Best! Question! Ever! Some dogs clearly react to their own farts, by acting surprised or by moving away. Perhaps surprisingly, scientists take canine flatulence seriously. Twenty years ago, researchers at the WALTHAM Petcare Science Institute designed a dog jacket that can be used to harvest rectal gases, and subsequently determined that the main malodorous component is hydrogen sulphide. Dedicated to the core, they went on to show that the dog olfactory system contains hydrogen sulphide-responsive cells. This proved, at the molecular level, that dogs have the capacity to detect their own farts. HP

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