opinions on dog sniffing along on casual walks?

[welsummerchicks]

If a dog was going to do SAR, tracking, I would not let him put his nose down and smell things while he is walking on a leash in a collar with me in the woods or park or in the neighborhood. The dog has to learn to heel on a lead and basic obedience before tracking or SAR.

If I did allow any sniffing, it would be while wearing a tracking harness, not a collar, and it would be after the basic obedience (CD) is solid.

At nine months - I don't feel any dog is young. I feel by then, habits have been made for life, and will be hard to break, I would be training the dog to heel without having his nose down and sniffing, from about twelve weeks of age. It is harder to unteach something, or to teach 'do this sometimes but not others', so I would try to not have different kinds of heeling, especially not with a young dog in initial training.

But not by yank-yank-yank on a training collar and being a Heeling Nazi, by treating, occasional use of collar, but try to keep it positive, yank-yank-yank sours dogs and makes them confused and nervous. If the work is done right in the first couple sessions, it would require very little use of the training collar.

Some dogs can learn 'directed heeling' on a long leash, where they are allowed to 'wander follow', without actually heeling - trainers vary in HOW directed, 'directed heeling' is, for some it's basically just not tripping the trainer and staying somewhere over on the left side, and the lead is long, or long-ish.

Some dogs will be very, very difficult to train to heel formally after any directed heeling training, or any loose-lead-not-positioned walking on a leash. It's usually after doing directed heeling that one finds that out...LOL...I wasn't happy....LOL!!

 

[Garden Gal]

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Since his nose can at times get in the way of paying attention / obeying you - I personally would want to control when and where he can have his head to the ground. When heeling (our casual walk; we use "foos" for a more serious heel but we don't do competition) Falcon's head is up. Occassionally during our walks, I'll stop and say "break" which lets him do his thing for a bit. Then it is back to heel. The reason I don't allow sniffing while walking is that by allowing it - I'm training him that is what our walks are supposed to be like. But with this said - if you are okay with it, then it is fine by me too!

I'm just beginning tracking with my dog - only for fun and to let him use what comes naturally. (Just received the book by Gary Patterson "Tracking from the Beginning".) Like most folks who have posted, my GSD's nose is on the ground when he is not on leash or working with me, so I think it is going to be great fun training and working on tracking!

 

[sourland]

It all depends upon what you want to do with him. The dog's nose is it's key to it's world. He is only reading who and what has passed through before him. My wife has been obedience training our golden retriever. When we start a walk the dog is on her training lead with her training collar. At that time she is to "key" on us and respond to our commands. Last half of the walk she goes on a flexi with her "play" collar. Anything goes then. Back to the parking lot, switch leads and collar for some formal obedience training, into the truck and home. edited to add: Gardengal, looks we are on the same page with our dogs.

 

[arabianequine]

My basic obedience trainer always said the puppy is on your time.....if you want it heeling it won't pay attention or follow/move very well if its head is always in the ground doing what it wants too.

 

[Beekissed]

When I walk him, I usually make him pay attention and walk at my side for a while to establish who's in charge, then let him do the same thing as a reward for being a good dog. As long as he pays attention when he needs to, I don't mind.

I use this method as well. I will "work" my dog for a short while at the beginning of the walk, let him just be a dog for awhile as a reward for his attention to duty, then get him back in work mode again and just alternate throughout the walk.

I also remove the leash and let him range ahead a little and practice on recall. If he doesn't immediately return, he is back on the leash for working. It seems to break up our training and lets the dog have a pleasurable experience and also let's him know that there is a time to play and a time to work...and I control both of these.​

 

[michickenwrangler]

A walk for us means a walk on our own property or a stroll down our road where we are the only year-round residents, everyone else is only up in the summer and a few weekends in the fall. Our dog is off leash the whole time and free to come and go as she pleases. She comes when I call her--although I may have to call her several times if she's out of sight.

That being said, I do not walk her during hunting season off our property and a local woman usually walks her dog after dinner and comes down our road so I avoid that time too.

Even when I lived in suburban Ann Arbor, I let my dog sniff on a leash even though I usually wound up tripping over her. Personally, I think it's excellent mental stimulation for a dog that is inside most of the day.

 

[redhen]

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x2..
Plus hes a lab. They are bred to use those noses. He sounds like a good boy!

 

[lemurchaser]

I figure a walk is for their benefit as well as mine, so as long as they are using good manners, then they are allowed to sniff. I'll stop and ask for other behaviors during the walk like "heel" or "wait" and as long as they listen on the first command they can have their freedom. If they can't listen then we practice until they remember. My dogs walk out in front of me, but know not to pull and are listening at all times.

 

[dewey]

I liked to help my dogs be relaxed, have fun and completely enjoy themselves, no matter where we were, in a well defined relationship. No drill sergeant here, just simple training that was a way of daily life moment by moment, indoors or out. Our basic pecking order 24/7 and very basic training included leash training where the dog's attention was always guided to me, and other family members or friends, their leader. It was one step towards making being off-leash voice-controlled possible. Them being allowed to sometimes take control over the relationship by sniffing along the ground, walking ahead, looking at other people or pets on walks, pulling on lead, or not being made to follow through on a command on the first command was confusing to them.

Some of the dogs that were given up for being too difficult to manange or "out of control" made the best service animals for some of my friends. To name one that was a nippy, jumping, animal chasing, growling, barking, lunging at the door or out the door, and a drag-a-250 pound-man-around on leash, was 4 pleasant months later the most gentle, calm, voice controlled animal in training who would retrieve on command and gently place in the lap anything dropped (phone, silverware, keys, ADL objects, etc.), who, instead of barking wildly, would come to get me anywhere in the house if the doorbell rang and would then down-stay when guests entered unless given the command to greet. To me, the "big stuff" really starts with the "little stuff" like leash training, indoors and out.

When they were on their own exploring their yard and surroundings they could focus on and sniff and piddle on any scent at will. When on daily walks or runs, I liked that it was a great opportunity to continue to stimulate their minds and reinforce a happy, clearly defined relationship. No sniffing, lol.

 

[Brindlebtch]

When I am casually walking my dogs, I let them sniff. Dogs live in a different world than we do and scent speaks to them in a way we probably cannot even concieve.

My dogs understand situationally or by command when they are not suppose to sniff.

I would let my dogs sniff on a casual walk as long as they are well behaved about it.