We all know how hard life would be without our sense of sight. Most of what we experience and how we connect to the world comes through our eyes.
For dogs, things work a little differently. Of course, they use their eyes too, but what truly guides them is their nose.
A dog’s sense of smell is anywhere from 1,000 to 10,000 times sharper than ours. This makes it their most important way of understanding the world.
But the range is wide, meaning some dogs are far stronger sniffers than others. That was exactly what one woman from the Bay Area in California wanted to explore when she decided to test her own dog’s ability. She never imagined what would happen.
Sniffing Challenge Leads To Sweet Discovery
Ever since Alli Serrano brought home her German Shepherd mix, Max, she loved giving him little challenges. And Max always loved taking them on.
One day, Alli decided it was time to test his nose. Since Max adored his dad, who was also his second owner, she gave him the task of tracking him down using only scent.
Max didn’t waste a second. He started sniffing frantically in the elevator of their Bay Area building, tugging Alli along behind him.
At first, he stopped on one floor, but quickly realized his dad wasn’t there. He dragged Alli back into the elevator, insisting they go higher.
Inside, Max grew even more excited, barking, spinning, and sniffing like his life depended on it. When the doors opened again, he raced straight down the hall and stopped at one apartment door, begging for it to be opened.
The second the door swung wide, Max darted inside. He lunged toward a spot beneath the couch and leapt onto what was hiding there. It was his dad, and Max had found him all on his own.
Alli captured the entire test on video and later shared it on TikTok under her account, @allidventures.
“It’s amazing to see his nose in action,” she wrote in the caption of the video.
Speaking to Newsweek, she added: “He was absolutely looking for his dad who had just come home and passed by the same lobby, not long before the video was taken. I thought it was hilarious that he sniffed so intensely at some point.”
She also explained that she had worked on encouraging Max to use his nose before, which made her even prouder to see him succeed at such a fun challenge.
Reactions Pour In
Alli knew the video would grab some attention, but she never dreamed it would spread so widely.
“Social media has been mostly enthralled by his abilities,” Alli said. “People love dogs and they love seeing their personalities, and I think it was a very fortunate timing that I caught what I did.”
The comments rolled in, filled with joy and laughter.
“That’s incredible! The aggressive sniffing is so cute 😂,” one user wrote.
“that is the sweetest thing ever 🥹😭,” another added.
And, the third took a sigh of relief: “I got so much anxiety thinking that this was a retired alert dog alerting for something bad 😭”
Alli quickly responded to reassure them, ending things on a warm note: “Oh no I’m sorry, this was a happy ending though 🫶🏽.”