HOW TO USE YOUR DOGS NOSE TO AVOID AGGRESIVE BEHAVIOR

A dog’s nose is more important than we realize. Dogs use their nose to experience the world, it is the first sense to develop and the last sense to go. A dog’s nose is about 60% of their brain and to deprive your dog of experiencing new smells, preventing them from smelling other dogs or people before greeting them, or keeping them from butt sniffing can lead to unhealthy behavior, reactivity, and aggression.

EXAMPLE

Right now, I am working with a Pitbull puppy that is around 10 months old that has some pretty serious reactivity issues. He bites his owners if they try to put him in the crate, growls at new visitors, and has bitten 3 people, including me. The thing I noticed was that he was not using his nose to smell a new human like a normal, healthy dog. Instead, he fixated on them with his eyes. This is not normal! When a dog does not sniff a new dog or human and stares them down, it usually means that they see the person or dog they are meeting as a threat, and it can lead to a bite. As soon as I got this puppy to my house, the first thing I did was I allowed him to smell my house and the neighborhood as much as he wanted for an hour. After that, I introduced him to my dogs, and he displayed healthy dog behavior by sniffing rear ends and avoiding direct eye contact. Now, he greets people with his nose first and does not display the fixated stare.

EASY WAYS TO GET YOUR DOG USING THIER NOSE

1. THE "FIND IT GAME"

This is a super easy game and fun for all! To start, take a handful of training treats, throw them on the floor, and then say "find". Your dog will use their nose to sniff out the treats. To progress this game further, as soon as your dog gets the premise, start to hide the treats in harder to find places and say “find”. The dog will use their nose intently to sniff out their reward. You can even progress it further by moving it to the backyard.

2. GO TO NEW PLACES

Your dog will eventually stop being enthusiastic about using their nose if they are stuck in the house or only have one location where they get walked. Introduce your dog to new places to smell. This will help build your dog’s confidence by allowing him to do natural dog behavior.

3. SOCIALIZE

When you want to introduce your dog to a new human or dog, introduce them as smell first. If your dog greets a new dog with eyes first, there will most likely be a fight. Have people bend down, avoid eye contact, and let the dog come to them by air sniffing them first. Once that happens, the stranger can then give the dog affection.

IMPORTANT

When you get your dog exploring the world with their nose first, you can avoid unhealthy behaviors, such as reactivity and aggression. These behaviors are not the problems! They are the outcome of the problem. 15 minutes of nose work is equivalent to a mile and a half walk! Keep that in mind! A tired dog is a happy dog, and a dog that uses his nose first is a healthy dog.

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