Can dogs taste? Usually when I give them a piece of meat, they swallow it straight away, basically without chewing.
Asker: Raj, 40 years old
Answer
Hi Raj,
Taste is determined by various factors: on the one hand by taste buds on your tongue (sour, sweet, bitter, salty and umami), on the other hand by the smell receptors in your nose. For example, you eat with much less taste if your nose is blocked.
A dog has fewer taste buds on his tongue than a human, but he has many more smell receptors in his nose! So a dog definitely tastes flavors. He has probably already ‘tasted’ his piece of meat (via the smell receptors in his nose) when you were only cutting it and can therefore swallow it immediately.
Answered by
Dr Lieveke Hellemans
Thomas More
http://www.thomasmore.be
.