In fact, a short 10- to 15-minute “sniff” walk can be very enjoyable for your dog. Even on longer walks you can alternate periods of controlled walking at a heel with periods where the dog can explore and sniff the environment.
Sniffing is hugely beneficial for dogs and essential for their wellbeing. It's stimulating too - experts tell us just 20 minutes of sniffing is equivalent to an hour's walk in terms of enrichment for your dog. 'As humans, we are very visual, but for dogs smells are everything,' said Tug-E-Nuff Play Expert, Chelsea.
Even though a sniffing session is slower than the average dog walk, it's about quality, not quantity. Dogs sniffing is a great form of canine mental stimulation, and it increases their respiration rate, so it's a tiring activity.
Sniffing Can Make Your Dog Feel More Tired
This means a shorter sniffy walk can tire them out and they will generally be more relaxed and less likely to exhibit destructive or mischievous behavior when at home.
A dog sniffing a lot isn't actually a bad thing. It's a GOOD thing! Dogs sniff for a wide variety of reasons, but it is primarily to gather information. Dogs have a much better and more refined sense of smell than us mere humans.
"Rather than pulling the dog along, allow your pet to move at a more comfortable pace. If they stop to sniff, let them sniff! Or, if they have an interest in investigating a given area, let them do so," Becker says.
Sniffing is how dogs learn about the world.
Dogs evolved to use their sense of smell to survive - to find food, to learn about other members of their species, to navigate the landscape, and to evade predators. Sniffing is the primary means by which dogs gather and process information about the world.
In fact, a short 10- to 15-minute “sniff” walk can be very enjoyable for your dog. Even on longer walks you can alternate periods of controlled walking at a heel with periods where the dog can explore and sniff the environment.
As owners we need to give our dogs time to sniff. Most of us know that five minutes spent training tires our dog as much as an hour's physical exercise but we don't always recognise that five minutes spent sniffing does the same.
So not all walks should be sniff walks. Colleen Demling-Riler, an in-house dog behaviorist expert for Dogtopia, recommends keeping your pup walking for 70% of the time and giving him the remaining 30% to sniff and explore the environment.
One of the commonly suggested tactics for avoiding sniffer dogs is to mask the smell of illicit drugs with anything from sunscreen to coffee grounds to meat and even deer urine.
In general, dogs enjoy taking in all types of scents and odors. However, strong fragrances and chemicals can bother dogs and even irritate their noses.
By simply smelling, a dog can determine if a new friend is male or female, happy or aggressive, or healthy or ill. Dogs get a general idea about each other with a quick sniff, but get more detailed information by getting up close and personal.
Letting dogs sniff reduces stress!
There was even a study published in Applied Animal Behavior Science that determined “that allowing dogs to spent more time using their olfaction through a regular nosework activity makes them more optimistic.
Drug-sniffing dogs are not very accurate when it comes to discerning the presence of illegal drugs. Multiple studies show alarmingly high error rates, with some results exceeding 50 percent.
Sniffing is calming for dogs. Sniffing lowers your dog's pulse, even while walking. The faster and more intensely your dog sniffs, the quicker their pulse rate will lower!
Yes! Snuffle mats tire dogs out as much as physical play because when your dog is vigilantly using their sense of smell to sniff, they are also using substantial amounts of energy to focus. They say that 20 minutes of snuffling is the same amount of stimulation as in one hour of running around.
The main reason your dog sniffs so much on a walk is that they're gathering information about other dogs that have been in the same area. Dogs are incredibly curious about their surroundings.
Keeping a dog out on a walk can lead to exhaustion in the form of either generalized exhaustion or heat stroke, depending on the conditions. Because dogs are pack animals, they will push themselves to keep going long after it is good for them as long as you, a member of their pack, are continuing on.
It's About Communication and Territory
You know the drill…the sniffing, the circling, and finally, it happens. This process of determining where to poop has much to do with your dog's instinct to tell other dogs who and where they are. They leave their scent by way of scent glands located in the inside of the rectum.
The walk may only be very short, but by letting your dog sniff everything they will burn as many calories as if they have been on a long walk and mentally will be very satisfied.
Bad Smells to Steer Clear From
Your pooch will hate the smell of mothballs, alcohol, cleaning products and nail polish! However, we do not recommend the use of these as a deterrent, as they are toxic and harmful for your pet. Steer clear of these stinky products when your dog is around!
The methodology of observing the dogs freely exploring the experimental area allowed us to determine the smells that were the most attractive to them (food, beaver clothing). Our study shows that dogs interacted more frequently with the scents of blueberries, blackberries, mint, rose, lavender, and linalol.