Spending time doing nothing is a great way to help your dog thrive. It can also help you deepen your bond with your dog.
You may think, “But if my dog’s not doing something, they’re going to get into trouble!”
And I hear you.
But I want you to consider this: If your dog is used to being amused all day long through training and constant activity, your dog will always need constant activity. They will not know how to handle life without it.
There is an art to doing nothing, especially in the beginning. When you are doing nothing, you are actually doing something. That is because learning never stops, whether we are actively training or sitting on the couch. Your dog is learning what behaviors work for them.
There is an art to doing nothing.
You also want to balance doing nothing with doing something. Doing nothing often takes advantage of passive training opportunities. You will catch and reward the good, so real life is the classroom. However, more formal training will help your dog focus on individual behaviors.
So, let’s dive into do-nothing dog training!
The Benefits of Letting Your Dog Explore Without Direction
I was driving through my neighborhood on the first warm spring day of the year. It was so heartwarming to see so many people out walking their dogs. When the spring thaw happens, so many new smells are released that our dogs love discovering.
I smiled as I saw a dog sniffing the bottom of a street signpost. The woman on the other end of the leash pulled him off the smell as she kept moving forward.
Like most humans, I don’t think she even realized she did it. We get programmed to walk the dog around the block efficiently, and we tend to keep them moving.
But what if sometimes we just let them sniff?
Many dog trainers (including me) preach about the benefits of taking our dogs on a sniffari.
What is a "sniffari"?
It’s a walk where your dog leads the way. We follow their noses, and allow them to take their time exploring all the fascinating smells around them. It’s not about distance or speed; it’s about letting your dog soak in the world through their favorite sense: SMELL!
Many people think that the faster or further we walk, the more we will tire our dogs out. But our dogs need so much more than physical exercise.Â
Sniffing lowers stress and offers mental enrichment. One study found the more intense the dog sniffed, the lower their heart rate.
So, if your dog is always sniffing when walking, let them. It will help relax them, which is one of the reasons we take them on walks in the first place.
Off-Leash Exploration
The same study mentioned above also found that dogs off-leash spent more time sniffing than dogs on leash.
When dogs can choose where to go without guidance, it boosts confidence and reduces frustration.Â
The challenge is finding secured environments where they can roam off-leash. I would never suggest breaking leash laws or putting them in danger of running away. So here are some options:
Rent a Dog Training Room
Some dog training schools rent out their training rooms when they don’t have services scheduled. This is especially fun if they have enrichment zones or agility equipment. Even though dogs are not outside, they will find lots of things to sniff and explore.
Scent Rooms
There is a really great trend right now in daycare to create scent rooms. They create rooms where dogs can explore and sniff. The school where I work, K9 Turbo Training in Michigan, offers a similar concept a few times a year. During our last spring-themed event, we set up a lot of different areas to explore, including scent tubes and dog-safe herbs.
SniffSpot
This is my favorite option.
You can rent a private yard just to go explore with your dog.
Visit SniffSpot, and you can input all your criteria (like being fully fenced). Choose one that looks interesting, book online, and let your dog explore (off-leash if it is safe).
If your dog wants to stay close to you, just wander around the yard to get your dog moving and sniffing. Even though I have a fenced backyard, I still like to visit SniffSpots to offer my dogs the opportunity to experience novel sights and smells in a low-pressure environment.
Forest Bathing With Your Dog
Have you heard about the art of forest bathing?
It is the English translation of shinrin-yoku, a Japanese concept introduced in the 1980s. Shinrin-yoku involves immersing oneself in nature and experiencing it with all one’s senses.Â
In response to an increase in stress and stress-related illnesses, the Japanese government looked to the trees for an easily accessible solution. They found that spending time in nature offers a host of health benefits, including reducing stress and boosting the immune system. There are now 65 forest bathing centers across Japan.
How Does Forest Bathing Differ From Hiking?
Forest Bathing focuses on engaging all of your senses. So, while hikes generally involve covering ground and taking steps, Forest Bathing is all about slowing down and soaking in the sights, smells, sounds, and even textures the forest has to offer.
You can do a hybrid hike/forest bath. Hike until you need a break, then pause to take in your surroundings.
Dogs are great at helping us notice the little things we might miss. Notice as they sniff or alert you to something they see. Take note of the sights, sounds, and textures around you. Most importantly, let your dog lead the way whenever possible.
Bathing your senses in the forest can be very meditative for you and your dog. Your dog is exploring, mostly with their nose, which we know lowers a dog’s heart rate and can change their mood.  Â
While you are in the woods, and your dog stops to sniff, take a deep breath, too. This encourages you to slow down and tune into your senses. Exposure to nature boosts dopamine and serotonin—chemicals linked to happiness for you and your dog!
This may sound “woo woo,” but science tells us there are many benefits to forest bathing. You can check out the studies listed by the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy.
If you have an active dog, you may think having a calm forest experience is impossible. Here are some tips:
- Have your dog on a harness and a 10-20 foot nylon lead.
- Go early in the morning. The less busy a trail is, the easier it will be to explore without distractions.
- Let your dog sniff whenever they want. Sniffing is rewarding for dogs, and it naturally slows them down.
- Turn your phone off to stay present.Â
- Bring a lick mat or Kong with their favorite spread to sit and soak in the forest. This will allow you some built-in time to sit and soak in the atmosphere.
- If you have difficulty slowing down, give yourself the grace to learn to relax. Start with two minutes of forest bathing during a hike. Follow your dog’s lead. When they stop to sniff, look around, and focus on a tree or leaf. Our dogs are great at teaching us to notice things we might usually take for granted.
If this intrigues you, I encourage you to check out some great resources to inspire your forest bathing habits:
Books:
- Forest Bathing With Your Dog is a book by Nadine Mazzola (along with her dog Juliet!). She is a Certified Forest Therapy Guide and the founder/director of New England Nature and Forest Therapy Consulting. This book is an easy read, and it will really inspire those who want to forest bathe with their dogs.
- Forest Bathing: How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness by Dr. Qing Li, who is regarded as the world’s foremost expert in forest medicine
Videos:
- Forest Therapy With Dogs – Windows to the Wild produced by New Hampshire PBS. Host Willem Lange walks in the forests with Nadine Mazzola, author of Forest Bathing With Your Dog.
Websites:
- The Slow Dog Movement is an excellent website by a group of dog professionals who want to encourage owners to slow down and foster deeper relationships with their dogs. This site is full of inspiration and tips for those trying to slow down with their dogs!
Train Your Dog To Do Something By Doing Nothing
My favorite way to train is to capture natural behaviors. This allows me to train behaviors without any stress. I just sit, observe, and reward behaviors I like.
What is capturing?
It means you are watching your dog and rewarding any behavior your dog naturally offers that you want them to repeat.Â
This works because of the magic of positive reinforcement. Behaviors that are rewarded will grow.Â
By capturing behaviors, we don’t become dependent on lure or prompts. It also helps train the human end of the leash to observe our dogs more.Â
We often think about how we want to change our dog’s behavior, but our dogs already make great choices all of the time. If we reinforce those choices, those behaviors will happen more often.
Here are some great behaviors to start with:
Attention/Automatic Check-ins
I see people beg for their dog’s attention all of the time. But it is so easy to build an automatic check-in by capturing. Capturing makes it a fun game! Here are some rules for success:
- Start in an area without distractions. As your dog checks in with you often, you can start to move to increasingly distracting environments.
- Start with 1-minute sessions. Always leave your dog wanting to play the game longer.
Here is how you will start:
- With your dog on a leash, let them sniff around and explore any place they can reach.Â
- Anytime they look at you, mark (with a click or a yes) and follow up with a treat between your feet.
- As your dog starts to stare at you, move around the environment.
- You must find a less distracting environment if your dog doesn’t look at you.
- As you move to more distracting environments, use better treats. I often instruct people to break off five pieces of their dinner (as long as it is dog-safe) to have a quick session with their dogs.
When on walks with your dog, observe them. When they check in with you, mark and treat them too!
Why don’t I call my dog for attention?
Quite simply, that is a different exercise.
While I do train response to their name and a recall cue, I want my dogs to WANT to check in with me. When I take my dogs on off-leash excursions, they will run back to check in with me at least once a minute, so I never have to wonder where they are. I can more readily call them back if I need to manage them through a situation.
Teaching Calmness in Dogs
You can actually capture and grow your dog’s moments of calm, Even if those moments are few and far in between.
But first, you have to recognize when your dog is calm. While we often teach dogs to go to a bed and lie down, they aren’t always calm. I see a lot of dogs lying down, but they are focused on hearing the next cue and are not relaxed!
So you want to watch your dog to spot signs that they are starting to relax. That may include:
- Loose body movements
- Slow, deep breathing or sighs
- Laying on their side
- Soft facial expression and ears.
When you catch your dog relaxing, you want to gently praise it and place a treat between its feet. During this exercise, I don’t use my normal marker (my clicker or verbal marker) because that can spike their adrenaline. I want to give them soft, calming feedback.
If this feels overwhelming, check out this great video on capturing calm by Kikopup.
In Conclusion
The art of doing nothing will improve your dog’s behaviors and strengthen your bond.
So often we frustrate each other, because we can’t communicate our expectations to our dogs in a way they understand. But if we slow down, allow them to make choices, then reinforce the behaviors we like, we will be well on our way to a dog that offers our desired behaviors more often.
So slow down, explore with your dog, and look for those behaviors you want to grow.
