You’ll often hear me talk about ‘decompression’ leash walks for your dog or as they are referred to in the training world, ‘sniffari’ walk. But are you really decompressing and helping your dog or building up so much dopamine and oxytocin that you’re doing more harm than good?
On a recent camping trip, my dog Louie had no off leash walks the likes of which he gets at home on a regular basis. He’s used to the freedom and autonomy when we walk in the forest and that allows him the ability to self regulate his emotions as his body and mind responds to the scent filled environment. But walks on leash do no such thing.
On his 3rd on-leash trail walk, Louie got so frustrated at different points on the walks that he sat down, he barked, he whined, and make one attempt at the zoomies, all of which were his way of trying to cope with the pent up frustration. This wasn’t fun for either of us and did not accomplish what I had hoped it would for him.
Decompression walks are intended to allow dogs to sniff and mentally process their environment resulting in a tired and satiated brain.
When dogs are sniffing, they are creating oxytocin and hits of dopamine and when they have no ability to release the build up of these brain chemicals it can result in any number of unwanted behaviours. This is because the leash prevents the dog’s ability to move freely and go where they want to go, at a pace that would help them manage their big emotions that are due to the chemical build up. They may become frustrated and overwhelmed and maybe, over aroused. So when that walk was done and we returned to the truck, I had to ask myself:
Was I helping him or hurting him?’
This happens with humans too and you see it all over social media. People getting surprised by the appearance of someone they love and they immediately break down in tears and/or collapse. This is a person overwhelmed by emotion thanks to a flood of feel good chemicals and their inability to process the rush fast enough so they cry, or scream or step back out of shear shock. Its emotional overwhelm in action. Im sure all of us have experienced this feeling at one time or another and it can also include feelings of anger.
So how do you know if you’re helping your dog or just creating more frustration?
Each dog is an individual so you really have to know your dog, understand basic canine body language and see behaviour with a critical eye instead of just labeling a dog as disrespectful, a jerk and the myriad of other labels we put on them to explain what we cannot understand.
How do we prevent our dogs from experiencing overwhelming emotions?
You can start by keeping the walk short. If you can’t do that, opt out of the dog walk and play games, play search games, train, use slow feeders and anything that allows your dog to engage that doesn’t overwhelm them. If they do get overwhelmed, over aroused, allow them space to move, and stop whatever it is that is causing them to lose their ability to self regulate.
Louie? Well, there were no more on leash trail hikes. He likes to sleep so staying back at the trailer while I hike is better for him than the alternative. I engage by giving him long line walks around the campground, train new skills or fine tuning known ones, playing parkour games and daily bone treats, all of which helps decompress and reduce boredom.
Sniffaries’ are a suggestion but they don’t work for all dogs. Always, always, do what is best for YOUR dog. Give them what they need and help them decompress in a way that is beneficial for them.