What Dogs Really Smell: Inside the Canine Brain’s Reaction to Treats
TL;DR: A 2025 study found that dogs don’t just detect smells—they distinguish and emotionally respond to them. Real, recognisable scents were more likely to trigger strong brain activity, suggesting that smell is closely linked to memory and emotional significance. The findings support the idea that what a dog smells can carry deeper meaning, not just trigger appetite.
###
It’s no secret that dogs have an extraordinary sense of smell. But new research from a team at Bar-Ilan University in Israel shows just how deep that sense goes—beyond the nose and into parts of the brain that process emotion and instinct.
In a 2025 study published in the Journal of Biophotonics, researchers explored how dogs’ brains respond to scent using a novel technique called laser-based speckle pattern analysis, which measures brain activity non-invasively by detecting interference patterns in light reflected off the dog's head.
By shining a laser on the surface of a dog’s head and recording the tiny vibrations that occur when the brain responds to a smell, they could detect patterns of neural activity. These subtle shifts were picked up by a high-speed camera, allowing scientists to see which scents triggered the strongest reactions—and in which parts of the brain. These vibrations reflect subtle changes in blood flow linked to neural activity.
(a) The experimental setup shown on Labrador, Johny.
(b) The schematic highlights the green laser, digital camera, scent source, and computer. The brain regions tested are also marked.
This marks a major shift from earlier studies that used fMRI or EEG—methods that require dogs to stay perfectly still, sometimes under sedation, and often involve close-contact equipment. The new technique allows for real-time monitoring of how specific brain regions react to different scent stimuli. Because the process doesn’t require dogs to be restrained or specially trained, it enables testing in more natural conditions and opens the door to a wider range of subjects.
The researchers focused on three areas of the dog brain already known to play important roles in olfactory processing: the olfactory bulb (the first stop for smell), the hippocampus (involved in memory), and the amygdala (involved in emotion).
Dogs were exposed to four distinct smells—garlic, menthol, alcohol, and cannabis (chosen for their strong, distinct aromatic profiles)—at varying distances. Across all four dogs tested, the amygdala, the brain region most associated with emotion, emerged as the most consistently responsive, with the study noting that it plays a crucial role in scent differentiation. This supports earlier research showing the amygdala’s role in linking smells with emotional and behavioural responses—whether learned or instinctive.
So why does this matter?
Because it supports what many of us already believe: that smell plays an emotional role in a dog’s experience. The right scent doesn’t just trigger appetite—it taps into memory, emotion, instinct. It has meaning.
That’s why real, single-ingredient treats—made from recognisable, biologically appropriate food—matter so much. A dehydrated piece of beef heart or a crisp wild-caught prawn aren’t just “flavours” to a dog. They’re signals. They’re familiar. They resonate with a deep, evolutionary memory of real food.
Compare that to ultra-processed pet treats that use artificial flavourings and scent compounds to make them palatable to dogs. Those additives are designed to mimic the scent of real meat, but are not biologically equivalent. Artificial flavours may smell strong—but to a dog, they could be unfamiliar, meaningless, even emotionally flat.
Real, recognisable ingredients are more likely to register in the dog’s brain as meaningful—possibly triggering recognition, interest, or even learned associations. True Blue treats are made from single-ingredient, air-dried Australian meat and seafood—with nothing added. That’s not just a nutritional choice. It’s a sensory one.
This new research shows what nature already knew: for dogs, scent is all about emotion and instinct. In a world where pet food is often designed for shelf life—not sensory meaning—it’s a timely reminder: real food always matters most.