, Sölvegatan 35, 22362, Lund, Sweden. nani.balint@gmail.com.
Scientific Reports
|March 1, 2020
Summary
Dogs can sense radiating heat through their cold noses, a previously unknown sensory ability in carnivores. This discovery opens new avenues for understanding canine sensory perception.
Area of Science:
- Zoology
- Animal Sensory Perception
- Neuroscience
Background:
- The dog rhinarium, the naked skin on a dog's nose, is richly innervated, suggesting a sensory role.
- Carnivoran rhinaria are notably colder than those of herbivores, hinting at a unique thermal sensitivity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the hypothesis that the cold dog rhinarium is sensitive to radiating heat.
- To explore a potential novel sensory modality in canids.
Main Methods:
- Behavioral experiments trained dogs to differentiate objects based on radiating heat.
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to observe brain activity in dogs exposed to thermal stimuli.
Main Results:
- Dogs demonstrated an ability to distinguish between objects based on radiating heat.
- fMRI revealed increased neural activity in the left somatosensory association cortex in response to warm stimuli.
Conclusions:
- The dog rhinarium possesses a previously unrecognized sensory function for detecting radiating heat.
- This finding expands our understanding of sensory modalities in carnivoran species.
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