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What's that You Smell? Unlocking the Power of Sniffing as a Motivator – Video
UPDATE – 4/8/24 – This is just a superb round up of motivators and the importance of using sniffing that I thought it deserved another featured moment. Take look, then let’s continue our conversation….
…Joy and I just got back from a dewey, misty morning walk through the woods with friends. My friend and I speculated what all three dogs were scenting, as they ran ahead of us, heads down, tails up. Fox? Deer? Certainly bunnies… And I remembered a talk from the APDT conference just last week.
Gregory Berns M.D., Ph.D. at Emory University has been doing MRI research for 10 years, on trained dogs who are awake during the procedure (and holding perfectly still during testing!) and has concluded that dogs process odors in combination differently than singular odors. A bouquet does not smell the same as a single flower. So, our dogs this morning, running through the tall damp grass were getting a literal cornucopia of scent! At the same time, they can clearly detect a singular odor and hone in on it. It’s fascinating stuff.
Pro Trainer Kelsey Weber understands the power of sniffing for dogs as an intrinsic motivator and uses it to build relationship and gain trust. She unlocks the power of sniffing when getting to know a new dog every time she begins one of her training walks. Check out what she has to say about sniffing. Then, post your thoughts.
In what ways could we use this intrinsically motivating sensory superpower with our dogs?
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7 Replies
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What kind of stuff can I use as scents to get my dog bowser to pay more attention to me on a walk instead of sniffing the ground the whole walk pulling
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Great question @Bowserdog20 Henry! Harnessing the power of scent is the way to go when motivating dogs. It might not be about what particular scent you use (because all individuals have different preferences) but rather it might be about how you are setting up Bowser for success. Follow my posts – we’ve got much more coming on this, this week and the weeks to come. Start by watching the video above and don’t miss tomorrow’s video on getting started with Long Lines. Bowser’s gonna love it!
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I love that you’ve reposted this, @catherine . Reminded me of a post I did about creating a game using rabbit scent, so I thought I’d include a link here. ????
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We have so many great discussions; thanks for bringing up your trailing post again. I feel like all my recommendations boil down to “let them be dogs” and “throw food” lol – I’m kidding, but honestly!
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I’ve not had a dog who likes to sniff flowers before, but Caber loves them! I know any walk is going to be a bit slow with him so he can stop and smell the flowers
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Thanks for the reminder, Caber! ????
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I’m with Caber!
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