Dogs are famous for their incredible sense of smell. Scent is how dogs learn and experience the world. While they can see well, better than us in low light, and they have superior hearing to humans, it is their sense of smell that really sets them apart. It has been estimated that a canine's sense of smell is anywhere from 50 to 100 times better than ours. Some say its even 1,000 times better.
Scientists describe the difference by explaining that the scent cell in a human nose can cover approximately one square inch, and a dog's scent cells can cover 60 square inches. Scientists say a dog uses 40 times more of his brain analyzing smell than we do. The number of scent cells in a dog's nose depends of the size of the dog and the length of the nose. A human has approximately 5 million scent receptors. A Dachshund has 125 million, a Fox Terrier, 147 million and a Bloodhound has 300 million scent receptors.
The canine sense of smell has been extremely helpful to humans in many ways. They have been trained to sniff out drugs, guns, explosives, and people, both dead and alive. More recently, it has been determined that some dogs can be trained to detect a change in people about to experience seizures, high blood pressure, low blood sugar, migraines and even heart attacks. No one know for sure how a canine can do this but it is thought to be due to a change in body chemistry or metabolism that produces a different smell which a dog can detect.
This ability to detect changes in a person's scent prior to a seizure has allowed many people to lead a much more normal life. One owner described how her trained dog has allowed her to live independently and care for her children. Her dog can warn her approximately 30 minutes before a seizure, so she has time to take care of her kids and put herself in a safe place. The dog gets nervous and paws at his owner and leans on her. He stays with her until the seizure is over. Dogs have different ways of indicating an oncoming health problem, which the owner must learn to recognize.
Most recently, small studies have been started to test a dog's ability to detect cancer cells. At this time, testing is only being done with melanoma cancer cells, although studies are beginning on prostate cancer. One reason a dog's sense of smell is so helpful is the fact that they can smell several layers of scent chemicals.
The hope for scientists is that , one day our canine best friends will be well trained and reliable enough to provide screening for common health problems among large populations, especially in third world countries where medical resources are very limited.
It is no wonder dogs continue to prove themselves as man's best friend.
Read more: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/The-Amazing-Canine-Nose/790967#ixzz1AI1pOGAo
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A MIRACLE!
Henna was 2 years old when she was admitted to the hospital with a traumatic brain injury. She had been thrown against a concrete wall by her biological father for crying too long. She had two depressed skull fractures, old blood on the brain from previous abuse, a lacerated liver, collapsed lung, suspected sexual abuse, and shaken baby syndrome. Henna coded while on the way to the hospital via helicopter and was brought back to life only to go into surgery to relieve pressure on her brain. She was not expected to live through the night. Henna was in a coma for one month hanging on to life. Then the miracle happened! Henna woke up and was able to move all her limbs and speak, shocking all of the medical professionals. We took Henna into our home and shortly after her arrival she started having seizures.
Henna's journey continues as we try to control her seizures. She received the Vagus Nerve Stimulator (VNS) on Feb. 4, 2011 at Children's Hospital in Washington, DC. The VNS will send an electrical impulse to Henna's brain every 3 minutes for 30 seconds to interrupt her seizures. Over two months we have increased the electrical current and we have seen no change in her seizure activity. It looks as though Henna is in the third of children who receive a VNS that sees no relief from the VNS. We are very disappointed! We have started her on a new medication in addition to her current medications. Maybe it will help.
Henna's journey continues as we try to control her seizures. She received the Vagus Nerve Stimulator (VNS) on Feb. 4, 2011 at Children's Hospital in Washington, DC. The VNS will send an electrical impulse to Henna's brain every 3 minutes for 30 seconds to interrupt her seizures. Over two months we have increased the electrical current and we have seen no change in her seizure activity. It looks as though Henna is in the third of children who receive a VNS that sees no relief from the VNS. We are very disappointed! We have started her on a new medication in addition to her current medications. Maybe it will help.
On August 6th, 2012, Henna had a full corpus callosotomy. This surgery is for people who have generalized seizures with no focal point. The corpus callosum is a band of nerve fibers located deep in the brain that connects the two halves (hemispheres) of the brain. It helps the hemispheres share information, but it also contributes to the spread of seizure impulses from one side of the brain to the other. A corpus callosotomy is an operation that severs (cuts) the corpus callosum, interrupting the spread of seizures from hemisphere to hemisphere. Seizures generally do not completely stop after this procedure (they continue on the side of the brain in which they originate). However, the seizures usually become less severe, as they cannot spread to the opposite side of the brain.
Henna received a white Labradoodle, Leo, from 4 Paws for Ability in Oct. 2010. We sent 4 Paws 2 shirts a week to help train her dog. One shirt was when Henna had a seizure and they used it for her dog to smell the chemical change during her seizure. The other shirt was when Henna had NOT had a seizure. This helped her dog differentiate between the two scents. It's a fascinating process. We trained for 10 day in Ohio with Leo and a trainer before bringing Leo home.
Leo had been going to school with Henna but started to bark and growl at different people when they came into her classroom. We worked with Leo's barking and growling when people would knock on the door and for a while he seemed better. He is very protective at home also. He then barked and growled at some boys who came into Henna's classroom and had to be removed from school. The trainer at 4 Paws said that some dogs bond so closely with their child that they become protective. Leo took on Henna's classroom as another home and felt he had to protect her. Sadly, because of his aggressive behavior, Leo can no longer be a service dog. The trainer said Leo would behave lthat way with any child he bonded to. Just his nature. We will keep Leo as a pet. Leo LOVES being just a pet. He still alerts to Henna's seizures and lives to get his hot dog reward!
Henna now has Snoball, a beautiful Golden Retriever. Snoball was born June 3, 2011. She is so sweet and a bundle of energy! Sno is doing an excellent job alerting to Henna's seizures BEFORE she has them! She is alerting up to one hour before Henna has a seizure. Sno goes to school with Henna and proudly wears her school ID badge. Snoball will be a great seizure alert dog and will serve Henna well.
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