Evidence dogs 'see' with their sense of smell

Comforting scientific research for those with a dog with an incurable eye disease ​New Links Found Between Dogs' Smell and Vision

'Researchers have provided the first documentation that dogs' sense of smell is integrated with their vision and other unique parts of the brain, shedding new light on how dogs experience and navigate the world.'

Researcher Dr. Johnson explained about seeing with their noses, in an interview about her article:

"We've never seen this connection between the nose and the occipital lobe, functionally the visual cortex in dogs, in any species. When we walk into a room, we primarily use our vision to work out where the door is, who's in the room, where the table is.  Whereas in dogs, this study shows that olfaction is really integrated with vision in terms of how they learn about their environment and orient themselves in it. They can still play fetch and navigate their surroundings much better than humans with the same condition. Knowing there's that information freeway going between those two areas could be hugely comforting to owners of dogs with incurable eye diseases. Veterinarians have long wondered how dogs with complete blindness have navigated so well in their environment, even in foreign and new environments. The olfactory connection we identified gives us an answer to this, and shows that they are less dependent on their eyes alone and likely use olfactory information to help navigate their world." 

---