Does your dog enjoy going on walks more than anything else? In addition to being a fun physical activity, going for walks to sniff gives your dog an opportunity to stimulate their mind as well.
Your dog's sense of smell
While you're on walks together, your dog's nose is active and interested in sniffing every nook and cranny. It's often tempting to pull on the leash to keep your dog moving. A good walk is not measured by how far you go, but by the different scents to discover. For this reason, it's important to let your dog stop from time to time to smell lamp posts, trees, and walls.
Dogs communicate through their sense of smell. It is likely that your dog stops on every corner to sniff and learn about other dogs in the area.
Odors are an immense source of information for dogs regarding the dogs around them. Also, every tree and lamp post allows them to interpret information. For example, they can know the sex of the dog, what they had eaten, and their mood.
When a dog finds themselves in a new territory, they will sniff trees to determine which other dogs live in their neighborhood. They can also smell the pants of a person to determine where the person lives and if they have pets.
Preventing a dog from sniffing while on a walk would be like forcing a human to go for a walk with their eyes covered.
The advantages of letting your dog sniff during walks
Dogs need regular physical activity for their health and well-being. This allows them to energy and prevents them from doing naughty and silly things at the house. However, exercise is not the only way to satisfy your dog's needs.
If you want your dog to use up their energy, you need to stimulate their body and their mind.
It takes a lot of effort and mental energy to collect and sort different information about a smell. In addition, letting your dog sniff during a walk prevents cognitive decline when your dog gets older.
A feeling of freedom
Dogs depend entirely on their owner. Whether it's about their meal, their portion of food, or the time of the walk. Owners also decide when their dogs can do their business. Pets don't have much control over their life and the feeling of being constrained can be damaging to their mental health. Many studies show that the lack of total freedom can cause stress and anxiety in dogs.
For safety reasons, it is necessary to guide your dog down the street. But from time to time, it is beneficial to let them have some freedom to let them sniff the odors around them.
How should I walk my dog?
If your dog had their way, they'd probably zigzag through the neighborhood, stopping every few yards and going wherever their nose takes them. Rest assured, even the best owners can't offer a sniff-rich walk every day.
With that being said, it's better to focus on the mental enrichment of your dog rather than on the distance covered. Depending on your dog's abilities, a 15-minute walk might not be enough to exhaust them. On the other hand, the time spent analyzing scents can satisfy their need for mental stimulation.
Do you let your dog sniff during walks together?
You might also like this article: Tips on how to walk your dog on a leash
Source: Iheartdogs
Originally written by Irène. Translated by Jennifer Eubank.
