By Minou Tpain

Tongue

Author: Denise Partlow

Instagram: @modernk9 Carolinas

A dog’s sense of taste is one of the earlier senses to develop even before other senses like hearing and vision.

If you look at your dog’s tongue, you’ll see lots of small bumps called papillae, each containing clusters of taste buds. They have about 1,700 taste buds, about 1/5 less than humans (we have about 9,000).

Even though they have less taste buds than us, they do have the same four taste classifications; sweet, sour, salty and bitter.

Salty and sweet taste buds are found on the front of the tongue while bitter and sour are towards the back. Dogs also have taste buds in the back of their throat!! I suppose this helps them to taste the food they love to inhale without chewing.

What is MOST fascinating though is that dogs have a special taste bud for something that we humans identify as TASTELESS. Do you know what it is?

WATER!

These taste buds are located at the tip of the tongue-right where dogs typically lap up water.

One of the most important things to know about a dog’s ability to taste is their sense of smell (as we know is their strongest sense) is intimately related to their sense of taste. What this means is that dogs can actually taste food through their sense of smell!

That’s why many dogs will sniff the food when you present them with something new because to the dog, if it smells good, it’s going to taste good!

During reactivity training, I tell my clients that in the beginning we may need a treat that is super stinky like bacon or hotdogs. This can be helpful because a dog’s digestive system can become activated by sniffing first- if the food has a strong enough aroma, it is more likely to entice the dog to follow along!

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