Highly Recommended reading for only $10 bucks
June 2010
Everyday you take the dog for their usual walk for exercise and do their business, only to have them drag you around the whole neighborhood. They’ve got to sniff and smell everything in sight to find the perfect spot . Just when you think your beloved pooch has found that location they decide to go a bit here and a bit there "spreading the wealth around". Their nose is to the ground like it’s a CSI investigation. Well, for them it truly is. Dogs gather a lot of information from a quick sniff of their environment both physical and emotional details. He smells where you've been and even how the experience affected you when you come home everyday. Dogs sniff each other and each others' secretions, constantly monitoring various physiological and emotional changes on an ongoing basis.
Dogs live in a world of odors. Their sense of smell is their most refined sense The scrolled, scent membrane inside a dog's nose is about four times greater in area than the equivalent smell organ in humans. In the dog's nose, there are over 200 million scent receptors in the nasal folds compared to our 5 million. Moisture on the nose helps to capture scent and transmit it onto odor-sensitive nasal membranes, which cover the nose's wafer-thin turbinate bones. These bones comprise of convoluted folds, ensuring that the tiniest amount of scent is captured within them.
Yes, it takes longer for the walk but your dog is doing what is natural. Taking your dog in a field or the bush off leash, will help satisfy this instinctive drive. You will add freedom for him to investigate and the walks will be less stressful for you..