There’s an old adage that a dog sees the world through his nose. You might also believe he sees it through his mouth too, if you’ve ever watched him devour a bowl full of kibble or some other tasty treats he earned from you or the dog sitter. Given the enthusiasm dogs seem to expend in wolfing down their meals, you might suspect they enjoy a tasty dinner as much as when their owner salivates over a juicy steak. The question of how much does a dog enjoy his food begets the question: Do dogs have taste buds? In a word, yes.
Where and What Are Taste Buds?
Taste buds are the reason you and your dog can perceive the various flavors associated with foods, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. They are located in the little bumps (also known as taste papillae) all over your tongue. Each papilla houses three to five taste buds and each taste bud contains 10 to 50 sensory cells. This is how you can differentiate between food flavors.
There are five main classifications of taste. The first four have historically been sweet, salty, spicy and bitter. Those tastes speak for themselves. Umami, the fifth one and more commonly referred to as savory, is considered to mirror the taste of meat broth.
Despite popular belief, the tongue doesn’t have a different spot for each of the five taste categories. All five can be detected across the entire tongue, although the sides of the tongue are more sensitive to taste than the middle and the back of the tongue is more sensitive to bitter tastes.
What Are the Differences Between Dog and Human Taste Buds?
The amount of taste buds on your tongue outnumber those on your dog’s tongue by quite a margin. Humans have around 9,000 taste buds whereas dogs have only about 1,700, according to Psychology Today. Besides that, there’s another major difference between a human tongue and a dog tongue. Dogs and humans have the same responses to the five main taste categories except for salt.
Humans have a very strong reaction to salty foods, whereas dogs don’t. Salt is an important part of a balanced diet for humans and, in turn, many certainly love to put it on food. Dogs are classified as carnivores, so their main source of food (in the wild, at least) is meat. Since meat possesses high sodium levels, most dogs’ ancestors never developed salt cravings because it was a normal part of their diet.
The ability to taste serves as a critical function for dogs besides informing them that a particular food is yummy. Your dog uses taste as a way to gauge if a particular food is safe to consume or not, according to Mother Nature Network. Foods that taste good to your dog let her know it’s safe to eat. Foods that taste bad are a sign the food isn’t safe for consumption.
Your dog’s taste buds sit on the tip of his tongue, but your dog’s sense of taste isn’t as developed as a human’s. Dogs rely on the sense of smell as well as taste to ascertain information about their food, says Organic Authority. They use their far superior sense of smell — 300 million smell receptors to around five million for humans according to the American Kennel Club — to capture molecules that tell them how a food will taste. That certainly gives new meaning to whether something smells good enough to eat.
While you may no longer be asking yourself, “Do dogs have taste buds?”, you may be looking for new things to feed your dog. She may not care what she eats, but you probably care what you serve. Try 17 Tasty Dog Treat Recipes Your Pup Will Beg For to put her taste buds (and smell receptors!) to good use.
Steve Auger is freelance writer whose venture into the world of dog lovers began shortly after meeting his wife, Lauren, and her adorable puggle, Layla. He quickly learned that some of the best friends people will ever have are those that walk on four legs. Follow him on Twitter.
