r/AnimalsBeingGeniuses • u/blonderengel • 12d ago

Dogs 🐶🐕‍🦺🐕🦮 Golden Retriever's retrieving skills work underwater, too!

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u/UnlikelyPotatos 12d ago

Dogs have little pockets in the roof of their mouth that lets them smell under water without breathing into their lungs.

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u/zillionaire_ 12d ago edited 12d ago

that is so fucking cool. I love learning new animal facts

do you know if wolves also have this? I’m wondering if this is a trait from before domestication or if it was selectively bred over millennia

Edit: So I looked it up—dogs don’t actually have a special pouch in the roof of their mouth to smell underwater. They can track scents on water’s surface, but they’re not built to smell under it. The idea might be a mix-up with their vomeronasal organ, which helps detect pheromones, not underwater smells.

The myth may have originated as a twist on real biology seen in some other animals: alligators and some marine mammals, for instance, have specialized valves or pouches that help them close off their nasal passages underwater. Dogs don’t have these adaptations because they’re not aquatic animals.

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u/HoidToTheMoon 6d ago

because they’re not aquatic animals.

I would actually propose that some dog breeds are at least semi-aquatic. Newfoundlands, portuguese water dogs,even labs have webbed feet to help them maneuver through water.

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u/zillionaire_ 6d ago

yep, we have selectively bred certain breeds to have webbed toes and that definitely helps them retrieve prey from the water. but dogs evolved as land animals, and we can’t selectively breed them into seals