Sniff and shake for dog health! Boy, it sure sounds like fun, but what in the world are we talking about? The first week of October is always National Walk Your Dog Week. We are big on walking because it is not only fun, it is healthy for dogs and their humans. This year we have some interesting statistics to share with you about what dogs do during walks.
Sniffing
A study was done recently by Dog Field Study. They looked at a dog’s pulse during walks. Dogs in the study were either off leash, on a short leash, or on a long leash. The results are quite interesting and may change how you walk your dog. Remember, humans usually experience their world through sight, but dogs view it through smell. The results of the 61 dogs in the study show:
- Dogs spent 280% more time sniffing on a long leash than on a short leash.
- Dogs spent 330% more time sniffing off leash than on a short leash.
So, what’s the big deal about sniffing anyway?
- Sniffing lowers a dog’s pulse.
- Sniffing lowers a dog’s pulse even if they are walking and sniffing.
- Sniffing is a way for dogs to relax, calm down, and reduce stress.
Shaking It Off
What about shaking it off? Does your dog like to “shake it off” all of the sudden? I know we often stop and have a good shake during our sniffing competitions. After our shake off, we are always right on task. It turns out, we shake off after we have a pulse increase, such as stress. For dogs it is something that we just do naturally.
- Shaking off usually takes about two seconds.
- Shaking off lowers pulse by an average of twelve percent.
Now you can see why we are saying, sniff and shake for dog health, on walks, or anytime. Lower pulse equals a happier heart. Of course, walking your dog has so many other benefits, but we found these to be something new and interesting. They also explain a lot of our behavior that Mom has wondered about. We suggest getting out for a walk every morning before breakfast. It is a wonderful way to start your day! If you need some more reasons, check out our post from last year!
For your enjoyment, we also took this photo of these pretty flowers on our walk. They look like fall to us.
We are joining our friends at Living Laughing and Barking in Our Backyard for their Nature Friday blog hop.
So interesting. Thanks for sharing.
Good stuff, we think.
I love how you two ladies take sniffin’ to the highest level. Walking is such a great exercise for all
Hugs Cecilia
Being scent hounds, we are sniffing lovers.
I didn’t know these statistics. Very interesting. I know our Little Bit loved her walks. She would do all those things and now I know why.
Have a fabulous day and weekend. Scritches to the pups. ♥
Slowly the humans learn more about why we do what we do 🙂 Happy weekend!
We really enjoy exchanging p-mail with the neighborhood and keeping our human healthy,
Peemail is like a bonus for us sniffers.
we shake a lot of things off… it is like the reset button on a computer ;O)
It is. Mom gets frustrated when we trial and aren’t finding anything, but she knows when we shake off, good things will happen. Now she knows more about why.
A breakfast walk sounds great! Beautiful group of flowers
Some people sit down and drink coffee to start the day, but we run or walk and then have breakfast.
This was very interesting. Luke spends a lot of time sniffing on our walks, I know that for sure! I have sometimes thought about getting him a longer or retractable leash since we mostly just walk in our woods anyway. I’m not sure I want him sniffing any more than he does though!
We are a lot more consistent about walking than we used to be. Once it becomes habit, we miss it if we won’t get one.
Mom is a mess if she ever misses a walk, so we never miss walks.
Thank you for that information tidbits – now to go sniff and shake!
This is very interesting – not the leash/no leash, but the impact sniffing and shaking have on relaxation.
It explains why we always shake off when we are doing our sports!
Y’all are the best looking walkers ever! Have a fun weekend everyone!!!
Thank you. We love going for walks.
Sniffing is so much better with my harness than that stoopid prong collar! Mom and I both love, love, love our morning walks.
Harnesses are much better for sniffing, that is also a fact.
That is very interesting to know. The boys walk on 7ft. leashes but manage to sniff every single step of our walks. Haha!
Out the door, nose down, go. That is how we roll here.
Great info, i just shared it with Little Girl, she will remember when walking the dogs.
It is good information to know if you walk dogs.
Well then, Jaxson must have an extremely low pulse. He sniffs and shakes like a crazy dog, so he’s super chilled most of the day!
Probably what keeps him grounded. It explains a lot to Mom about why we are doing what we do, and when we do it.