Why Sniffing Is Such a Big Deal for Dogs

To us, a patch of grass is a patch of grass. To a dog, it's Facebook, the local newspaper and several neighbourhood group chats all at once.

Sniffing lets dogs gather an extraordinary amount of information about their environment. It also gives them a chance to slow down, make choices and use their brain.

That's why a sniffy walk doesn't need to cover huge distances to be worthwhile. Ten minutes investigating smells can be genuinely engaging.

At daycare we build scent opportunities into the day through Snifferama, natural areas and changing things to investigate.

So if your dog spends ages examining one apparently boring shrub, they're not wasting the walk. They're reading the comments section.