Properly trained dogs are able to detect COVID-19 in human saliva, according to a new study released Thursday.

German researchers trained eight dogs from Germany’s Armed Forces for one week by having them sniff the saliva of more than 1,000 people that were either healthy or infected with the virus.

The dogs were able to detect 94 percent of infected samples, according to the research published in BMC Infectious Diseases by the University Veterinary Medicine Hannover.

The study was conducted to help address the lack of quick and reliable testing for COVID-19. 

"We think this works because metabolic processes in the body of a diseased patient is completely changed, and we think that the dogs are able to detect a specific smell of the metabolic changes that occur in those patients," Professor Dr. Maren Von Köckritz-Blickwede said in a YouTube video on the study Thursday.

Dogs’ potential within the medical field is huge – many have been trained to detect a dozen human diseases, including malaria, cancer, tuberculosis and diabetes.

"We know for a very long time that dogs have been used in a lot of walks of life, but for medical detection, it's a novel at the end of the day," Volk said. "People have not really realized the potential a dog could have to detect diseased from non-diseased patients."

• 103-year-old Pakistani Man Survives COVID-19
• Researchers: Homemade Face Masks Need Multiple Layers