10/04/2025
LET THEM SNIFF AND EXPLORE!
While many dog owners enjoy the opportunity to go outdoors, get some exercise and enjoy the sights and sounds of Southwest Florida, many consider walking the dog a necessary evil and an obligation.
Of those pet owners who sincerely enjoy the activity, many have limited patience for the excessive sniffing and pulling and exploring.
Fido’s sense of smell is simply incredible! He has approximately 300 million olfactory receptors (humans possessing roughly 6 million) and he just loves to use them. His ability to detect scents and smells is remarkable. In her book, “Inside of a Dog,” Alexandra Horowitz provided a nearly incomprehensible example. She indicated that while a human might be capable of sniffing a teaspoon of sugar that had been added and stirred into a cup of coffee, a dog could smell that same teaspoon of sugar dissolved into a million gallons of water!
Consider that for a moment! The average swimming pool contains approximately 10,000 gallons of water. If accurate, that means that a dog could sniff out one teaspoon of sugar dissolved into ONE HUNDRED swimming pools.
That being said, imagine Fido’s typical walk and all of the scents and smells he will discover along the way.
Surely, we need to keep our dog under control and cannot realistically allow them to drag us in every direction. However, your pooch’s sniffer is providing him with a world of information and stimulation.
So, while we tend to pull back on the leash when our dog begins to pull us off in a seemingly ridiculous direction, we should allow him that opportunity whenever possible.
Surely, the goal is to allow your dog an opportunity to “do his business,” however, try to permit Fido to see and smell what his environment has to offer!
