The Sniffari: An Underrated Enrichment Tool

It’s  pretty dark and gloomy outside, how many of you get your dog as far as  the doorstep before they turn around and trot straight back inside?   Assuming you even got them out of bed in the first place!

As  we’re getting ever closer to Winter, and the current weather isn’t  exactly wonderful, a lot of hound owners may be finding it a little  harder to convince their dogs to go for walks…or at least any walk of  substance!  

With this, comes a  greater need for alternative forms of stimulation and entertainment.   With an ever-increasing wider understanding of dog behaviour and  psychology, and it’s spread through the benefit of social media, it's  pretty well known that dogs need a range of both mental and physical  enrichment in their lives.
However, when the main  form of enrichment is going for walks...what do you do when that isn’t  an option?  Also, when it is an option, are they having a fulfilling and  enjoyable walk or a frog march around the block?

Studies  into human behaviour shows that the large majority of dog owners will  yank, pull or otherwise prevent dogs from sniffing when on a walk.  
People  are busy, they have things to do, places to be and walking the dog can  be an inconvenient chore for some!  They just want to get it over and  done with, and when the dog is stopping to sniff every single blade of  grass, sign, or lamp post, sure enough, it can get frustrating!   Particularly if you’re in a hurry…so people naturally pull their dog and  prevent them from sniffing.

There  is also this strong and lingering belief that a walk should be all  about the walking which encourages people to force their dog into  walking to heel.  
While obedience has its place,  without a doubt, sniffing is an essential and enriching activity for a  dog that provides them a huge amount of mental stimulation and  information about their environment, it also lowers the stress hormone  (cortisol) which makes them feel more secure in their environment and  helps prevent unwanted or negative behaviours!

Unlike  us, dogs don’t have schedules to follow.  Even if it does sometimes  seem like they can tell the time, dogs live in the moment and seek out  whatever makes them happy in that moment.  

However,  due to living alongside humans, they’re day to day lives are dictated  based on what their humans are doing.  So, if the human wants to rush  the walk, the dog must rush the walk.  

The  problem with a rushed walk though is that you are, in effect, taking  your child to the cinema but not letting them watch the film.

First  things first, a dog’s sense of smell is immensely more powerful and  sensitive than a humans and while they do rely on their eyesight, their  sense of smell is crucial for communication, decision making, the intake  of information and for their general interaction with their  environment.

The fact alone that  we use dogs in a variety of jobs such as drug and explosive detection,  search and rescue, or as medical alert dogs shows just how incredibly  powerful their sense of smell is, as well as their ability to take in  all this information and process it.

When  a dog is out for a walk, sniffing allows them to feel safe and  understand what has been going on or may still be going on around them.   It’s how they navigate through life!  Through their keen sense of  smell, they can learn of what other animals, dogs or people have passed  by and where have they come from, what smells have they deposited from  their feet or from marking. They can tell how long ago the animal or  human was there, what gender they were etc... they get a huge amount of  information...but more importantly, it’s enjoyable for them!

Often  when owners are having unwanted or undesirable behavioural issues with  their hound such as pulling on the lead, chewing, barking or reactivity,  it can quite often be rooted in their exercise routine.  Whether too  much, too little, too restricted, or too free…the relationship a dog has  with its walking, whether positive or negative, can have a knock-on  effect on their behaviour.

Whether  your dog enjoys long walks, short walks or no walks at all, or only  walks once or twice a week, when they do go out, they need to experience  their environment in a positive way.  If they are being dragged away  every time they try to investigate something, it can lead to frustration  and insecurity.

Therein lies the importance of the sniffari!

A  few minutes’ worth of a proper sniffy walk can be as mentally  stimulating and exhausting as extended physical exercise.  Sniffing  focuses their energy; it fulfils their base instincts to investigate  their environment and tires them out which in turn helps ensure a more  relaxed and tired hound when you get home!  A dog that is mentally  exercised, as well as physically, is less likely to display unwanted  behaviours.

Try to make time on  your normal day to day walks to allow your dog to sniff as you go, even  if it means you don’t walk as far as you intended.  The walk, at the end  of the day, is for your dog’s enjoyment, welfare, and wellbeing…even if  it does feel like a chore sometimes!  

Where  you can, take them out into nature, local fields, or reserves where you  might not even see another living soul and have a ‘dog-led’ walk where  they can sniff to their hearts content!  A true and proper sniffari  where they can truly be a ‘dog’!  You can allow your dog to enjoy  themselves on a long line attached to a harness so that they can really  let themselves go!

Being out in  nature isn’t just beneficial to humans. Just as they are for us, these  types of walks can be a wonderful tool for decompressing your dog.  It  lets them release a lot of pent-up energy, frustrations and anxieties  that might have been building and helps them clear their heads.

While  you are out there and your dog can think with a clear head, it is the  perfect time to do some training and enrichment with them so take a bag  of treats!

Periodically you can  throw them or scatter them and let your dog hunt them out! You can  practice some recall or ‘leave it’ on the long line, reward them for  making the conscious and willing decision to leave a good sniff to  return to you and focus.

Having  this response in a dog is really helpful in positively taking them away  from sniffing something potentially dangerous or from eating something  they shouldn’t when you get back to your normal day to day walks.

Alternatively, utilise your local dog rental fields!  These are a life saver for many dog owners and full of good sniffs!!

You can guarantee that your hound will be well and truly relaxed, if not totally exhausted, after an enjoyable sniffari!  

It  is important to note that any extended exercise or use of off lead  running fields are done with any pre-existing injuries or other medical  conditions in mind.