In Defense of Sniffing
Welcome to City Pooch! I’m Keegan, a dog walker in north Park Slope. Each week, we’ll get into a new aspect of dog parenting in the city. But first, let me introduce our pups of the week! You might remember Atticus, an adorable dachshund. For the last year, I’ve been taking him out a couple days a week with some friends on dachshund-only group walks. Meet the doxies!
The dachshunds love going on their walk, but with famously short legs, they aren’t the fastest bunch. I’ve learned that rather than trying to get a handful of weiner dogs racing through Park Slope, giving them ample time to sniff around and socialize does wonders to stimulate and tire them out.
City of smells
I’ve spent my life around dogs, but it’s just in the last couple of years that I’ve learned how important it is to give a dog the time it needs to sniff whatever catches its attention.
Ed Yong, who writes about science for The Atlantic, wrote a chapter about this in his book An Immense World:
[M]any dog owners deny their animals the joys of sniffing. To a dog, a simple walk is an odyssey of olfactory exploration. But if an owner doesn’t understand that and instead sees a walk as simply a means of exercise or a route to a destination, then every sniffy act becomes an annoyance.
What dogs want — and what they need — is the time and space to deeply examine the scents on nearby stoops, those inexplicably fascinating patches of grass, and (of course) the butts. So many butts.
So, what’s the point of a walk?
Walking is important for a few reasons. Obviously dogs need a place to do their business, and no one wants to clean up a mess on the rug. Getting out to stretch their legs is vital, as daily movement is beneficial for general health. But if you want to optimize your pup’s well-being, giving them time to sniff will be as important — if not more important — than getting them winded on a fast-paced walk.
Concentrated exercise will certainly tire your dog out, and for bigger, more athletic dogs, this can be essential. But dogs, like people, are complicated beings with a variety of needs.
People can burn as many calories playing in a chess tournament as they can playing sports, and whether you play chess or basketball, you engage your mind. Imagine going on a hike, where taking in the sights, sounds, and scents of nature is as valuable as the climb uphill.
Sports and recreation offer us mental and sensory stimulation, beyond rote exercise, and a walk should do the same for your dog. If your dog has high exercise needs, consider making one outing a day an uptempo walk/jog or a session of fetch, and another a leisurely walk/stroll to let them sniff to their heart’s content.
Sniffing is what your dog really needs
According to the Oregon Humane Society, nearly one third of your dog’s brain is devoted to scent (in human brains, scent accounts for a small fraction of 1%). Every pup needs the time and opportunity to sniff around. Just like us, dogs are made to engage with the world around them, and they crave physical, mental, and sensory stimulation. Unlike us, dogs get most of their sensory stimulation through their nose, and they are made to process enormous amounts of new smells every day. It’s their social media feed, neighborhood gossip, podcast rotation, and nightlife excitement all rolled into one.
We can encourage sniffing on walks, and we can also play indoor scent games to engage their noses inside. These can be extremely helpful on rainy days, where no one wants to spend much time outside. There are many puzzles and other toys on the market, and you can also make games with regular household items. Hiding or rolling up small treats in blankets, pouches, or other dog-friendly toys can become an enticing game for your pup to put their nose to good use. This can be particularly beneficial for dogs with anxiety, which I’ll discuss further next week.
Let the nose lead the way
I used to walk dogs at a quicker pace to wear them out, but I’ve learned that moving pups along when they want to stop and smell the roses (or the fire hydrants) is counter-productive.
The next time your dog’s attention is captured by a smell on the sidewalk, instead of pulling them along to keep moving, I encourage you to give your dog a few extra minutes to really sniff it out. They’ll be happier and, with plenty of new info for their brains to chew on, it’ll help wear them out.
About
Thanks for reading this issue of City Pooch! Please share with your dog-loving friends — especially if they live in Park Slope. I have openings for a couple of new weekday walking clients to add to my route. I also have new openings in my dachshund group walks, Tuesday through Thursday. If you know anyone who might be interested, please get in touch at citypoochnyc@gmail.com.
In future issues, I’ll be covering common questions I get from my clients and the City Pooch community. I’d love to hear from you! If you have a question, please reply to this email or reach out to me at citypoochnyc@gmail.com.
