Are You Using Your Dog's Nose Enough? How to Encourage Your Dog's Sense of Smell | Pupford
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Filed under behavior+ pup parenting+ training
Sorry to come at you like that, but I'm nearly certain you aren't using your dog's nose to its full advantage. It is likely your dog's strongest scent, yet as humans, we rarely use it to its full advantage and even sometimes discourage sniffing...
Our dogs understand the world around them through their nose. They can't speak to us and they sure can't read, so instead, they use their noses.
A dog's nose is said to be over 1,000 times stronger than the human nose. That's why there are drug-sniffing dogs and not drug-sniffing humans.
So instead of being bothered by your dog sniffing on a walk, here is what you can do.
There are so many different enrichment games to play with your dog. With most of these toys, a lot of the enrichment comes from smelling and searching out treats, etc.
Here are a few different games:
Foraging Boxes
With this game, you can get a few different boxes you have laying around your house, and put a few treats in them. Then place smaller boxes in the larger ones, and give to your dog to let them sniff out!
Hide and Seek
Put your dog in a separate room and go hide treats (or toys) in a few different places. Then let your dog in the room and have them explore!
Get a snuffle mat and place some treats (or their food) in the mat. Then let your dog go at it! If needed, make it easier at the start and leave some of the treats visible so your dog knows what to do!
The main thing to remember is your dog's sense of smell should be encouraged! Let them explore, let them find new smells, let them explore on walks, let them be a dog!!
But what if that’s all she does on a walk and takes forever to potty and it pouring the rain or snow. It gets frustrating that she won’t just go and pee.
T
Team Pupford01/26/2025
You don’t have to let your dog lead the way on every walk, there will be times when you have places to go, bad weather, etc! From time to time is great! Also adding in more enrichment activities where your dog uses their nose is helpful, like using a snuffle mat, playing hide and seek, the towel game, foraging boxes, etc.
T
Tracy01/26/2025
I put a drop of clove oil on a rag and hide it. They love to find it, indoors or out. I have only reapplied the scent 2 or 3 times since we started playing 2 years ago! It doesn’t have to be strong and it can be any scent, just show it to them, hide it in an easy spot until they get familiar with it and treat everytime they find it. These games tire them out as well and are great on a rainy day.
C
Cindy01/26/2025
Any additional info on this? I looked at the AKC and they have this only for purebred dogs. I have a Great Pyr mix that may love this, she has a great nose!
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But what if that’s all she does on a walk and takes forever to potty and it pouring the rain or snow. It gets frustrating that she won’t just go and pee.
You don’t have to let your dog lead the way on every walk, there will be times when you have places to go, bad weather, etc! From time to time is great! Also adding in more enrichment activities where your dog uses their nose is helpful, like using a snuffle mat, playing hide and seek, the towel game, foraging boxes, etc.
I put a drop of clove oil on a rag and hide it. They love to find it, indoors or out. I have only reapplied the scent 2 or 3 times since we started playing 2 years ago! It doesn’t have to be strong and it can be any scent, just show it to them, hide it in an easy spot until they get familiar with it and treat everytime they find it. These games tire them out as well and are great on a rainy day.
Any additional info on this? I looked at the AKC and they have this only for purebred dogs. I have a Great Pyr mix that may love this, she has a great nose!