Why should you let your dog sniff around during walks?

Taking your dog for a nice walk has several benefits: apart from the pee-and-poo need, they get new information about their environment and basically everything in it. For us, it may seem like a simple activity, they do, but for them, the whole world opens up through sniffing. Naturally, it might be dangerous if we let our pet pull us up-and-down on the street, but with a little attention we should let them sniff around and thus explore. It’s quite similar to reading the morning newspaper, well, without the paper and the words... Smells give them tiny information crumbs about the people, dogs, other living beings and objects on our way.

Sniffing during walks is a wonderful mental exersize, resulting in a calmer and more balanced dog at home. It is also in our best interest to tire them a little, so they won’t chew on our shoes or furniture. When you go for a walk with your pet, pay attention to the time and amount of sniffing, not the actual distance you covered. A 15-minute walk generally won’t lead to an exhausted dog but if you let him sniff the area, his mental needs will most likely be satisfied.

According to a study of the Pet Dog Trainers of Europe, it is important to let our dogs make their own decisions sometimes. They live all their lifes under some kind of control, may it be the fence, the leash and collar, the time they get feed and where they are allowed or forbidden to go. We do all this mainly to keep them safe and protect their overall well-being. But living under too much control could easily lead to an unhappy, depressed dog and losing their curiosity for the world around them. By giving them simple choices, like which path to choose or what toy they want to play with today, will make their everyday life more enjoyable and satisfied.