It is rarely mentioned, but not all hunting dogs have a similar sense of smell. The main difference is between dogs with Mega olfaction and those with Tele olfaction which determine different physical characteristics and hunting techniques.
We have already focused on the evident olfactory abilities of dogs, which a thousand times more than other species, prove to have a developed and superfine sense of smell. But when it comes to hunting dogs, the speech to be made is even more particular.
In fact, it is surprising to discover that man, based on hunting needs, in relation to hunting techniques and the prey to be followed, has managed to select hounds with different skull structures and therefore different olfactory faculties, which therefore also differ in the style of hunting. From this point of view, therefore, we can distinguish between dogs with a mega olfactory or microsfron and dogs with a tele olfactory or teleosfron.
The first, the mega-smelling dogs, are that category of hounds that hunt their prey without ever lifting their noses from the ground, examining with skill and precision any traces present on the ground and left during the escape. They suck in air briefly and very frequently and you will never be able to see them with their nose in the air (at least not when they follow a trail).
This is because they are able with their olfactory ability to collect the heavy odorous particles present on the ground in large quantities, finding the right way to follow with a certain simplicity. Moreover, thanks to a particular conformation of the muzzle, this category of hounds can look ahead without necessarily having to remove the nose from the ground.
This kind of sense of smell is called microsfron or megaolfatto exactly because the hounds seem to scrutinize the odorous particles through a microscope. They will be favored or disadvantaged in their work by the weather conditions (the wind that reaches them, for example, will greatly favor them), but above all by their physical training. Even the ears, pendulous, do not characterize them by chance. These have also been selected to help smells convey towards the nose, not allowing them to mix chaotically with those that are carried by the wind for example.
The best situation that can occur for a dog with a mega-smell in search of its prey is that in which the ground is slightly warmer than the air.
The dog that is traditionally considered the leader is the Saint Hubert or Blood Hound. Suffice it to say that it proves capable of following a track even after a day from the passage of a man or animal, unlike the other hounds that lose the track after about 5 hours from the passage of the prey.
The situation is different for Teleolfatto or Teleosfron dogs. In fact, we are referring to a particular and characteristic type of sense of smell that roughly all pointing dogs have, whose olfactory capacity is almost telescopic in the sense that it proves capable of evaluating the possible presence and even position of the wild, even from large distances. . In this case, the dog is not interested in the ground crossed by the fleeing wild, but lets the wind bring him the smell he is looking for, perceiving those minimal odorous particles that gravitate around him.
The hound will naturally be characterized by particularly large nasal sinuses and with straight nasal canes or perhaps converging upwards, a characteristic that is typical of the Pointer.
Unlike the dog endowed with Mega olfactory, the Tele olfactory dog carries out rarefied inhalations of air, particularly slow and deep which will allow him to draw a number of odorous particles such as to allow him to track down the prey. Obviously the posture of the Teleolfatto dog is characterized by a head held high, which makes large movements as long as the trace is not identified.
Atmospheric variables affect this kind of hunting much more: atmospheric pressure, wind, and rain can make the dog's mission really difficult.
how come my big three year old setter looks for so much desire for the wild and too fast passes over him the woodcock depends on the nose hello and thank you