Can Blind Dogs ‘See’ Using Their Sensitive Noses? It Looks That Way

Vets have described blind dogs as acting normally when playing fetch, or not bumping into things in the home. Now a study seems to prove that they can actually ‘see’ with their noses as an addition to their already sharp senses. Read on to find out more about this fascinating study and how our four-legged friends can get around the problem.

Study of blind dogs run at Cornell University in New York

According to NBC News, Dr. Philippa Johnson, part of a team of vets that ran a study at Cornell University in New York. She says they discovered that vision and smell are connected in dogs’ brains, something not found in other species so far.

The vets conducted MRI scans on several different dogs. Through this, they successfully mapped the olfactory bulb (area of dogs’ brains that deal with smell) to the occipital lobe (or visual processing area of the brain). The results shed new light on how dogs experience and navigate their world.

Published in the Journal of Neuroscience, the study revealed an “extensive pathway” that connects to the occipital lobe, but also to the limbic system. The latter is the part of the dog’s brain that deals with behavioral and emotional responses.

How dogs interpret their surroundings

According to Dr. Johnson, when humans enter a room, they primarily use their sense of vision to establish who is there and the layout of the furniture. However, dogs appear to integrate scent to interpret their surroundings and how they are orientated in them.

She said that one of the ophthalmologists at the hospital explained that he regularly sees owners with their dogs. He told her that when he tests their eyesight, the dogs are completely blind, but their owners won’t believe this. He added:

The blind dogs act completely normally. They can play fetch. They can orientate around their environment, and they don’t bump into things.

Knowing there’s that information freeway going between those two areas, could be hugely comforting to owners of dogs with incurable eye diseases.

Dr. Johnson, assistant professor of clinical sciences at Cornell is the senior author of the report. He said they had previously never seen the connection between the dogs’ nose and the occipital lobe, which is functionally the visual cortex in dogs and other species.

Meanwhile, the study also showed connections where a dog’s brain processes memory and emotion. In fact, this is similar to those in humans.

The video included here shows one blind dog named Arnold getting so excited after finding a random ball in the park.

Meanwhile, a TikTok video shows a blind husky looking for his owner and expressing sheer pleasure at finding them.

Keep visiting Dogs and Barks for more news and fun information about our four-legged friends.