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It is their natural instinct- and because of their keen sense of smell.

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Dogs are not generally carrion eaters. They are actual hunters. Unlike large cats, they locate their prey through natural scent trails left by the prey to mark their boundaries, establish trails and designate places of danger. Dogs, like many animals also use their sense of smell to set their own territory boundaries between packs. This is accomplished through leaving urine filled with hormones in the areas surrounding their hunting grounds. This prevents hostility or conflict between packs whose territories may overlap in some areas.

Animals that hunt as part of an organized pack need to be able to chemically determine members of their own pack as well as if their territory is being intruded upon. They also need to be able to follow the hormonal markers left behind by their intended prey so as to follow it. Many prey may be able to travel faster than the dog for a short distance; however, the dogs have the physical advantage of stamina. By being able to smell the scent trail left by prey, and follow it (i.e. tracking) they are able to pursue fast burst runners once the animal has gotten tired. Effectively "running it down" to the point of the prey's exhaustion.

They are also very keep to recognize signs of illness, infection and wounding or injury. Hence why some dogs can smell cancerous legions on human skin. Humans actually have a very similar ability to identify smells. However, we are not close enough to the ground on the regular basis to use it effectively. Feral children however, have show to have a scent tracking ability similar to that of wolves.

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