CBS3 Pet Project: Let your dog sniff
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – This brisk weather is great to get outside and exercise. Dogs really enjoy their walks, but there are times when they need to slow down and use their nose.
Animal advocate Carol Erickson from the Pennsylvania SPCA says recent research shows that letting your dog sniff can lower their pulse rate.
Researchers were looking at dogs on walks and how much calmer they were if they were allowed to sniff.
The more intensely they sniff, the more their pulse rates went declined.
The length of the leash influenced the amount of time that they spent sniffing. Dogs on a 16-foot leash sniffed longer than dogs on a 5-foot leash. Those dogs running around by themselves were able to sniff the most and get the pulse rate down the most.
It's apparently very calming for them to check out their environment through sniffing. So let them sniff.
Watch the entire interview with Erickson in the video above.