Why Is Sniffing So Important For Our Dogs?
Sniffing! Whats the big deal? Do you have a dog who is totally led by his or her nose? Do they get totally distracted by a really good sniff on every walk? Have they been known to follow their nose down rabbit holes or up a tree after a squirrel? Ever wondered why? Well… let’s dive in!
Did you know a dog’s sense of smell is waaay more effective than our own? It’s estimated dogs have around 200-300 million olfactory receptors in their noses, compared to about six million in us mere mortals. To put this into perspective, your dogs nose is so sensitive that they can detect the equivalent of half a teaspoon of sugar in an Olympic-sized swimming pool. And when you think about it… that does explain a lot.
Primarily, dogs use their noses for two things; breathing, and smelling. The thing is, smelling isn’t as black and white for them as it is for us. Dogs use their sense of smell for all kinds of things, from detecting pheromones in other dogs, to even smelling the passage of time!
Scentwork is also very calming and tiring for dogs. I always imagine scentwork like the canine equivalent of doing a Sudoku puzzle - there’s not a lot of physical exercise involved, but your brain is working very hard to solve it! Did you know that just 10 minutes of scentwork can be the equivalent of up to an hour’s walk or ball throwing?
There’s a few different types of scentwork you can do with your dog which is fun and easy to do:
Snuffle Mat - First of all is a snuffle mat! Essentially you hide treats in your snuffle mat and let your dog enjoy snuffling them out! Quick, simple and guaranteed fun for your pooch. If you’re local, you can buy a snuffle mat from Katie & Co Crafts by clicking here.
DIY Puzzles – Use your rubbish to create enrichment games for your dog. Here’s a few ideas:
Empty toilet rolls filled with treats and then folded in at the ends
Cardboard boxes filled with newspaper and toys, with treats scattered in the bottom
Scatter your dogs dinner inside a towel, roll it up and let your dog’s nose (and mouth) do the rest
Puzzle Games – If you’re not feeling very DIY you can buy puzzle games from pet shops and online. I believe Peach and Pooch stock some types.
‘Find it’ – My favourite of the scentwork games is ‘find it’. You’ll be surprised how quickly you dog learns this one. We started learning this by throwing treats on the ground and using the cue word ‘find it’, with a sweeping hand motion to the floor. We then levelled up to making our dog wait as we hid a treat (whilst they watched) and then encouraged them to ‘find it’ using the cue word and sweeping hand every time. After some time you can make it harder by having them wait in a separate room until you’ve hidden the treats. Step up your game even further by heading outside or to your local dog park and hiding treats on top of logs or in the long grass. Before you know it you’ll have a working sniffer dog who has a job at the airport catching crooks!
Scent-walk – I’m a firm believer of letting my dog sniff everything on a walk, yes that means we don’t get as far with him on lead, but it’s his walk, not mine, and that’s what he wants to do! It’s also far more tiring for him than if we jogged round the field. Consider going on a scent-walk, take the time to slow down and encourage your dog to sniff everything. Maybe scatter some treats on the floor to get their nose down, and don’t forget - grass is a brilliant natural snuffle mat!
So there you have it! Your dog’s nose is a wonderful thing! Why not spend this weekend trying some new scentwork activities and let us know how it goes!