Summary
A dog's nose is thousands of times more sensitive than ours, letting it 'picture' the world in smells. Alexandra Horowitz explains how a dog's nose is built to sort scents, sniff in stereo, and read stories in the air that we can't detect.
Viewer safety
Ages 7+
TED-Ed lessons move quickly and use rich vocabulary — best for grades 5–6 (some grade 4 with support). No content concerns; preview once for pace.
Our rating is a quick teacher-to-teacher guide — preview before showing.
Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Discussion
Dogs experience the world mostly through smell — this lesson shows how.
- How is a dog's sense of smell different from a human's?
- What kinds of information can a dog get just by sniffing?
- How do animals use their senses to understand their surroundings?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: scent, nostril, sense, receptor.
Try it: List three things a dog might learn about you just by smelling. How would a person learn them?