All animals have certain behaviours they have an instinctive desire to perform – these are known as ‘species-specific’ behaviours, and dogs are no exception. When dogs don’t have opportunities to perform these behaviours in a safe and controlled way they may perform them in unsafe and undesired ways, which may lead to the development of behavioural issues. Through this series I will cover some common species-specific behaviours in dogs and some ways in which you can safely facilitate them. Today, let’s take a look at sniffing.
Sniffing has huge benefits for canine wellbeing. Not only does it encourage other natural behaviours such as exploration, sensory investigation, and foraging, but studies have shown it has a positive effect on your dog’s nervous system. Sniffing is a calming activity and can help dogs to decompress by mitigating stress through providing a safe way to regulate their nervous system. Sniffing stimulates your dog’s brain too, just ten minutes of sniffing can be as tiring as half an hour of physical exercise, and it’s important to cater to both their mental and physical needs.
You can combine several species-specific behaviours into one activity. For example, scatter feeding your dog outside will facilitate sniffing, exploration, and foraging behaviours. Scatter feeding by sprinkling kibbles or treats in a safe area, such as your garden or a quiet spot on a walk, can be a great way of providing enrichment for your dog. It can also be a useful tool for reactive dogs if you cannot avoid your dogs trigger, or cannot get adequate space away from their trigger, then scattering some treats on the floor can be a great way to distract a food motivated dog from their trigger.
Here are some simple and easy ways I would recommend facilitating some fun sniffing behaviour. Scatter feeding, as outlined above, can incorporate many species-specific behaviours, just make sure the area that you’re feeding in is safe and free from any toxins. Sniffing puzzles are a great, fun way to provide some sniffing enrichment, and it’ll get your dog using their brain which will help tire them out. You can buy sniffing puzzle games which range from fairly simple snuffle mats to more complex hidden treat puzzles, or you can make some yourself using cardboard boxes, tissues, soft blankets etc. You can play sniffing games with your dog such as hiding treats in various places around a room and then encouraging your dog to sniff them out, this is great for allowing your dog to perform some foraging and exploration behaviour too. If your dog isn’t motivated by food then try hiding some of their favourite toys to sniff out. There are more complex scent-work games out there but these are just a few easy and quick examples that most people would be able to do with materials around their home.
