Copper (II) oxide (CuO) is a metal oxide suitable for developing solid state gas sensors. Nevertheless, a detailed insight into the chemical-to-electrical transduction mechanisms between gas molecules and this metal oxide is still limited. Here, individual CuO nanowires were evaluated as ammonia (NH3) and hydrogen sulphide (H2S) sensors, validating the p-type character of this semiconductor. The working principle behind their performance was qualitatively modeled and it was concluded that adsorbed oxygen at the surface plays a key role necessary to explain the experimental data. Compared to their counterparts of SnO2 nanowires, an appreciable sensitivity enhancement to NH3 for concentrations below 100 ppm was demonstrated.