Why dogs do one big sniff out when they're sniffing?

Question

You know, they sniff really shallow for some time and then they make one long big sniff out and then come back to quick short ones... But why?

Answer 1

you said it right.. dogs take in MANY quick breaths and let out a big one. The reason is simple and can be traced back to their wolf lineage. Wolves sniff various things such as trees, footprints, urine, poop, etc. They take various shallow breaths to inhale specific parts or information. Think of it this way, the first breath tells them what it is that marked the tree or left the footprint. The second on tells the sex of the animal, the third if the animal is healthy or ill, the fourth how old the scent is and so on and so on. The large breath does two things actually. If you see a dogs nose, they have slots on the side of the nostrils right, well, when a dog exhales, the air leaves the nose through those slots on the nostrils and not directly down. The reason for this is to not contaminate or move the scent they are currently smelling. So , you could say they are clearing their scent glands from information they already possess and making room for more. The second reason they do this is to push the air around them away from the scent they are smelling. I know... sounds weird. When they exhale from the slots, they push air away from the scent and in turn makes it easier for them to keep sniffing a clear and untainted scent.

Answer 2

Ahh, a question I can answer! Dogs "hold" smells in their noses. They have like a billion more smell receptors in their noses, and more of a whiff of something means better smells to them. So they sniff and sniff and sniff and sniff and hold it all in, unlike humans.
BTW, I read this in a book called "Everything Dog."

Answer 3

Usually because they have taken breaths in they need to occasionally exhale. Sniffing not only brings the air to their noses but in farther to their lungs. Simple enough... but I know some dogs to make quite a production of it all. Sometimes I think my dog is part pig for how he snorts when he puffs out. ;-P

Answer 4

they get a good report from that big sniff

Answer 5

that's what canines do. that's not unnatural for canines to smell one yet another. that's like them attending to be responsive to one yet another or some say that's dominance if that's the two men/women. it might desire to be simply by fact your canines prefer to mate. wish this helps

Answer 6

Probably to clear their sinuses of the old scent and smell the new one better. Kind of like us if we move from one perfume to another, it's best to smell a tissue in between....