Reactive to Relaxed: Sniffing for Sanity

sidneyscacchetti
1 day ago
5 min read

Do you share your space with a dog that goes berserk when it sees another dog or person? Does your dog lunge and pull on the leash? Do you keep your blinds closed in case your dog sees a leaf blow by? Do you avoid having guests over because you’re afraid of how your dog will behave? Have you tried traditional obedience classes and felt overwhelmed trying to manage your dog in that environment? If you answered yes to any or all of these questions then this blog is for you.

Reactive dogs are overwhelmed by their environment, they are fearful, underconfident, but not aggressive. However a reactive dog could in time become an aggressive dog if not properly managed. The difference is, an aggressive dog is determined to cause destruction towards another animal, person or preconceived threat. Their nervous systems are working overtime, their emotions run high, and the world can feel unpredictable, scary and unsafe. Reactive dogs often get labeled as “aggressive,” or “untrainable” when in reality they are simply fearful. For the majority of these dogs, it’s simply their genetics at play, alerting to stranger danger, chasing movement and or guarding their territory. In some dogs, reactivity may be related to a bad experience or caused by bad breeding. For the reactive dog, traditional training environments, public spaces, or fast-paced obedience drills can actually increase their stress levels making for an unpleasant experience for everyone. This is where Scentwork comes in.

Scentwork, also known as nosework, is one of the most powerful confidence-building activities you can offer a reactive dog. The sport of scentwork is one of the fastest growing dog sports around the world. It works with a dog’s natural instincts, builds emotional resilience, and creates calm focus all without forcing social interaction or confrontation with triggers. The beauty of scentwork is that every dog with a nose can participate. It can be taught at home or in a class setting, yes I said class setting. Read that again. Your reactive dog can take a scentwork class in a group setting. Reactive dogs can be accommodated by being crated away from other dogs when not working and only one dog is working in the room at a time. Dogs can participate without being pushed past their threshold by controlling triggers. Pretty neat huh? It gets better, scentwork is the only sport where reactive dogs are welcome to participate at trials. Special accommodations are made for them with visual barriers, special parking areas and staging areas.

A dog's nose is an amazing superpower, allowing them to experience and understand the world through scent. Sniffing is an instinctual behavior and canines have something called neophilia, which is simply an attraction to new and interesting smells. When you hear people say, my dog just wants to sniff everything, well, now you know why. This evolutionary gift allows them to instantly gather and process vital information such as who or what was in the vicinity as far back as a couple days. Now, I won’t bore you with how the whole olfactory system works in dogs, because I could ramble on for days and I do not want to lose you at this stage, so I will just say this, there is a reason dogs are used in search and rescue, medical detection and so on.

Sniffing offers mental stimulation that dogs find rewarding. For the reactive dog, this is especially important. Instead of asking them to suppress emotions or “behave better” in stressful situations, scent work invites them into an activity that feels instinctive, safe, and gratifying. Sniffing shifts their brain into a problem‑solving mode rather than a threat detection mode. The dog is no longer scanning the environment for danger instead they’re hunting for rewarding information.

When dogs are in a reactive state, they cannot cope with their surroundings. Their nervous system becomes stuck in a heightened state of arousal and the result is a frenzied barking, lunging dog that you cannot redirect with a leash pop or a simple “stop it”. You will fail. You will become stressed. This creates a cycle of chaos and nobody wants that.

Practicing scentwork and allowing your dog to sniff its environment naturally lowers arousal. It is a self soothing exercise that slows breathing, reduces heart rate and encourages thoughtful movement. The dog learns to settle into focused work and we all know dogs love having a job. Scentwork gives them that job that they can repeatedly succeed at. With each search dogs learn that they can solve problems, they can make choices, they can work independently all while growing in confidence. Confidence built through scentwork results in improved behavior in challenging situations. Over time you can see your dog becoming better behaved in stressful situations and recovering quicker after spotting a trigger. Now, I am not going to be a blowhard and say scentwork replaces behavior modification, but I will say it is one powerful activity to have in your training tool box. Scentwork is not an overnight fix, just like any solid training plan, it will take commitment and practice to see the benefits.

Just exercise them more. If you live with a reactive dog this is something you probably have heard at some point, I know I have. It’s not exactly sage advice. The problem with more exercise is that high intensity exercise can increase arousal pushing them into hyper arousal.I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to deal with that. I have a headache just thinking about it. So, instead of exercise, you can practice scentwork. 10 minutes of searching and sniffing and you will have a tired dog, as if he ran around for 45 minutes. There is no complicated, expensive gear to buy. You can use toys, treats, q-tips dipped in essential oil, items with your scent on them,really almost anything you want and some small cardboard boxes. They will become tired, mentally stimulated and emotionally balanced. You become a team with your dog, reading your dog’s subtle body language. You learn to trust your dog while building a stronger relationship and bond. Everyone is happier. Reactive dogs don’t need to be fixed, they need opportunities to feel safe and to know they can make choices, even if sometimes they make mistakes.