Good morning to everyone- except for people who don’t let their dogs sniff on walks!
But seriously, folks- give your dog the gift of sniff. Why? We are so glad you asked…
People often say that dogs see the world with their noses. But it is far more than that! Dogs’ noses are incredibly powerful. Humans possess about six million odor receptors; dogs have 300 million or more! If we analogize this power to vision, we find that what humans are able to see at one-third of a mile, a dog can see at over 3,000 miles away- and they could see it just as well! Dog noses are magic, and humans are learning more and more about their powers every single day.
Exercise: Sniffing is difficult mental work! It takes lots of brainpower to distinguish and separate the billions of odor particles your dog is tasting and inhaling. Just a thirty-minute sniff walk can often completely wear out even the most energetic dog. If you want to help calm your hyper pup, sniffing should be the activity of choice!
Confidence: Sniffing involves making many choices, and it encourages our dogs to be independent. This is a massive confidence booster for fearful dogs, aggressive dogs, reactive dogs, and shy dogs. Sniffing is how a dog gathers information about their world, which is how our dogs can work through their fear or uncertainty. We control nearly every aspect of our dogs’ lives, so it is essential that we allow them to have choices as much as we reasonably can. Choices are foundational to an individual’s well-being and welfare.
Decompression: After a stressful event, dogs need a chance to empty their “stress buckets” and lower their cortisol levels. Sniffing is like meditation for dogs, and is a great way to bring them down after a scary experience, an exciting novel event, or a prolonged change in their routine.
Go forth and SNIFF!
CALL US AT 503-336-1202 OR FILL OUT FORM BELOW AND WE WILL CONTACT YOU ASAP!
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