08/11/2022
The thing I love most about sniff walks for my boys is that I know they are getting SO much enrichment and are able to just be dogs and do what dog's do.
A dog's nose is their primary sense, it's what they use to see the world, learn about their environment and they sniff to self regulate emotions and calm themselves down after a high arousal event. But unfortunately some dogs are hurried along on walks and not given that time to be able to fully enjoy that sniff time...... Now dont get me wrong I understand that some dogs can sniff EVERYTHING 😂 and some other reasons we might hurry a dog on is 1. That outdated belief that we should be "in charge" on walks and when we want to walk they should obey and 2. Because who's not in a rush nowadays. But just Imagine for me if there was something down your road that's new and you need to investigate to learn why it's there or what it is, so you stop to have a look but before you fully find out what it is someone yanks you away by your arm, how punishing and frustrating would that feel?..... So now think the same for you dog.
So what can we do to make sure walks are happy and fun for both guardians and dog???
🐾 Teach a "Go sniff" cue. This is great for super sniffy dogs
🐾 Teach your do a "let's go" cue for when it's time to move on.
🐾 When you're not in a rush go on a sniffari with your dog, where they can just go where their nose takes them (obviously safety first) I have spent 30mins out and only got to the end of my road on a sniffari 😂
🐾 Give other appropriate outlets for your dog to sniff. Scent work is brilliant for this.
🐾 Use a different harness for when you need to just get your pup out for a walk and when You're doing a sniff walk so your dog has clarity on what type of walk is happening.
10minutes of sniffing is mentally tiring for your pups just the same as an hour of physical activity 💪🏻
