The Nose Knows......You Know

How dogs use their noses and why it's important for us to let them sniff.

Dogs and their noses are AMAZING!

You don't need me to tell you they use their nose for lots of things and are always sniffing.

There is that one place, be it a lamppost or a tree (usually at the end of their walk) that dogs take an age to sniff before you can get them back on their lead, and you can guarantee they'll head back there tomorrow too.

There is a lot of information to gain from a sniff!

To give you an idea of just how amazing a dog's nose is, we have around five million olfactory receptors in our nose, whilst dogs have about 250 million!

Plus, look at all the fantastic work dogs and their noses do - they're used to sniff for drugs, find bombs and people, and can even detect cancerous cells. I met a sniffer dog once called Lucy and her handler told me she had been trained to sniff out about 15 different scents. She was fantastic.

When I'm out and about I see many well-meaning owners who seem like they're on a mission to get to where they usually walk the dog. The dog stops (or attempts to) several times, but gets pulled away from what could be one of the most important sniffs of the day!

Letting the dog sniff on their walk has lots of benefits, not only to them but for us owners too:

1) It's tiring - especially for young puppies. They don't need to go on a mammoth walk, 10 to 15 minutes of sniffing is tiring enough. Think about when you've learned something new; the new skill itself and how you felt afterward.

2) It builds confidence - well, not the sniffing itself, but if we play the 'Find It' game, finding those treats not only tires out pups, but builds their confidence too.

3) It helps them to gain information about their surroundings including dogs that live in the local area, safely.

To play the 'Find It' game, you can start by getting a small box (not so big the pup can get lost in it). Throw some treats in it, with a few things like loo rolls in too, then as pup goes towards it, say 'Find It' and just sit back and wait. As they grow more confident you can add different things to the box, that make a noise, which will not only make it harder for them (so they'll sniff harder), but also help pup get used to strange noises too and build their confidence.

We can help build your pup's confidence through our Scent Detection Programme. If you're having trouble with a training issue or would like to ask a question about your pup, get in touch.