Did you know that Alpha Paw has its own channel on YouTube? Watch the latest episodes with host Bernie Zilio as she tackles your pet parent questions with our board of pet experts. In this episode, she reminds pet parents why it’s a good thing to let our furry family members “stop to smell the roses” while we walk them. You can watch the video and read the transcript below!

The Transcript

Bernie Zilio:

Does your dog like to draw walks as long as possible and sniff every single inch of land along the way. Well, it turns out this is actually really good for our dogs. Let’s talk about it.

Why Shouldn’t You Rush Your Dog During Walks?

Welcome back to alpha PA, your destination for everything dog. I’m Bernie’s Elio, and I’m going to a mission to answer every doggone question you have ever had about your fur babies. And today we are talking about why you shouldn’t rush your dogs’ sniffing habits on a walk as much as our dogs love their walks. And as much as we love to parade them around town. We all know that drawn-out walk sessions, especially when we’re extra busy or have somewhere to be can get a little frustrating, but it’s actually really important that we let our dogs walk and sniff on rushed and uninterrupted.

Obviously, longer walks are good for our pups’ health, they need the exercise to keep their hearts in tip-top shape to keep them trim and fit and to help get all that excess energy out. But walks also give them the opportunity to sniff the world around them. Sniffing sense is a huge part of our dog’s natural instincts and what they were born to do.

They have adapted mastery sniffing and sensory abilities over 1000s of years, and use them to investigate their surroundings. As we’ve talked about on the show before sniffing allows them to gather a ton of information and learn about their environment. So what kinds of things can they learn more than you can even imagine? A Dog’s sense of smell is almost 10 times stronger than that of a human. Their olfactory senses are actually their leading senses in how they interact with the world. And our dogs actually have a special organ that is designated to take their sense of smell. to the next level.

What Is Jacobson’s Organ?

It’s called the Jacobson’s organ, the Jacobson organ serves as a secondary olfactory system. designed specifically for chemical communication. The nerves from Jacobson’s organ lead directly to the brain and is actually different from the nerves in the olfactory tissue of the nose. Because they do not respond to ordinary smells. These nerve cells respond to smells that don’t have any odor at all, they can smell pheromones from other doggies ready to mate.

They allow our dogs to find their mother’s milk source when they’re puppies, and they even allow them to sniff out which baby mama is theirs. This lets our dogs learn a lot about people, dogs, and things just by using their little snoots. In fact, dogs actually have the ability to identify gender, mood, what another dog likes to eat. And if they’re healthier, sick, all with their snout. How amazing is that? So all of that sniffing isn’t just our dogs searching for an old slice of pizza on the sidewalk?

Well, it could be that too, but it’s how they parse out information and learn about the world around them. So how can you facilitate this learning slow your dog’s walk down and let them sniff to their heart’s content heading to big grassy areas or dog parks can also be a great opportunity for them to act on natural instincts and get in all their smells. If you can let your dog off-leash in a supervised setting, they can get in all their sniffing, get some energy out and frolic in the great outdoors, all at the same time. Just be cautious of any toxic plants, insects, or other hazards that could injure your pup.

Let Them Go At Their Own Pace

So in conclusion, even if it adds a little bit more time to your busy schedule, letting your dog sniff around is actually good for him or her and lets them feel more comfortable in their environment. Plus, it’s a good reminder to us all to just stop and smell the roses once in a while. Is your dog a big sniffer? Will you change your walking habits after watching this video? Let us know in the comment section down below. Again, I’m Bernie Zilio and this is Alpha Paw. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss a single doggone episode and we’ll see you next time.