Guess the Sniff Spots – A Walking Game

I’ve been playing a game with myself on my dog walks lately and thought I would share it with you all.

I’ve been doing nosework training (where they search for a specific scent) with both my dogs for awhile now. Since I’ve been involved in nosework, I’ve become fascinated by what, how and where they sniff. It’s this whole world that they can enjoy that we cannot perceive and there is something about that that is captivating to me.

Most of my walks with my dogs are simply for sniffing. I try to choose quieter locations so that we can just relax and they can sniff and I can look and we don’t have to worry too much about training.

Okay – so here’s the game:

When I turn a corner or otherwise enter a new area of our walk, I pause and look at the surroundings. I try to guess where Doug or Dan will stop to sniff. If they stop in an area I didn’t expect, I try to think about what that area has that other areas do not.

Here’s some of the things I’ve observed:
-Bushy bushes are good for sniffing. I think this is because there is more surface area on bushier plants and so they hold more odor.

-Vertical surfaces, especially corners are good for sniffing. Likely because these are preferred marking locations for other dogs.

-Sometimes, my dog will pass a bush, tree or other object and then turn back to sniff it. This usually has to do with the wind direction. Even when it seems still, there is direction to the air movement.

Try it!

I wanted to give you a chance to try this before your next dog walk. Below is a photo of a neighborhood block that Doug and I were about to walk down. Check out the photo and see if you can guess where Doug will sniff. Then, you can see in the video where he *did* sniff. How many of the spots did you guess correctly? Were there any surprises?