Re: to sniff or not to sniff... ;D Peemail...thats why they like their sniffy lead walks so much....social media time.... ;D
Re: to sniff or not to sniff... I don't mind lettin. Penny sniff around whilst on lead, although I don't really like the 'ohmigosh something over there smells amazing and I'm going to yank your arm off to go sniff it' thing, luckily she doesn't do that too often! Sniffing things on walks helps keep them mentally stimulated as they get to know the latest news from 'peemail' (haha love it!) which is even more important for a dog that spends a lot of time on lead an cannot have much offlead time for various reasons.
Re: to sniff or not to sniff... [quote author=JulieT link=topic=4873.msg60709#msg60709 date=1394743369] Sometimes, when Charlie pees on the 1001th lamppost, I honestly suspects he must be making it as we walk! [/quote] I must have the only dog that does not pee on lamp posts or anywhere on an on lead walk
Re: to sniff or not to sniff... On lead 'They are allowed to sniff', but when working its a no no!! Their eyes and brain should be in working mode, that means head up and watching. :
Re: to sniff or not to sniff... Well I can count on one hand the number of times Simba has been off-lead since we acquired him last June (as an inadvertent rescue, we THOUGHT we were just dog-sitting for a month, but then were told the owners weren't taking him back). At first it was because we could not trust him to stay close, then hubby and I were gone for 6 weeks over the summer and our adult children looked after him, and when we got back he had been bounced from pillar to post so much the poor dog didn't know which way was up. It was really only at the end of October that I felt him relax and start to trust us and that a relationship was building, and then it snowed. Lots and lots of snow, so that we couldn't take him out off-lead even if we wanted to. So, lead walks only for us (except for the occasional jaunt to the dog park when it was warm enough) for the last 5 months. And yes, I let him sniff, for all the reasons described, but I do struggle with it as I feel like I spend a considerable amount of time hauling him away from "special" sniffs....especially since those ones often end up with him discovering some particularly malodorous or otherwise disgusting garbage which he proceeds to eat. : Finally warming up here, I'm going to get my Total Recall program ramped up, and SOON we will have a proper off lead walk and see how it goes!
Re: to sniff or not to sniff... [quote author=JulieT link=topic=4873.msg60662#msg60662 date=1394734168] Turid Rugass doesn’t think that. She thinks allowing a dog to sniff is essential for its mental well being. Ian Dunbar also thinks the same: Some people have been given the ridiculous notion that dogs should not smell on a walk! This is ludicrous. Imagine being told you could only look at water when you’re thirsty? Allowing dogs to smell on the walk will provide mental stimulation, which will alleviate stress, and it put you on the dog’s team. Karen Pryor doesn’t think so either: Let your dog sniff! I can't tell you how many times I hear "My dog isn't walking perfectly on the leash because all he wants to do is sniff!" Sniffing is an incredible part of a dog's mental state. [/quote] I subscribe 100% to these views. Most of our walks are on-lead and sniffing is most definitely allowed for all the reasons above. And I would love a Greyhound as I think they are beautiful and have a great outlook on life except I also think it'd chase down and eat my ducks
Re: to sniff or not to sniff... Sniffs Allowed in our life!on and off the lead ....as long as he doesn't pull me to a sniff....if he's arrived at it nicely .....he can sniff to his hearts content!we are on the lead a lot but by ingenuity ,determination and some illegal nocturnal activity ;D he gets a good off lead run everyday x
Re: to sniff or not to sniff... We actually do very little on-lead walking, so I don't really like Pops to sniff during that time. Off lead, of course she's allowed to sniff all she wants - except at training, when she is supposed to be concentrating.
Re: to sniff or not to sniff... We have a compromise. Two walking modes. 1) Walk. She is allowed to stop and sniff at anything within range of the lead that takes her fancy. Molly is a pup and needs to learn, and dogs do love to sniff, that is what their noses are for. The downside of this is that when you have a puppy who is supposed to have limited exercise how do you factor in the time you spend cold and wet, with the rain trickling down your neck, as your pup indulges themselves 2) Close. Pays very close attention to me or more accurately my right knee. I use both on walks. It works for us.
Re: to sniff or not to sniff... Puzzle is not a very sniffy girl on the lead, and since we are doing lots of work on her heelwork she is not allowed to sniff, but off lead she can sniff to her hearts content, its her time to enjoy the walk and have fun, a walk is meant to be fun for the owner and dog. Barley is allowed a certain amount of sniffing on walks (he is rarely off lead) but sometimes it just gets too much as he drags me backwards towards a very special sniff that he has already passed, that is out rule if its behind us its behind us so forget about sniffing it, you can sniff and wee anything infront of us but no dragging backwards.
Re: to sniff or not to sniff... It's really interesting to hear what people think and do. If Charlie didn't spend a huge amount of time on lead - right now, 100% - I think I'd like him to walk without sniffing. But I also think that allowing a dog to behave in a normal doggy way is incredibly important, and sniffing is a huge part of normal doggy behaviour. So sniff it is for us. There is no doubt that it makes it much, much harder to walk nicely in a new area though - as the exciting sniffathon (thanks Debsie) is a huge distraction from remembering to behave!
Re: to sniff or not to sniff... My Labs have a 'sniff command' when they are allowed to sniff, at at other times they must walk to heel and not sniff or hunt. Apparently sniffing is very tiring, so just the thing for Charlie at the moment to help calm him down when he must be raring to go.
Re: to sniff or not to sniff... [quote author=Stacia link=topic=4873.msg61251#msg61251 date=1394978032] My Labs have a 'sniff command' when they are allowed to sniff, at at other times they must walk to heel and not sniff or hunt. Apparently sniffing is very tiring, so just the thing for Charlie at the moment to help calm him down when he must be raring to go. [/quote] Yes, I'd quite like to train that. But thinking about how I'd do it I think I'll leave it for when we are allowed to do more than 10 minutes of walking. I don't know whether sniffing is tiring or not. A 10 minute walk doesn't make a dent in Charlie's energy levels. We can do 5 x 10 minutes a day right now. I've just come back in from his 3rd walk (up to the school a the top of the road and back) and the poor dog dug his paws in at the end of the drive when we came home as if to say "that can't be it! that can't be all I get!". :'( I do feel for him. I can't drive him to walk in more interesting places, because he'd get too excited and it's still too early to risk it. So 10 minutes from the house is just 2 walks - up the road, and down the road. Poor thing.
Re: to sniff or not to sniff... Not forever though Charlie boy xxx I think their noses get tired. I love a bit of working dogs on the tele every now and then and the dogs that have to sniff out drugs, money, people, explosives etc get rested regularly because their noses get tired and less sensitive as well as the dogs themselves needing a break. I guess we all hope brain stuff will tire our dogs out when they're on restricted exercise and it does work.....to a degree
Re: to sniff or not to sniff... Thank you Julie for this post im so happy to have read it and feel relived to learn that sniffing is gud bcoz thats what Cooper always on his walks everytime which i was worried and sometimes pulled him away he walks on lead and pulls occasionally which i don mind but its the sniffing part tat annoys me but now im so relieved thanks to you..
Re: to sniff or not to sniff... When Drift was recuperating from his pinned and screwed elbow and we were only on three x five minute walks a day and he was a lively 7 month old, part of that time was for sniffing. I suppose I am lucky as I live on a lane and it has grassy verges which were perfect for sniffing.
Re: to sniff or not to sniff... [quote author=bbrown link=topic=4873.msg61257#msg61257 date=1394980874] I guess we all hope brain stuff will tire our dogs out when they're on restricted exercise and it does work.....to a degree [/quote] Well, at 7.30pm, Charlie took himself off to his bed and curled up in a very firm "I'm sleeping now" ball. So he hasn't had his last 10 minutes. So maybe the sniffing worked. I think it's also because he hasn't been in his crate much (OH moved his PC to the breakfast room and so Charlie was free to wander round a small space all day - not something he is used to recently). He looks so good it's hard to remember he is recovering from major surgery. I'm just letting him sleep now. Snoozy puppy.
Re: to sniff or not to sniff... [quote author=Stacia link=topic=4873.msg61251#msg61251 date=1394978032] My Labs have a 'sniff command' when they are allowed to sniff, at at other times they must walk to heel and not sniff or hunt. Apparently sniffing is very tiring, so just the thing for Charlie at the moment to help calm him down when he must be raring to go. [/quote] That's exactly what I've been trying too. I personally feel that walkies should be quality time for the dog, let them exercise their instincts not just their legs. It's actually helped with pulling and breaking heal too because my pup is learning that she CAN have a good sniff around that verge or lamp post and she doesn't need to pull to get there!
Re: to sniff or not to sniff... Sniff when free play is fine....sniff when training or working is a no no. They do know the difference
Re: to sniff or not to sniff... I allow Tatze to sniff - the walk is for her, after all. I see her sniffing as like me reading the newspaper. Of course, during training no sniffing is allowed - just as I'm not allowed to read the newspaper at work
