The nose of a dog is the most essential feature it has. With over 300 million receptors, they can sense just about anything from a mile away. Even with the same function, dog noses are never the same. They are of different shapes, lengths, sizes, colors etc.
Common dog breeds with long big noses include the Borzoi, Doberman, Whippets, German Shepherd, and various breeds of the hound family. These canines have a lengthy and protruding snout, open muzzle, and a strong sense of olfaction. They love to sniff out just about anything from drugs to people, birds, and many many things.
Let’s have a look at these dog breeds below.
Borzoi
Originating from Russia, the Borzoi is a hunting dog that hunts rabbits, wolves, and foxes.
Their sharp pointed snout strengthen by it’s triangular muzzle structure allows the dog’s nostrils to work at its best while hunting. After years, they grew to become aristocratic dogs in Europe.
This is because of their sleek and elegant look. Also called the Russian wolfhound it resembles the greyhound and belongs to the sight Hound family.
It weighs between 55 to 85 pounds, with a height of 27 to 33 inches. It’s now a domestic dog with a soft, thick coat, long hair, curved body, big more importantly, a pointed nose.
The dog is very independent and athletic with high respect for humans. They display high dominance and are very patient and gentle.
Dachsund
Next up is the dachshund. This is a German native dog with chocolate, brindle, or solid red coat color. Very friendly, kind, and easygoing, they are an accessory dog or lap dog.
This means they are bred to entertain their owners. Their average weight is between five to 16 pounds depending on whether its standard or miniature type. Their height is between five to nine inches.
Dachshunds are small breeds from the hunting family. They have a muscular body, short legs, and a greater sense of smell thanks to their long and flat nozzle that’s pointed downwards.
They have a silky coat that aligns well with the bright blue almond eyes and sharp-pointed noses. Also referred to as the Weiner dog, they can be quite temperamental.
Aggressive to its owner and needy for attention and affection. Nonetheless, they are very loyal to their owners.
Afghan Hound
From the hound family, the Afghan hound has one of the longest body hairs ever existed. They are very tall with a height of 28 inches and have a medium-sized body of 60 pounds on average.
Besides their adorable silky hair that’s over 24 inches in length, their nose is equally very pointy as you would see with many other sighthounds.
Similar to the Borzoi, their dark colored snout protrudes past its mouth with a high end tip. Their nose greatly contributes to their look as well as their need for speed as the hound family.
They are a family dog with a sweet and calm temperament. Excellent companions even with young children. Because of their willful character, they are quite stubborn to train taking it much longer to train them.
Bloodhound
Originally bred as a hunting dog, the bloodhound is a large scented hound best known for tracking people. They have a large skeletal structure right from its head to the legs.
They also have a very wide and elongated snout that accommodates multiple sensory controls. It’s black in color. Bloodhounds weigh between 80 to 160 pounds with an average height of 23 to 27 inches.
They have a gentle temperament, very focused and devoted, especially when it’s tracking a scent. Unfortunately, these hounds can be very difficult at obedience training. Nonetheless, they have even tempered and affectionate; a great companion for your family.
Greyhound
From the sighthound family again, the greyhound is a racing dog as well as a family dog. The English greyhound has a rather slim body with stiff legs and long face.
A narrow pointed nose that mostly helps to streamline its body during races; making it run faster than its competitors. They are medium-sized weighing only 55 to 80 pounds, and a height of 27 to 30 inches.
As interesting as the dog is, it’s very temperamental. Very aloof with strangers, the dog can get very aggressive and destructive at times.
However, they are also friendly to people they know and enjoy spending time with the family. They aren’t high maintenance as they don’t need constant endurance training or regular grooming.
Whippet
Very similar to the greyhound is the whippet. Slim, narrow-tall legs, and an arched back.
Also called the snap dog, they’re mostly bred for catching rabbits, coursing competitions, straight rag-racing, and for the novel show fancy.
They aren’t made to race fast hence, they only indulge in casual walk-ins like shows, lure coursing, and amateur racing.
They have an average weight of nine to 19 pounds and a very long lifespan of up to 14 years. They are a happy lot, enjoying outside adventures and even lazy afternoons, they are very loving with the family.
Pharaoh Hound
Originally from Malta, Pharaoh hound is one of the most ancient dogs in history.
They have big erect ears, tiny heads, and a long pointed nose perfect for its running endeavors. These rabbit eyes have a muscular body keeping it in the top to shape for its races.
Their nose size is not the only unique thing about them. Interestingly, they are born with blue eyes that turn amber or brown as they develop. Moreover, they can blush like humans, turning pink on their cheeks whenever they are happy or excited.
German Shepherd
The German Shepherd is one of the most versatile dogs just like retrievers. Long-nosed working dogs originally from Germany, have a wolf-like appearance with erect ears and a sharp dark colored nose for tracking. They weigh 50 to 88 pounds on average with a height of 24 to 26 inches.
The alsatian wolf dog is also a herding dog. They have excellent trainability, obedience, worth ethic, strength, and intelligence. This has also allowed them to be used as disability assistance dogs, search and rescue, as well as police and military service dogs.
Doberman Pinscher
The Doberman is most recognized for being the most cropped eared dog. These tough and vicious dogs however also have long noses to help them with their role as watchdogs.
This long muzzled dog has its roots in the USA, Canada, and Germany working as guardian dogs since the 1800s. They fall within the same weight and height bracket as the hounds.
As for their temperament, they are very strong and well driven. Intelligent, loving, and devoted partners to their owners. They’re one of the most tenacious and loyal dogs you will ever find.
Airedale Terrier
This is the largest terrier from the Terrier family breed. It weighs approximately 60 pounds, making it a medium-sized dog.
This king of terriers is a multi-purpose working dog. Very well known for its hard work in the ranch and farm guarding the home, controlling vermin, among many other activities.
Also referred to as waterside or Bingley terrier wide noses suitable for their hunting expeditions. As you know, back in the day, Airedales killed badgers, water rats, and otters hunted small game, and also kept track of livestock and cattle in general. The breed is very versatile with lots of stamina and active personality.
Ibizan Hound
The last hound dog on the list is the Ibizan hound. Very similar to the Pharaoh hound above, they have long noses and rather large ears.
This hound is very clean and timid, intelligent, and very obedient in training. They are excellent watchdogs that only bark when necessary.
The Ibizan hound weighs 40 to 65 pounds and has a height of 22 to 29 inches. Because of its breeding nature, they do require constant exercising as well as home training to avoid them getting permanently lost once they decide to escape.
Poodle
With descendants tracing back to Germany, the poodle is one small dog with a very long nose.
A very goofy, fun-loving, and friendly character, the poodle like many other tiny breeds are toy dogs bred for the sole purpose of entertaining their owners.
They come in three varieties, all of which have equally long noses. They are standard, miniature, and toy.
Even though they are playful, they are one of the most intelligent dogs besides the bearded collie.
It is very skillful in sports and also very eager in learning, obedience training, tracking, and circus performances. Their social temperament allows them to be just about anyone’s playmate. Very trustworthy, calm, and collected.
Dogs and Nose Size Facts
It’s a fact that a dog’s sense of smell is considerably better and more effective than that of humans.
Their tracking senses are almost fifty times an ordinary human with the ability to smell people, sense underground, sense emotions such as fear, and more common sense drugs and toxic substances.
Nonetheless, dogs with bigger, pointed, longer noses have better sense than short-nosed breeds.
While the dogs, in general, have acute smelling abilities, not all canines can track or detect drugs and explosives like gurus.
Tracking dogs like German shepherds and the bloodhound have better senses than a pug which is short-nosed. This is because they have a better more developed olfactory center than the latter.
Short shouted dog breeds have less sensory abilities because they have fewer cell receptors. They take longer to identify different scents and also find it hard to focus on one scent as would a tracking dog.
The Pekingese, pug, chihuahua, and boxer have a short nose meaning less room for specialized scent receptors in the nasal cavity.
However, it is a fact that dogs can be trained to smell. Rescue dogs are trained to follow scents. Picking on the essence and tracking it to missing persons locating, that’s their specialty.
Hunting dogs like retrievers, spaniels, and pointed are also trained to pick up on bird scents.
