Presentation Details
| Effects of exercise and physiological parameters on odor detection performance Liza Rothkoff1, Edgar O.Aviles-Rosa1, Jörg Schultz2, Michele N.Maughan3, Eric Best4, Nathaniel J.Hall1. 1Department of Animal and Food Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, USA.2Tier Wohl Team GbR, Rödelsee Germany.3Precise Systems Inc., Lexington Park, Maryland, USA.4Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, University at Albany, Albany, New York, USA |
Abstract
It is widely assumed that prolonged or intense exertion while working reduces a detection dog’s ability to detect odors—but the physiological drivers behind this decline have remained uncertain. To investigate this, we used a controlled setup in which dogs performed a go/no-go odor detection task on an olfacto-treadmill. In Experiment 1, dogs exercised at a constant pace—either walking or trotting for 33 minutes. Olfactory performance remained stable while walking but declined sharply after 21 minutes at a trot. Gastrointestinal temperature change was a strong predictor under these conditions. To test whether this effect was causal, Experiment 2 introduced a mid-session switch in pace. Performance declined during a trot and remained low even after switching to a walk. Dogs switching from walking to trotting showed the steepest performance drop. In this design, exercise intensity and duration—not gastrointestinal temperature—were the strongest predictors of olfactory sensitivity. These findings provide evidence that olfactory performance declines with physical exertion and reveal that the primary drivers of the decline are intensity and duration of activity.
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.
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