Extreme sniffing

[lainiekazan]

Dog is just 1 year old - golden retriever.

Recently he has started to go mad with sniffing on walks. Not just a bit of sniffing - he throws himself with wild abandon into bits of undergrowth every five paces. He'll be trotting along quite happily and then suddenly lurch forward to an interesting smell.

It is making walks extremely frustrating because he wants to roll around in nasty-looking patches of weed and delve in hedges and refuses to be distracted.

Any suggested strategies? He is entire, by the way.

I feel your pain as the owner of a 2 yo intact Lab sniffer. What I did was to get him to offer me a sit when he catches a scent, then he is rewarded with a 'go sniff' cue. He gets to sniff, I am not caught by surprise, and my arms stay firmly in their sockets

Worth a try, thanks. Next time I go out I shall go armed with mini sausages, although he is not hugely food motivated.

The getting to go sniff is rewarding in itself.

I have a sniffer too, she gets lost inside her own nose and doesn't hear anything when doing it, she's in another world. I hide treats in long grass for her to find, and you can mentally wear him out by playing hide and seek games at home, too.
Games to Play with Your Dog by Hamlyn has some good ideas like hiding treats under old cans (or whatever) and getting him to pick which one holds the treasure, and rubbing an old tea towel on the back of your neck then hiding it, etc. teaching 'where is it?!' And sending him off to hunt the treasure can help focus him instead of just wrenching you along as a spectator.