Tally counter showed 47 sniffs at the dog park in 15 minutes

I clipped a little clicker counter to my belt loop to see how often my beagle stops to smell things during just one visit. 47 sniffs in 15 minutes, which explains why a 10 minute walk takes us 45. Has anyone else timed their dog's sniffing habits or am I the only weirdo with a counter?

2 comments

2 Comments

danielwhite6d ago

47 sniffs in 15 minutes? That's almost a sniff every 20 seconds or so. I just sat and did the math in my head and that sounds exhausting honestly. My golden retriever would probably hit those numbers too but I've never been brave enough to actually track it.

henderson.mila6d ago

Huh funny you say that because I actually think that rate is totally normal for a dog thats really dialed in. If you watch them on a deer trail or something they'll practically hyperventilate and theres nothing exhausting about it for them, its like breathing for us. My neighbors beagle will do like 60 sniffs in a minute when she catches a whiff of something interesting and she'll keep that pace up for hours without breaking a sweat. Dogs noses are built different, they process air in little bursts and its actually less work for them than taking deep slow breaths. You ever see a dog fall asleep with their nose twitching? Thats just their default state.