What is scentwork for dogs?
You can’t get very far working with or living with dogs without coming across the hype about scentwork for dogs.
Scentwork can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it. Essentially it is any activity where your dog is using their nose. It is a great form of enrichment. Many dogs will choose to spend a lot of their walks using their nose if we don’t distract them with alternatives such as training, fetch or socialising.
Should I let my dog sniff on walks?
Sadly there is a bit of a myth about letting dogs sniff on walks. People get told that allowing a dog to sniff means that the dog is control. But that is a great reason, when appropriate, to allow them to sniff. I mean, whose walk is it anyway?! The walk is for the benefit of the dog. Therefore we should take their preferences into account to shape the types of walks we provide.
If your dog is a pro sniffer, think about doing shorter walks to allow for more sniffing time if you are on a tight schedule. Let your dog follow their nose and move on when they’re ready. Let the sniffing conclude before moving on. Imagine how frustrating it would be to be pulled away from an interesting story just as it was getting good! Plus, scentwork for dogs has lots of important benefits.
Some of the benefits of scentwork for dogs:
- For anxious dogs, they are learning about their environment which can help them to feel more secure.
- Sniffing provides a level of stimulation that physical exercise struggles to keep up with!
- Sniffing can help with calming anxious or excited dogs. It gives them something else to focus their energy on.
- Dogs are scent focused as a species and sniffing fulfills a natural sensory need.
Other ways to provide scentwork for dogs
It’s not just walks where you can provide for the need to sniff! If you have even a small space at home you can provide exercises to work your dog’s nose. This will help to keep your dog busy and out of trouble, whilst tiring them out in a calmer way than some physical play activities.
- You could just scatter some of your dog’s kibble around the floor or the grass in your garden.
- You could hide treats in cardboard boxes, snuffle mats or shredded paper.
- A ball pit with treats hidden around is a hit with my own dogs!
- Taking sociable dogs to friends houses to sniff about their house and garden can also be great.
- Think about places you can take your dog that are different to usual, whilst accommodating anything they find stressful. For example could you take your dog for a walk through town after all the shops have shut and it’s quiet? Maybe after market day? Or a woodland walk at a quiet time, fields that other animals have been in and so on.
The video below demonstrates some of these ideas for how you can add this great activity to your dog’s days.
Check out more blogs and the rest of the YouTube channel for more ideas for enrichment, increasing focus and boosting confidence in your dog. If you have any questions about how to make this work for your dog please don’t hesitate to get in touch!
I am a Clinical Animal Behaviourist based in the Worcestershire area – however, with successful online training procedures, training can be anywhere in the world as long as you have your dogs, and a device with an internet connection!