I would probably get all kinds of diseases if I sniffed every bare asshole from every mammal I meet, humans included. I’d definitely get sick if I sniffed a dozen random turds a day. But dogs can do it without any apparent issues. Not only that, but they can do it across different species of animal, too.
What dark arts are afoot within the beak of the dog?
It’s more impressive that dogs can just drink out of rivers, lakes, puddles etc and not get sick
My dog has no concept for stale water. He’ll drink the muddiest water possible. Deal is, he’s got terrible gut health.
It’s weird because they have more taste buds than humans and are supposedly better at tasting water
No they don’t? A human has ~9000 taste buds on average while dogs have ~1600ish.
Their noses are way more sensitive than ours but we have way more taste buds than dogs do.
Dogs have specialized taste buds on the tip of their tongue specifically designed to taste water, a feature not found in humans
Tastes more interesting when it’s muddy and gross
Thier dog brains get in the way of thier taste buds.
Ours is constantly trying to find and eat literal shit.
Their concept of a bad taste is very different from ours.
That might be repaired to their higher body temperature. We intentionally get a fever to kill viruses. They’re already at a higher temperature.
They still get sick, just like people will, maybe a bit less so
Dogs stomach acid is a lower ph than humans (stronger acid) which helps reduce the chances of bacteria, viruses, and parasites from getting into their systems.
Dogs also do absolutely get sick from drinking contaminated water, usually specific parasites. If you have a dog that spends a lot of time in wilderness areas, there’s a lot of vaccinations you can give them to reduce the types of problems they’ll get.
You should still try your best to let them only drink clean water, but with enough precautions, dog’s bodies can handle much more contamination that human bodies can.