Going on ‘Sniffari’

THE ENORMOUS BENEFITS FOR YOUR DOG

Dogs are driven by scent rather than language or sight. Our dogs view the world primarily through scent pictures instead of relying solely on sight, which hugely alters how they interact with their surroundings. As this is entirely the reverse of our human condition, it can be difficult for us to appreciate exactly how powerful our dog's noses are.

We know that dogs' noses allow them to do some pretty powerful jobs – from being medical alert dogs to detection dogs. Dogs have been found to be able to sniff out and indicate the presence of dangers and diseases, including drugs, bombs, cancers and malaria. But many of us forget to allow our dogs to use this incredibly powerful tool of theirs, and in doing so deprive them of a full enriched experience of the world around them.

THE NOSE

A dog's nose is incredible. While we have just 6 million olfactory receptors, our dogs have around 300 million. Similarly, the part of a dog's brain responsible for processing scent information is proportionally around 40% larger than it is in humans.

The shape of a dog's nose also aids with the processing of scent. As the dog exhales, the slits at the side of their noses expel air, allowing it to circulate and then draw more scent particles up towards the nostrils. This recycling of scents allows for full analysis.

Basically, our dogs were born to sniff!

SNIFFING

When we limit our dogs' options for new sniffing experiences, we can limit their experience and enjoyment of life.

Of course, the breed of dog is relevant in this in that some breeds, like Scent Hounds, live for the opportunity to put their nose down and have a good sniff. For other breeds, scent isn't quite so essential. However, regardless of breed, all dogs benefit from sniffing activities.

THE SCIENCE

Over the past few years, several studies have started to look into the effect of scent and its ability to lower cortisol levels in our dogs. Cortisol is often referred to as the 'stress hormone' as it is produced in larger quantities during stressful situations. Some cortisol is required for a healthy body, but an abnormally high level of cortisol can be created when a dog is stressed. Too much cortisol, particularly if it remains at a high level for a prolonged period, can harm the brain and the body. Activities that reduce stress, such as sniffing, could therefore be invaluable in calming our dogs.

DID YOU KNOW?

If you have a Sighthound or dog that prioritises using its sight, perhaps a herding dog, you can over time help to reduce their chase instinct by redirecting their focus onto exciting sniffing experiences. With their eyes down and nose engaged, these 'visually driven' dogs are less likely to be constantly searching for something to chase.

THE 'SNIFFARI'

Having a dog that wants to sniff anything and everything on a walk can be highly frustrating so spending every minute of a walk allowing your dog to sniff is unlikely to be practical. Instead, think of using the 'Sniffari' as a way to give your dog a good olfactory (smell) workout once or twice a week. By setting up a situation where we encourage our dogs to sniff new scents, follow trails we lay, or play nose games on our walks, we're really focusing on the positive benefits of sniffing for our dogs.

LOCATION LOCATION

When conducting your first 'Sniffari', you need to choose the right environment. Visiting a new environment will always encourage more sniffing but you don't want to be in an area where your dog's arousal levels risk going very high. For example, if your dog is an avid squirrel chaser taking them to an area populated by high numbers of squirrels is not going to be conducive to taking part in a calming sniffing activity.

TIMING

Heading out in the early morning when the dew is on the grass or it has recently been raining tends to lead to an excellent 'Sniffari' experience. Wet ground allows more scent particles to be collected – all ready for exploration by our dogs.

SET-UP

When encouraging our dogs to sniff, we don't want to keep calling them back to us as seeking constant visual contact from our dogs reduces the likelihood that they will sniff. Therefore, if you need to use your voice regularly when your dog is off-lead, then maybe make your initial 'Sniffaris' on-lead activities.

LENGTH

Encouraging your dog to use their nose can leave them more tired than your average walk, so your 'Sniffari' doesn't need to last for hours. You might find this mental workout actually tires them out in just thirty minutes, when normally they would need a standard one hour walk.

TROUBLESHOOTING

If your dog shows very little interest in sniffing, it might just be that they aren't used to using their nose on walks, that their breed means they are less inclined to use their nose or that their current arousal levels don't allow them to look down at the ground. You can encourage them to put their nose on the ground in calm, quiet environments by scattering food on the floor or by placing treats in a line for them to follow a food track. It might even be that you need to start this off in your garden to begin with. Once your dog has realised that using their nose can be rewarding and fun, you can swap to new environments, make the treat trail more complex to follow, or increase the distance between treats.

Another way you can engage your dog's nose on a walk is by playing a game of hide-and-seek. As long as your dog can cope with short periods of separation from you, hiding from your dog can be a fun way to reinforce your recall and give your dog a wonderful scent hunt to find you. Dogs have a remarkable ability to discriminate between different humans' scents and have positive associations with the scents of their own humans. In the hide-and-seek game, effectively smelling you, their favoured human, will give your dog a reward response. You can make this even stronger by giving them some high value treats when they find you or perhaps engaging in a game they enjoy.

DID YOU KNOW?

Treating a dog from the floor rather than giving it directly into the mouth can lead to dogs sniffing out the reward and an overall calming effect. Many behaviourists recommend trying this for highly-strung dogs.

TAKE HOME

Giving our dogs a more enriched life is beneficial for their welfare and mood, so surely it is time to give it a go? Let’s get sniffing!