Should You Let Your Dog Sniff On Walks?

A common question this is! Here's what I think about it!
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[@HeatherQ333]

Absolutely! This is a great video. great job.

[@hanksimon1023]

I like your distinction. If you are walking the dog to give him exercise and mental stimulation, then that is a good time to let him sniff all the smells and possibly leave his mark, so that he will know that he has come this way. However, if the walk at that moment is Not for the dog, but to get from point A to point B, even to get from the house to the park, it is not necessary to let the dog sniff. A great example, is if you are crossing the street or crossing a parking lot, then sniffing is not a requirement.

[@_milkysoup]

My dog is a 3yo rescue gsd mix and I’ve worked with another older european street dog aswell and this is quality advice especially for stressed dogs. You have to manoeuvre between taking the dog’s focus on and off of yourself consistently to manage their stress levels and let them do their needs, decompress and stay collected and trusting of you in higher demand situations. First week with my dog she had her attention 99% on me at all times to the point she didn’t pee or poo because she was not used to being on lead and attached to a person. Encouraging her to sniff around and move independently is absolutely crucial at that point. When she’s gotten more trust in me and confidence in herself it’s time to switch to controlling the sniffing and movement in order to calm down after high excitement. Leaving the dog park after play (with me) for example she will be close to me because “reading the news” in that state is making her more stressed and less able to handle new situations that arise, play for a stressed dog is just as exciting and fun as it is intimidating a lot of the time. Removing factors for her to worry about and being clear that she only needs to consider what I’m doing (= walking forward) speeds up that decompression exponentially! It’s amazing what this does for adult stressed dogs.

[@SammiJK]

This was great thanks! restricting the sniffs and marking has greatly improved our walks and using the break command our Chow Chow is getting to understand when he can and can't do this, at 2 years old it will take time but he is definitely improved (enough for people who see us out and about regularly to notice). Walks are no longer a nightmare but keep working on these improvements daily, it 100% works :-) thanks Ben

[@balanceddoguk]

No problem! So good to hear your seeing improvement! Keep up the amazing work!

[@vivienleigh4640]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate it! It's much more clear to me now. I hope, and believe that others too can have good use of this video. I just have to look out the window to see dog owners being walked by their dogs 😄 (Vanessa)

[@balanceddoguk]

You are so welcome!

[@vinceking7651]

Great post, thank you Ben 🙏

[@carolmagallon6918]

You have a gorgeous dog. Thanks for sharing this info

[@lolypop123454]

Another clear and informative video 👌🏻 would love to see a video on place training

[@balanceddoguk]

Noted! 😍

[@watchmoivies123]

Perfect video and your dogs weight is perfect also

[@balanceddoguk]

Thank you!

[@themanabroad7800]

This has always been my rule as well

[@devcjg]

Another great video Ben.

[@balanceddoguk]

Thank you!

[@skylasjourney]

i agree 100%

[@tara6993]

I have an xl bully so, I ALWAYS have to keep her on a lead and wearing a muzzle when I take her for her walks. So, because she's not able to roam free anymore, I let her sniff whenever she wants to as, either way, whether we are going from A-B or breaking, she is still going to have to be leashed and therefore "dragging me through bushes". I would love to be able to let her off lead but, its not possible and feel that, she is getting all her mental stimulation, the more I let her sniffas, she can no longer get her physical stimulation. Should I change from letting her sniff all she wants, to letting her sniff only when I decide she can?

[@TechnoBabbleMedia]

Great video! Easily the best video adressing this. I've wondered this myself as my dog sniffs like crazy on walks. I've asked many people whether this is ok and I've got different answers.I do have another questions though. My dog gets aggressive to intact male dogs. Is this something we can work with our dog to fix?I"ve also got many different answers for this so I don't really know what is true.

[@balanceddoguk]

I’ll do a video talking about it this soon!

[@TechnoBabbleMedia]

@@balanceddoguk Thank you!

[@zz.158]

Nice video but i ll give you an advice: show us how you do, how to do it. It works better when content creator show actually how they educate their dogs , say the commands, etc. So less talking and more showing.

[@user-fv4it3wj8c]

Totally agree!! Way to much content like that. All talk, no show. Very annoying