Does sniffing reduce stress in dogs?
Cayla Gibson
2025-06-27 00:12:00
Count answers: 10
Sniffing is a natural behavior for dogs. It's how they explore their environment, learn about other animals, and even find food. Sniffing can help to reduce stress in dogs by releasing endorphins, which have mood-boosting effects. If your dog is feeling anxious or stressed, taking them for a walk in a quiet area where they can sniff freely can help to calm them down. Another study linked walking and sniffing freely to lowered heart rate and blood pressure in dogs. This can help to keep them engaged and one study indicated that these positive emotional state of sniffing lead to a more optimistic outlook. Reduces stress: Sniffing can help to reduce stress in dogs by releasing endorphins, which have mood-boosting effects.
Mertie Zboncak
2025-06-26 23:18:19
Count answers: 9
However, little is known about how engaging in scent-based activities may impact the behaviour and physiology or be of benefit to dogs themselves. This is relevant as there has been rising interest in the use of recreational scent activities for companion dogs, modelled on working detection dogs, requiring dogs to search, locate and indicate on a trained odour. The purpose of this scoping review is to determine what behavioural and physiological changes occur during scent-based activities for dogs. Studies of working dogs focused on changes in physiology and seldom on behaviour during trained search scent detection exercises, while in shelter and companion dogs, the research emphasis was on changes occurring in response to different odours introduced to the environment. There is a notable research gap investigating the impact of participation in scent detection tasks on the behaviour and physiology and hence the welfare of dogs.
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