Amy Blom’s dog, Gus, never knows what he will encounter that needs intense sniffing on his walks.
Why do you take your dog for walks? So he can eliminate? So you tire him out? What do you expect of your dog when you take him for a walk? To walk precisely at your side and at your pace? To cover a lot of ground?
It’s a new year and time for dog owners to rethink walking with their dogs. Make 2020 the year your dog walks become “sniff walks.”
A sniff walk is a walk with your dog when you let the dog set the pace, sniffing plants, posts, the ground, anything that interests him. You may spend five minutes in one place while he sniffs a mailbox post. And you may get bored and wonder what in the world could keep his interest this long. If you let your dog take the pace and sniff to his heart’s content, you will be providing much of the exercise he needs, as well as helping him relax and become an emotionally healthier dog. Here’s why.
We all know a dog’s sense of smell is far greater than ours, but the difference is almost unbelievable. According to Karen L. Overall MA, VMD, PhD, DACVB, CAAB, author of the behavioral textbook, Manual of Clinical Behavioral Medicine for Dogs and Cats, “Dogs have the greatest olfactory acuity of any domestic species. Dogs can detect fingerprints six weeks after they were placed on a pane of glass (King et al., 1964) and can individually identify twins based purely on odor (Kalmus, 1955, cited in Houpt, 1991).”
Crystal Pumphrey, DVM, allowed her English Mastiff Nova to discover all kinds of new and different smells at a recent beach trip.
Not only do they have an enormously greater sense of smell, they also have a greater capacity to distinguish and interpret the smells. By smelling where another dog urinated or defecated, they can discern whether the dog was male or female, how long ago the dog was there and various pheromones, alarm, sex, territorial, or other that the dog emitted.
When you allow your dog to make full use of this physical attribute on a walk, your dog will actually tire out as well as if you walked for many times the distance. When a dog fully examines smells, he is using the highly developed area of his brain that allows him to process all this information. If you remember how you felt after taking a long and trying test, you can understand how a dog can feel tired after using his brain in a sniff walk.
Andrew Touzel is letting his pitbull Gage relax and work out energy by walking at Gage’s pace and allowing him to check out all the interesting smells along the way.
Allowing an anxious or fearful dog to examine the smells along a walk can help him relax. Sniffing allows him to interpret and understand the environment which is relaxing. Anecdotally I have had clients with reactive dogs (dogs that lunge and bark at other dogs and people), tell me when they began to let their dogs sniff on their walks their dogs visibly relaxed.
A recently released field study conducted in France (www.dogfieldstudy.com/node/1) found sniffing actually lowers a dog’s pulse, and the more intense the sniffing, the lower the pulse. The study was conducted with 61 dogs of a variety of ages, breeds and sexes. The study also noted that dogs on a long leash spent more time sniffing than dogs on short leashes, 280 percent more time.
For sniff walks, I recommend purchasing a 10, 20, or 30-foot standard leash, available from most pet supply stores. I do not recommend using a retractable for safety and training purposes.
Brenda Hall is helping her dog reduce her heartrate and fully enjoy the walks by taking smell walks. A great investment for more successful sniff walks are 10, 20, or 30-foot leashes.
(Retractable leashes keep constant pressure on a dog’s neck and conflicts with teaching loose lead walking.)
Every walk does not have to be a sniff walk. Obviously, there are times when you need to get the dog out quickly to relieve himself before you go to work. Or perhaps the weather is bad and you are not comfortable taking a extended time to walk. And just because you decide to let your dog go on a sniff walk, does not mean you should not allow him to pull you. I tell my students to put sniff walks on a cue such as “Free Dog,” or “Be a Dog” and have a different cue for walking nicely at your side, which can be a cue such as “ Let’s Go,” or “ With Me.” If you have given your dog permission to wander and sniff, but he begins to pull, stop immediately and do not allow him to pull you farther. As soon as the leash loosens up, say “Okay,” and begin walking again.
When you and your dog discover the joys of sniff walks, you may want to explore dog sports that allow your dog to use his nose. Sugar Bean, Alison Rosenberg’s senior Dachshund mix, was introduced to the sport of Nose Work recently and is now successfully competing in the sport.
Once you see the results of allowing your dog to use his incredible sense of smell, you may want to explore his skill further. Dogs love the sport of tracking or the newer, popular, competition sport of Nose Work. Locally, Nose Work classes are available through the Greater Columbia Obedience Club.
Teddy is a young dog but has a heart problem that will greatly shorten his life. Camille Asmer is allowing him to fully enjoy his walks and his short life by allowing him to relax and reduce his heart rate by taking sniff walks.
Tracking is another sport that uses the dog’s natural desire to smell and follow a scent. This is Jill Doherty and Atzi following a scent track while preparing for competition.
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