28/03/2024
Do you take the intention before a nice walk and promise your dog a lot of sniff spots?
Why take your dog on a Sniffari? 👇
➡️ enriching
➡️tiring
➡️promotes patience and emotional regulation
➡️helps them understand the workd around them
➡️gives us the opportunity to observe our dogs and get to know them and their world better
Sniffing is a dog’s primary means of collecting information about the world around them. Detecting and processing smells is enriching and energy-intensive. The ability to sniff freely and investigate the environment has been correlated with increased optimism and lowered pulse rates.
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Rather than marching your dog along at a brisk pace on every walk, try some walks (or portions of walks) where you let your dog sniff freely. It can be enriching not only to them, but to you as well.
🧘♂️ 🧘 Take in the moment!
Watch to see what catches your dog’s attention enough to sniff deeply and intensely. Take a moment to ponder and appreciate the similarities and differences between the way we vision-focused humans perceive our world and the way smell-focused dogs do. At the end of the day, for both man and man’s best friend, a big breath in and a big exhale makes us all feel better.