Smell vs. Taste

Not everything tastes as good as it smells.

My friend Elissa and I proved this point when we were teenagers by having her silver-gray miniature poodle named Starfi sniff an orange peel and then watched the dog try and rub the bitter taste off of her tongue with her paw after biting into the peel.

The skin of an orange smells great—the taste-- not so much.

Which is why I was dumbfounded the other day that Fozzie, my visiting goldendoodle dog-nephew, ate a small handmade violet scented bar of soap which was hidden in my daughter’s overnight bag.

Because all soap—even if it is all natural and violet infused from Nicaragua, does not taste very good.

It is something I am certain of.

And so should dogs—whose sense of taste and smell is magnified 30-fold compared to humans.

Unless of course Fozzie is part bumble bee—and can convert the aromatic violet into a sweeter than sweet comb of honey.