Studies show that your pup is more in tune with your physical and emotional well-being than you might think. If you’re sad, stressed or in danger, your furry friend can sense it. And, according to a growing body of research, that’s not all they can sense. In a recent study, researchers found that dogs are capable of identifying lung cancer by scent.
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In a double-blind study published in the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, researchers studied three beagles — specifically chosen for their superior olfactory receptor genes, aka their amazing sniffers. After eight weeks of training, the beagles were able to distinguish between blood serum samples taken from patients with malignant lung cancer versus healthy controls with astounding accuracy — 97% accuracy to be exact.
The dogs were led into a room with the blood serum samples at nose level. After a thorough sniff, the beagles sat to indicate a positive finding for cancer. If cancer wasn’t detected, the dogs moved on.
The lead author of the study was Dr. Thomas Quinn, professor at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. He explained, “We’re using the dogs to sort through the layers of scent until we identify the tell-tale biomarkers. There is still a great deal of work ahead, but we’re making progress.”
Quinn and his team are also working with dogs to identify breast and colorectal cancer using samples of patients’ breath. The goal of the research is to develop an over-the-counter screening product that a person can breathe into and see a color change to indicate a positive or negative cancer finding.
While cancer may be at the top of the list when it comes to the impressive things dogs can sense, there are plenty of other things Fido’s nose can be put to good use for. Thanks to their superior sense of smell, dogs make excellent partners for human search and rescue teams, as well as law enforcement. Dogs can be trained to locate disaster survivors, dead bodies, narcotics, undetonated bombs, people who’ve gone missing and more. Taking this into consideration, it’s no doubt that a dog’s nose is one of the most powerful olfactory ‘devices’ in the world.