Study on the Viability of Canine Nose Pattern as a Unique Biometric Marker

Simple Summary

This paper shows that the canine nose pattern, which is an interlocking pattern of beads and grooves on a dog’s nose, is unique to each individual dog. For this purpose, the nose images of 60 dogs were collected at three separate times, each roughly three to four months apart. This longitudinal cohort study was designed to ensure the diversity of data, wherein dogs of diverse age, gender, and breed are well represented in the dataset. In this study, the nose patterns of these dogs were examined visually and by a biometric algorithm to determine the uniqueness of the canine nose pattern. It was found that the canine nose pattern remains invariant through the passage of time during the observation period; and that the canine nose pattern is indeed unique to each dog. Our finding confirms and enhances the claims of earlier works by others that the canine nose pattern is unique to each animal and serves as a unique biometric marker. For further study, this dataset was augmented by adding to it the nose images of 10 beagle dogs taken once every month in a ten-month period to create an enlarged dataset of 278 images of 70 dogs of 19 breeds. The study with this enlarged dataset also leads to the same conclusion.

Abstract

The uniqueness of the canine nose pattern was studied. A total of 180 nose images of 60 dogs of diverse age, gender, and breed were collected. The canine nose patterns in these images were examined visually and by a biometric algorithm. It was found that the canine nose pattern remains invariant regardless of when the image is taken; and that the canine nose pattern is indeed unique to each dog. The same study was also performed on an enlarged dataset of 278 nose images of 70 dogs of 19 breeds. The study of the enlarged dataset also leads to the same conclusion. The result of this paper confirms and enhances the claims of earlier works by others that the canine nose pattern is indeed unique to each animal and serves as a unique biometric marker.

The Formation and Invariance of Canine Nose Pattern of Beagle Dogs from Early Puppy to Young Adult Periods

Simple Summary

In this paper, we examine whether the canine nose pattern, which is an interlocking pattern of beads and grooves on a dog’s nose, is unique to each individual animal. For this purpose, the nose images of ten beagle dogs were taken every month for the ten-month period starting from month two and ending in month eleven. Six of them are siblings born of one dam and the other four of another dam. In this longitudinal study, the canine nose patterns of these ten dogs are examined visually and by a biometric algorithm to determine whether the canine nose patterns in two images of the same dog taken at different time remain the same and whether two images of different dogs are indeed different regardless of when the images are taken. It is found that the canine nose pattern of the beagle dog is fully formed at the second month after birth, that this nose pattern stays invariant, and that the canine nose pattern is indeed unique to each animal. Our finding confirms and enhances the claims of earlier works that the canine nose pattern is indeed unique to each animal, and could be used as a unique biometric marker.

Abstract

The formation and invariance of the canine nose pattern is studied. Nose images of ten beagle dogs were collected for ten months from month two to month eleven. The nose patterns in these images are examined visually and by a biometric algorithm. It is found that the canine nose pattern is fully formed at the end of the second month since birth and remains invariant until the end of the eleventh month. This study also strongly indicates that the canine nose pattern can be used as a unique biometric marker for each individual dog.