Hungry Sniffer Dogs Are More Likely to “Cry Wolf,” New Study Finds

We usually think of a dog’s nose as almost magical. And in a lot of ways, it is. But a new study found something surprisingly relatable about scent detection dogs: when they’re hungry, they’re more likely to make mistakes.

Not because they smell worse. Because they’re more willing to say “yes, that’s it!” when it isn’t.

What the study looked at

Researchers from the University of Waikato in New Zealand and Adelaide University in Australia, led by Associate Professor Tim Edwards with Dr. Jade Fountain, published their findings in September 2026 in the journal Learning and Motivation.

They worked with six community dogs over 32 weeks, using an automated system that delivered smells to the dogs one at a time. The dogs were trained to signal when they detected a target scent, a mixture of four odors, and to ignore everything else.

Sometimes the dogs did their sessions after breakfast. Other times, they worked before eating.

What they found

The dogs were very good at finding the real target either way, correctly picking it about 90% of the time whether they were fed or hungry.

The difference showed up in the mistakes. When the dogs were hungry, they made significantly more false alarms, signaling that the target was there when it actually wasn’t. After eating, they were better at saying “no” to the wrong smells, without losing any accuracy on the right ones.

Edwards summed it up this way: hunger seemed to change how likely a dog was to say a target scent was present, “rather than simply making them better or worse at smelling.”

Why this makes so much sense

When you think about it, it’s very human. When we’re starving, everything smells like food, and every snack looks like a good idea. A hungry dog who knows that signaling a scent might earn a reward may simply be more eager to guess.

The dogs’ noses weren’t the problem. Their decision-making was.

💡 Did you know? Hunger didn’t make the dogs worse at smelling. It made them quicker to say “yes.” That’s a change in decision-making, not in ability. People do it too.

Why false alarms matter

For pet dogs, a false alarm might just mean an extra treat. But detection dogs do serious work, from airport security to searching for explosives, drugs, or even medical conditions. Every false alert can mean wasted time, unnecessary searches, or people losing trust in the dog’s signals.

The researchers suggested that feeding schedules might be worth considering when dogs are working, though they stressed that every dog is different and it should be looked at case by case.

Study limits worth knowing

This was a small study with only six dogs, and they weren’t professional detection dogs. The researchers also didn’t measure hunger hormones or test each dog’s basic smelling ability. So it’s a first look, not the final word.

Just how powerful is a dog’s nose?

While I was reading about this, I went down a little rabbit hole on dog noses, and some of these facts really amazed me:

According to PBS NOVA, dogs have up to 300 million scent receptors in their noses, compared with about 6 million in ours.
The part of a dog’s brain devoted to analyzing smells is, proportionally, about 40 times larger than ours.
Dogs can move their nostrils independently, which may help them figure out which direction a smell is coming from.
Inside the nose, air splits into two paths: one for breathing and one for smelling. That’s part of why dogs can keep sniffing without losing track of a scent.
When dogs breathe out, the air leaves through little side slits in the nose, which helps pull fresh scent in at the same time.

What this means for everyday dog parents

If you do nose work or scent games with your dog at home, this study is a gentle reminder that timing matters. A very hungry dog might be extra enthusiastic, but a little less careful. A small snack beforehand might make those games more accurate, and maybe a little less frantic too.

Angel Jake Note 🐾

I love this study because it makes our dogs feel a little more like us. Even with one of the most incredible noses in the animal kingdom, a hungry dog can still get a bit overeager and jump to conclusions.

I can relate.

Sources

Medical Disclaimer

I’m not a vet, and nothing here replaces a real exam. If something about your dog feels off, please trust that feeling and call your veterinarian.