You get home late, take your dog out for a brisk 30 minutes, and the moment you are back inside she is racing around the living room. It is easy to think she needs more exercise. This guide follows episode 4 of our animated series, the Jungle Pet Encyclopedia, and looks at dog sniffing on walks, checking each point against published research on dogs’ sense of smell and veterinary guidance.
Watch the video (7:37) · The video is narrated in Korean. If English captions are not available yet, YouTube’s auto-translated captions can help, and the key points are summarized below.
Three boxes instead of a step count
Bori, the dog in the video, is a composite case built from several households’ stories. She always used to stop at one mailbox. Then her owner started fitting in a fast 30-minute walk after working late, and Bori came home more wound up than before, even though the walking app showed a perfect 3 km. Video 1:28
The video swaps the distance number for three boxes: how the leash was, how many times the nose got used, and how the dog was after the walk. That evening the leash stayed tight, Bori could not stop at the mailbox, and she stayed excited for more than half an hour at home. Her legs may have had plenty of work. Her nose had very little.
1. The nose: why dog sniffing on walks is real work
In a small experiment with six trained tracking dogs, the dogs could tell which way a person had walked from just five footsteps of their trail. With three footsteps, they could not. [Source: Hepper & Wells 2005, Chem Senses] Video 1:47
A brain imaging study of 23 dogs traced scent pathways running to many regions of the brain, including the area that processes what the eyes see. [Source: Andrews et al. 2022, J Neurosci] Building on that, the video describes sniffing as reading information, matching it against memory and making a judgment. Walk straight past the mailbox, and that whole job gets skipped. Video 2:08
2. Two weeks of nosework, and a paper-cup game at home
In a study of 20 pet dogs, one group practised finding treats by scent (nosework) for two weeks, and the other practised walking at heel. Only the nosework group became quicker to approach a bowl placed in an ambiguous spot. That shift is read as a sign of an optimistic, positive state of mind. [Source: Duranton & Horowitz 2019, Appl Anim Behav Sci] Video 2:42
Bori’s owner tried something similar: every evening for a week, a treat hidden under one of three paper cups. By the weekend, Bori walked straight up to a toy she had never seen and gave it a sniff. Still, six dogs and twenty dogs are both small studies, so none of this is settled.
What you can do
- Sniff stops — On even a short walk, give her three stops of 1–2 minutes to sniff.
- Leash and route — Keep the leash loose and let her choose the way at one fork.
This is the video’s suggestion for bringing the research into daily life, not a dose set by the study. As the video puts it, adding sniff time has little downside. Video 3:11
So is every dog who pulls on the leash simply excited? The next section gives a clue for telling the difference.
3. The leash: two kinds of pulling
The video’s clue is nose height. A dog with her nose to the ground and steady breathing is often following a scent. A dog with her head up, panting hard and staring ahead is often the excited kind of pulling. Quite often the two are mixed. Video 3:33
When to watch closely
If you cannot tell, let her sniff one spot for a minute or two and listen to her breathing. If it settles, she was likely following a scent. If she stays revved up, take a short break before moving on.
While she sniffs, keep an eye on the ground too. Do not let her eat dropped food, and keep visits to other dogs’ pee spots short. High-energy dogs, like the border collie next door in the video, also need a chance to run. Sniff time is added on top of exercise, not swapped in for it. Video 4:36
4. After the walk: paws, ears and older dogs
That night, wiping Bori’s paws, her owner found a grass seed between her toes. So the video suggests checking between the toes after each walk, and the ears and armpits too during tick season. When the ground heats up, test it with the back of your hand first. Video 5:14
A 14-year-old dog by the park bench cannot walk far, but still goes on sniff walks in one spot. The video’s point: the sniffing habit a young dog builds now can become her walk when she is older. For senior dogs, the general advice is to talk to your vet and keep walks short and frequent.
What you can do
On rainy or busy days, scatter a handful of her dinner kibble on a rug and let her find it. Once that is easy, roll the kibble into a towel for the next step. The video says ten minutes keeps a nose pretty busy.
5. Bori’s night: a long sigh as she lies down
A few days later, her owner put the phone away and stopped with Bori at the mailbox. After a good long sniff, Bori looked up at her owner for a while. At home she drank some water, flopped onto her cushion and let out a big sigh. The app said 1 km that night. Video 5:57
Research has not pinned down what this means, but a long exhale as a dog lies down with half-closed eyes is commonly seen as a dog who has relaxed. It does not have to mean she is worn out.
Summary: three boxes to check instead of walk time
| # | Box | What to look at | What you can do |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nose | How often and how long she stopped to sniff | Three sniff stops of 1–2 minutes |
| 2 | Leash | Nose height and breathing (often mixed) | Let her sniff 1–2 minutes, then check breathing; watch the ground |
| 3 | After | Still wound up, or lying down to rest | Check between toes, ears, armpits |
When to call the vet [Source: VCA Animal Hospitals for urgent and same-day signs; Jungle Pet Encyclopedia episode 4 for the appointment advice]
- Right now — Panting, wobbling and gum colour changes on a hot day → shade · lukewarm water · vet immediately.
- Same day — If she cannot put weight on a leg after a walk, or her panting does not settle even after rest, see the vet that day.
- Book a visit — If she suddenly dislikes a walk she used to love, film how she walks and book an appointment.
FAQ
Should I let my dog sniff on walks?
The video’s answer is yes, within limits: about three stops of 1–2 minutes, a loose leash, and an eye on the ground for dropped food. That number is the video’s suggestion, not a research finding.
How long should I walk my dog?
This post does not give a set number of minutes. The video’s point is that, for the same time, the share spent sniffing may count for more in settling the mind, and high-energy dogs still need running on top.
What if we cannot go out because of rain?
Scatter some kibble on a rug for her to find, then move on to kibble rolled into a towel once that gets easy.
Next episode · Jungle Pet Encyclopedia #5 asks: does my dog see me as a person? Previous episode: Why cats show their belly, then kick. Bori first appeared in why dogs lick and dog sleeping positions. See the full list in the Jungle Pet Encyclopedia.
Where does your dog always stop to sniff? Tell us in the comments.
Sources (last checked 2026-11-05 · studies checked at abstract and bibliographic level)
- Hepper & Wells (2005) How many footsteps do dogs need to determine the direction of an odour trail? Chem Senses 30(4):291–298 · DOI 10.1093/chemse/bji023
- Andrews et al. (2022) Extensive connections of the canine olfactory pathway revealed by tractography and dissection, J Neurosci 42(33):6392–6407 · DOI 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2355-21.2022
- Duranton & Horowitz (2019) Let me sniff! Nosework induces positive judgment bias in pet dogs, Appl Anim Behav Sci 211:61–66
- VCA Animal Hospitals — Heat Stroke in Dogs
- VCA Animal Hospitals — Lameness in Dogs
Written and reviewed by the Jungle Friends Team · First written 2026-11-05 · Last updated 2026-11-05
For diagnosis, always talk to your vet. Reading behavior is about possibilities, and the same behavior can have different causes.
Bori is a composite case built from several households’ stories, and the images are scenes from the Jungle Friends animation, not photos of real dogs. AI tools helped draft this post, and the Jungle Friends Team checked each research point against the sources above.