If you’re a dog parent, you’ll probably be all too familiar with those times when your pup seems to have an almost infinite supply of energy. But while it’s great to see our dogs running around and having fun, an energetic dog can sometimes be a frustrating one too!
So, if your dog has lots of energy even after you’ve taken them on a walk, let them run around and explore, and even tried giving them one of the best long-lasting dog chews, what else can you try?
Well, Ella Camps-Linney and Alistair Mackenzie, professional trainers and the owners of Kirby Dog Training, have got one eye-opening piece of advice to share. Will you try this with your furry friend?
The thing Camps-Linney and Mackenzie recommend trying is a ‘sniffari’. Do you know why you should let your dog sniff on a walk? According to these trainers, “Not only is sniffing essential for your dog's well-being and mental health, it provides so many other benefits too.
“It’s essential for their mental well-being,” they go on to explain, “10-20 minutes is comparable to an hour of walking in terms of the energy it expands.”
They add, too, that a sniffari can help relieve stress and lower your pup’s heart rate. Meanwhile, dogs love sniffing, and it releases dopamine into their systems. Sniffing helps our dogs learn about the world, slow down, and simply just be a dog.
As Camps-Linney and Mackenzie put it, “Our dogs give us so much - let’s give them the gift of sniffing wherever possible.”
A dog’s sense of smell is many, many times greater than ours. Humans only have around five million scent receptors in our noses, while some dog breeds can have over 100 million. While we have better eyesight, and use our eyes to make sense of our environment, dogs will use their noses.
This is why it’s so important to let your dog sniff. You might take them on a slower walk, giving them the chance to sniff to their heart’s content without being rushed, or you might follow Camps-Linney and Mackenzie’s advice and give them a sniffari. It’s up to you!
If you’d like to hear from a dog parent who tried a sniffari with their dog themselves, you might find this article insightful: I tried a 45-minute 'sniffari', and it tired out my border collie more than a two-hour hike!
