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If you’ve ever walked past a restaurant or bakery with delicious smells drifting out the door, you can probably imagine how intense those aromas must be for our dogs.

For Loki, a Great Dane–Cane Corso mix, that powerful nose and towering height give him the perfect vantage point to take in the scent of dinner cooking on the stove. He minds his manners and keeps a respectful distance, but as the steam rises from the pan, so does his nose. Before long, his tongue follows along too, trying to sample every bit of flavor floating through the air.

It’s a wholesome dog moment that’s sure to leave you smiling.

Watch Loki’s hilarious attempt to “taste” the steam in this Instagram shared by @loki_the_house_pony on March 6:

It certainly looks like that steam tasted pretty good to Loki. His tongue follows the warm vapors as if he’s trying to capture every bit of smell and flavor they carry. If you’ve ever wondered how your cooking is coming along before taking a real bite, having a dog like Loki nearby might give you a pretty clear answer.

Related: Great Dane’s Calm Supervision of Tiny Siblings’ Spat Is the Epitome of Oldest Kid Energy

Viewers couldn’t get enough of the moment.

@skyelynncle wrote, “It’s like the dog version of flavored water!”

Meanwhile, @instajoykun joked, “That’s called a fine dining experience.”

And @auntbbaker added, “My dog is an air-tasting foodie too! No meal is complete until he has air-tasted every bite! lol.”

Dogs Do Have Taste Buds, But Smell Plays a Much Bigger Role

Dogs experience flavor very differently from humans. According to PetMD, dogs do have taste buds, but far fewer than people. While humans have roughly 9,000 taste buds, dogs have only about 1,700.

Instead, much of what dogs interpret as flavor actually comes from their powerful sense of smell. The scent of food plays a much larger role in how dogs experience taste, which is why aromas rising from a warm pan can be so intriguing.

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That’s likely why Loki seems so fascinated by the steam rising from dinner on the stove. Those warm vapors carry scent molecules that give him plenty of clues about what’s cooking, even before he gets a bite.

But this good boy isn’t just interested in food. In another recent clip, his squeals of excitement when mom returns home after an hour showcase his charming personality even more.

Whether he’s sampling the smell of dinner or squealing with joy when mom walks through the door, Loki clearly has a big personality to match his giant size.

This story was originally published by Parade Pets on Mar 10, 2026, where it first appeared in the Pet News section. Add Parade Pets as a Preferred Source by clicking here.