Lives to sniff!

[Chinchi]

I found a great fenced in area at a nearby park today. It is used mainly at the weekends for sociable dogs to play off leash, so it was empty today. I thought it would be a great place for me and Darla to play some fetch which she usually loves in the house and garden. Well, lets just say that wasn't nearly as interesting for Darla as all those smells she found! She chased the ball a few times but would not fetch it for me to chuck again, she went back to sniffing!

Is that normal for a neutered dog to be more interested in scents than play? She has just turned a year old. On walks she constantly has her nose to the ground, she's more like a hound than a sheltie!

[Jaynie]

Spayed or not, she's still a dog! Dogs learn just as much about their environment by sniffing as we do by seeing. She learns who's been there, how long ago, what species they were, etc. all by just sniffing!

My boy Neechee used to sniff the air vents in the car while riding. I always said I wished I could have a computer printout of exactly what information he was getting in his little brain!

[dblock]

On our walks Beau will sniff and lick the same spot on the sidewalk like a million times over if I let him and then he will want to kiss me with that same mouth

[Chinchi]

I know dogs love to sniff and they gather a lot of info which can tire them out even more on a walk, but I wasn't aware that shelties were that big on sniffing. I guess I thought it was more a hound trait than a sheltie one. I thought shelties were more into running and chasing ie fetch games than sniffing. My mistake.