“Dude, come on!” Ever find yourself saying, or thinking this when you’re in a hurry and you need your dog to eliminate quickly, but your best buddy is stubbornly sniffing the same blade of grass for what feels like 5 minutes? First you’re not alone, we’ve all been there and second, your dog is not being stubborn or obstinate. He’s being a dog.

A dog’s sense of smell is almost 10 times stronger than ours, and while we use our eyes to take in information about our environment, a dog relies on its sense of smell to provide that information. Think about it, our dogs can be trained to detect minute traces of drugs, smell out a bomb, someone buried in the snow or maybe even cancer. We, as humans, can only begin to understand and imagine what cool and interesting information a dog can get from the big rock on the corner, aka the neighborhood dog water cooler.

Part of being a responsible dog owner is allowing your dog to be a dog. And that means letting your dog enjoy her environment in a way that she likes. So taking time to let your dog smell should be incorporated into walks with your dog. One option to do this is smell walks, letting your dog take the lead and letting her wander where her nose takes her. Obviously, safety must be taken into consideration, don’t let your dog wander into a busy street. Also smelling isn’t an excuse for bad leash skills. Please don’t let your dog drag you from tree to rock to tree. Your dog is able to sniff on a loose leash. You can also use smell breaks as a reward for good behavior. Did your dog walk calmly next to you while passing another dog? As a reward, free her and let her go sniff for a while.

If you’re looking for more ways to incorporate sniffing into your dog’s routine, or you have any training questions, let us know.

Canine Sports Dog Training