Dog sense of taste

Dogs have taste buds on the papillae of the tongue, but also on the palate and at the entrance of the esophagus. Overall, the domestic dog has more than 1,700 of these taste buds (man has 9000).  In order to be able to perceive taste, molecules have to be resolved in the saliva, which is why dogs have about four pairs of salivary glands.

There are two types of saliva – a more watery, which is responsible for the vegetable food, and a rather slimy one, which are molecules of the meat-eating triggers.  Dogs respond to the same substances as the man (sweet, sour, bitter and salty), but they speak less of the salty food.

In addition, they can, because of specific receptors which are situated mainly on the tongue tip, carry meat and a water taste.  In general, dogs reject sour and bitter, they also prefer meat to vegetables (in particular) beef and pork.

The different regions of the taste perception on the tongue are arranged somewhat differently than in humans. Thus, the lateral part of the tongue senses sweet, salty and acidic foods, while the rear part of the tongue responds to bitter tastes. The receptors which show meaty foods are distributed all over the tongue, however, frequently come before the first trimester.