02/25/2024
Shake it…shake it off…
A recent study by two researchers in France looked at sniffing, pulse rate, and leash length on walks. Sixty-one dogs were taken on three separate walks, five minutes each walk, once with a 1.5m leash, once with a 5m leash, and once without a leash at all (walk order was randomized for each dog). Off-leash dogs sniffed the most, more than 3x as long as the dogs on short leashes. Dogs on long leashes spent nearly as much time as unleashed dogs sniffing, almost 3x as long as dogs on short leashes.
This study also found that sniffing resulted in lowered pulse rates, and the more intensely they sniffed, the more their pulse rates lowered. Pulse rate was also lowered when dogs “shook off” during walks on all leash lengths. The “shake off” behavior was often seen when the dog’s pulse rate was particularly high.
Read more about it below!
http://www.dogfieldstudy.com/node/1
https://thebark.com/content/dog-walks-sniffing-shaking-and-pulse-rate
What else can we learn about dogs from their walking behavior? Take your best friend on a Sniffari and see what you observe!
