Every hike in the woods promises new discovery and reward. However, the average wilderness trek becomes even more of an adventure when you enlist the help of a capable guide.

Enter, the family dog.

Husky or half-pint, lap dog or Labrador, your dog was born a highly skilled wilderness guide. Employing his or her acute sense of smell, hearing, and vision, your dog can point you to countless signs of life on the trail. Animal tracks, a pile of scat, nibbled leaves-"scent-sational" details that you alone might overlook-tell your dog a lot about the wildlife around you. Look sharp, and your four-legged trail guide will point the way to a richer, more satisfying trail experience.

How Our Scents Abilities Compare

Inside every nose, moist skin is populated with nerve endings that detect scent molecules in the air. Obviously, the difference between your nose and your dog's is big. More nose (snout included) equals more nerves.

Now consider that a dog's nose is not just lined with this skin tissue, it's stuffed with it! Fold after sticky fold of sensitive, nerve-packed tissue collects, traps, and processes a world of information.

Genetics dictate the number of scent receptors in a dog's nose. Not all big-nosed breeds are equally super sniffers, nor is every bloodhound, for that matter. Yet, compared to the paltry 5 million scent receptors in a human nose, even the flattest of canine noses smells extraordinary: dogs possess as many as 125 -225 million scent receptors per nose!

Even the outside of your dog's nose is designed for super sniffing. The wet, dimpled surface is ideal for collecting scent molecules from the air. The slits in the side of a dog's nose, called the 'nares,' channel exhaled air in a way that swirls even more scent molecules back in with the next sniff.

Look At That Smell

Of course, your dog won't be able to share all of this carefully mined data with you directly. It's up to you to use your own powers of observation to fill in the details of each wild tale yourself. When your dog's nose kicks into overdrive, or becomes riveted to a certain spot, take time to investigate.

One of your first discoveries is likely to be a pile of poo, or scat.* A quick look may reveal not only what type of animal, but what he had for dinner, as well. Carnivores such as coyotes and wolves leave a pile similar to that of your dog. Do you see bits of embedded fur and bone, or berries? You may be able to see what was on last night's menu. Small pellets of poop may mean that vegetarians such as rabbits or deer frequent this particular dining spot.

Other smells "to look for" include trampled grasses, an overturned log, damaged tree bark, broken branches, nesting sites, shed fur, or leftovers from a predator's meal.

Follow that nose, and your next hike can become more than just a walk in the woods!

* For your dog's well-being, never allow him/her to linger over such clues in the forest, since bacteria and disease can be transmitted to the dog with a taste for poop, or even those who simply breathe in infected particles.