If you're a dog owner, you've probably been stuck on a walk that was much longer than expected due to your dog's constant sniffing.
While it may seem annoying in the moment, especially if you're in a hurry, research shows that allowing your dog to smell is important for its own well-being. Some have even suggested that sniffing is essentially a form of canine social media, providing entertainment and enrichment for dogs.
Why is it so important to let your dog smell? Is it really the equivalent of social media? We asked a veterinarian to find out more.
While there are downsides to social media, there are no downsides to letting your dog sniff.
Research shows that social media can cause anxiety and depression, and can leave you in the middle of a comparison cycle where you feel like others are better than you. So it's not entirely accurate to equate social media with letting your dog sniff.
“Scrolling through social media has known drawbacks and can be a daunting activity for many, but smelling is a beneficial sensory experience. By providing mental stimulation to dogs, we can provide mental stimulation to dogs,” Dr. Whitney Miller, chief veterinarian at Petco, told HuffPost via email.
However, sniffing is similar to social media in terms of how dogs obtain information about their surroundings. Dr. Daniel Bernal, a global veterinarian with Wellness Pet Company, told HuffPost via email how dogs perceive, learn, and make decisions about other dogs.
Every time a dog sniffs, she says, it takes in data about its neighbors and the animals around it.
While sniffing is a necessary part of dogs' lives, social media is not a necessary part of our lives. But both are ways we learn about the world around us.
Sniffing is good for your dog's health.
“Scenting has so many benefits for our dogs. Not only is it an important method of communication that helps dogs understand the world, but it's also key to a dog's overall health. It also serves as a great form of spiritual enrichment that engages the body and mind,” Bernal said. .
Many dogs get stimulated by running around and playing with other puppies, but this isn't necessarily the case for older dogs, which makes sniffing an even more important activity.
“Stopping and sniffing can be very mentally stimulating, especially for older dogs whose physical activity has decreased,” Bernal said, adding that sniffing can help older dogs stay healthy and active. He pointed out that it was helpful.
Specifically, Miller said, sniffing “increases breathing rate and stimulates hormonal and metabolic processes in the body, which helps keep dogs active.”
Sniffing can also have a positive impact on your dog's mental health. Bernal says this makes patients more optimistic, reduces levels of the stress hormone cortisol, and reduces anxiety.
Miller said, “Dogs may feel stressed if they are not allowed to stop and sniff during a walk, because they judge their surroundings by sniffing.'' emphasized the importance of
In fact, it's part of their DNA.
According to Bernal, the desire to smell dogs can be traced back to our canine ancestors, who roamed the earth hundreds of thousands of years ago.
“In North America, the most common canid ancestor was the gray wolf,” she says.
Gray wolves communicated through howls and body language, but their sense of smell was their most important tool.
“Today, our dogs still have an advantage because of their specialized and sensitive sense of smell,” Bernal says.
While humans rely primarily on vision, dogs use their sense of smell to communicate and assess their surroundings.
Bernal explained that dogs have more than 100 million sensory receptor sites in their noses, while humans have only 6 million. Additionally, the part of a dog's brain that analyzes scent is about 40 times larger than the equivalent part of the human brain.
“A dog's sense of smell is said to be as high as 10,000, depending on the breed. [to] 100,000 times more than humans,” Bernal said.
There are several ways to give your dog a chance to smell.
Sniffing the neighborhood is how dogs learn about their neighbors, but sniffing inside your home can also be beneficial to your dog's health.
“Although taking your dog outside to sniff is always a great option, there are also scent toys and puzzles that can be useful at home for those rainy days when your dog needs extra stimulation,” says Miller. says.
You can encourage your dog to smell with a snuffle mat or puzzle treat toy, or you can hide treats around the house for your dog to sniff. In other words, you don't have to keep your dog from snorting on rainy days.
Whatever you do, always be careful, especially when you're outdoors.
“It's also important to note that pet parents should always be on guard to ensure that their puppies don't inhale anything potentially dangerous while sniffing outside,” says Miller. .
Smoke, pollen, dust, and some types of leaves can be harmful to dogs if they get stuck in their nasal passages.
Once safety is in mind, it's important to let your dog explore using their scent skills.
“It's tempting to let your dog lead the way during your daily walk, but don't forget to let your dog lead the way sometimes and let them explore and enjoy the world that we can't see.” Bernal says. “It will go a long way in keeping you both healthy and happy and promoting a happy life together.”
