Smell is the most powerful sense dogs possess. It is fully developed at birth. Dogs have up to 300 million sensors compared to six million in humans. The part of the dog brain that analyzes smells is 40 times bigger in dogs than humans. As pet owners, we frequently forget to include scent games as part of activities with our animals. Steve Duno shares some that owners can play with their dogs.
Source: Modern Dog.
With a little planning and patience, dog owners can add fun scent games to their dog’s repertoire of behaviors and help utilize this untapped smell power. Here’s some options:
- Find the food
- Pick the hand
- New animal scent
- Hide and seek
- Shell game
- Where’s dinner
- Scent trails
- Find the scent itself
INSIGHTS: This can easily be shared on websites, social media and in follow-up communications with new pet owners or those enrolled in puppy classes. Dogs that play scent games are less likely to create their own, often destructive, games.