I noticed something strange yesterday as I was bringing a balloon of Nitrous Oxide into the house. My dog appeared to be terrified of the balloon, almost like she knew something was up or "not right" about it.. she's never acted this way before. I would try to pet her and she would keep running away and acting strange while a staring wide-eyed at the balloon. Maybe the gas produces a certain frequency of sound in a balloon that dogs can detect? It was very strange.
Dogs sense to Nitrous Oxide?
- Thread starter TwitchE
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homme
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Dogs have an extremely well refined sense of smelling. Compared to a dog, we are blind with our noses - we can't do anything really with our noses ("well that flower? smells like a flower. A little sweet maybe. Well that different flower? It smells like a flower, too. A little less sweet. Maybe").
Something interesting to keep in mind when interacting with a dog: This really is the main difference between your perception and the dog's perception: You don't smell. Imagine for a minute, what it means for a dog to walk through a city street - just how many smells there are from one step to the next.
I can imagine a dog will be able to smell the tiny amount of gas leaking from the balloon that you try to close with your fingers. I can imagine he will recognize that the balloon might have a high concentration of this very unusual gas. etc.
After you inhale and exhale the n2o, all of the gas is still there for the dog to smell...
Something interesting to keep in mind when interacting with a dog: This really is the main difference between your perception and the dog's perception: You don't smell. Imagine for a minute, what it means for a dog to walk through a city street - just how many smells there are from one step to the next.
I can imagine a dog will be able to smell the tiny amount of gas leaking from the balloon that you try to close with your fingers. I can imagine he will recognize that the balloon might have a high concentration of this very unusual gas. etc.
After you inhale and exhale the n2o, all of the gas is still there for the dog to smell...
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CrypticArc
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My dog does the same thing around any balloons. Even ones which were simply blown up. I'm almost completely sure that it's some sort of "whistling" frequency that they can't stand. When air is let in or out of a small hole, even if the hole is too big for you or I to hear, it still creates a whistling noise due to the airflow. Dogs react to it because it probably hurts their ears. You can achieve a similar effect by blowing air into an empty bowl or bong.
Have you considered the possibility that the dog just doesn't want to be startled by a loud pop if the balloon breaks, and the anticipation creates this anxiety?
Have you considered the possibility that the dog just doesn't want to be startled by a loud pop if the balloon breaks, and the anticipation creates this anxiety?
That's true, too. But I'm fairly sure I had it wrapped around my finger in a way that no air could escape. I could be wrong, though.
Actually, I just blew it up and walked in there and she ran away. She didn't have that same look on her face, though when I brought in the Nitrous.
Then again, maybe I was just tripping. I was rolling on MDMA, too. Maybe she could tell I was fucked off, or I was just feeling a little extra empathetic.
Must be my imagination. :]
Actually, I just blew it up and walked in there and she ran away. She didn't have that same look on her face, though when I brought in the Nitrous.
Then again, maybe I was just tripping. I was rolling on MDMA, too. Maybe she could tell I was fucked off, or I was just feeling a little extra empathetic.
Must be my imagination. :]
Solipsis
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Balloons are not that air-tight...
for our purposes and for 1-2 days they keep, but they deflate even if you tie them well... The rubbery stuff is just a little porous.
So yeah I'd bet that your dog smelled it and couldn't make anything of it and semi-panicked a bit? Well thats my conclusion if normal balloons don't faze him.
Plastic baggies are not air- or smell tight either as people with super dank weed have probably experienced. A lesson: what looks to our eyes or on a short time-scale as solid, doesn't have to be at a microscopic / (sub)nano level and then it's a matter of pore size and time.
You need some seriously thick or different material to truly keep air out of a flexible material. Bags for crisps / potato chips with the foil - those are pretty good I guess?
The vacuum sealing material as well (LDPE vs HDPE perhaps but also thickness).
for our purposes and for 1-2 days they keep, but they deflate even if you tie them well... The rubbery stuff is just a little porous.
So yeah I'd bet that your dog smelled it and couldn't make anything of it and semi-panicked a bit? Well thats my conclusion if normal balloons don't faze him.
Plastic baggies are not air- or smell tight either as people with super dank weed have probably experienced. A lesson: what looks to our eyes or on a short time-scale as solid, doesn't have to be at a microscopic / (sub)nano level and then it's a matter of pore size and time.
You need some seriously thick or different material to truly keep air out of a flexible material. Bags for crisps / potato chips with the foil - those are pretty good I guess?
The vacuum sealing material as well (LDPE vs HDPE perhaps but also thickness).