19/06/2021
Posts like this are such important reminders to pet pawrents. Our dogs get 2 kinds of walks. One where they have free rein and I let them take their time to sniff everything. Their daily walks are like this; I want to check my social media every day. So why can’t my dogs check their social media? (This does not mean they are pulling me all over the place).
They get another type of walk, where I put them on heel. This can last pretty long and sometimes we’ll come across a big grass patch, where I release them from heeling and they are free to go smell around for a while as a reward, then I put them back on heel.
What I cannot fathom are dogs who get put in a bag or pram and never allowed to touch the grass, because they will get dirty. 🤷🏻♀️ I don’t and won’t understand it if it’s a dog who is perfectly not handicapped.
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Dogs are big on sniffing- that’s something every dog owner can confirm. From the awkward crotch sniffers to mutts that act like their great-grandad was a certified bloodhound, every pooch has different sniffing habits. The reason why your pet is so keen on sniffing? Their nose is their most powerful tool for exploring his surroundings. Though dogs have the same five senses that people do, their sense of smell is infinitely stronger than ours. Their nose has 60 times more receptors, clocking in at a whopping 300 million scent receptors in your dog’s honker. This is why a dog’s sense of smell is the primary way he takes in information about the world around him. For a dog, sniffing things is an automatic behavior – this is how he experiences the world, the same way you experience the world through vision.
That’s why it’s so important that you let your dog sniff things while he is out on a walk. If you deny them sniffing, it’s the same as you having to walk around blindfolded. Not much fun, eh? Your dog’s innate instincts are to explore the world with his nose, and preventing them from doing so is never a good idea. You don’t necessarily have to indulge him every time, but you should remember that the walk is for his benefit. If your dog wants to sniff something for a few seconds, let him!
