Being a dog owner you’re probably familiar with the constant stopping so that they can sniff 🌳 and you’ll likely get frustrated and respond by dragging them away thinking they are wasting precious exercise time 🐾 – but did you know that sniffing is really important for them?
Your dog’s sense of smell is pretty much a super power ⚡ and their daily sniffing routine can help them identify what’s happening in their environment as well as lower their stress levels. Its a bit like us reading the newspaper 📰.
While they are sniffing, they are finding out about the area, who lives there, who has passed by recently, and even what kind of mood they are in. All the time they are sniffing, they are processing information about the environment 🌍 and who and what is in it 🐰 🧍🐑🦆🐈.
Did you know that 10 minutes of sniffing is equivalent to 1 hour of walking 🕓😮!
The power of a dogs nose is better at detecting things that our best machines can’t. Dogs are used routinely to screen the millions of people, goods and cargo crossing international borders through airports ✈️ seaports 🚢 and other transport hubs 🚛.
Those aren’t the only things dogs’ noses are good for, though, they can also sniff out explosives 💣💥 finding missing people, or even sensing medical needs, like detecting cancer or predicting an oncoming seizure 🚨.
The importance of letting your dog sniff:
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Promotes good health and well being.
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Calm and soothe.
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Reduce stress.
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Provide much-needed mental stimulation.
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Allows your dog to make choices.
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Meet its instinctual drive.
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Provides important information about the environment, other dogs, and humans too.
So when your next out on a walk with your dog, remember they are checking out the news - the equivalent of us reading the newspaper!
Let them sniff for as long as it takes - would you like it if someone kept snatching the newspaper away from you when your reading a good article? 😠
Whats your dogs favorite sniffing post? 🌳 🗑️ 🚶