For dogs, sniffing is an important aspect of being allowed to be a dog!
Taking a few extra minutes on a walk to allow them to take in the scents and smells can help to relax and tire your dog. This can actually mean you physically walk less, but allow them more mental interactions with their environment.
This is important for puppies and older dogs that might not be able to complete large distances or while healing from medical procedures/conditions.
If you have a very sniffy dog, who you want to speed up, allowing them to sniff more, will refine their scent powers and you might see a reduction in sniffing behaviours overall!
Try it on your next walk and take the time, not the distance.
Here are some facts about dog noses:
- Dog’s smell is 100,000 times better than humans.
- Each nostril smells independently.
- Dogs can smell scents and pheromones.
- Dogs can determine time frames from the levels of odours reducing.
- Skin patterns on their noses can act the same as fingerprints for humans
