Sniffari

How it works

The distance covered stops being the measure of a good outing. A dog may spend ten minutes at one hedge and never reach the end of the street, and the walk has still done its job. Research on scentwork found dogs given nosework showed increased optimism against a control group doing heelwork, with the authors crediting the choice involved as much as the sniffing. It tends to be particularly useful for dogs who find busy walks hard, because it can happen slowly and in a quiet place.

What it looks like

A handler leaves the house with no route in mind, follows the dog to a grass verge, and stands there for eleven minutes while the dog works along it. They get to the end of the road and turn back.

Commonly confused with

Decompression walk

The two overlap almost entirely and are often used for each other. A sniffari names the sniffing as the point; a decompression walk names the low demand and the length as the point.

Related terms

Where this comes up