sniffing dog

[sarahg1]

We have recently moved house and our springer spaniel is constantly in the garden sniffing the grass, she goes round and round covering the same patch numerous times, so much so that she has made the part just below her nose sore and bleeding. Why is she doing this and is there any solution?

[shylock73]

If the grass is greener than elsewhere at that spot, I expect the previos owners must have buried a pet.........or something!!!!!!! and it is decomposing. I hope you don`t have nightmares.

[cuddleMe]

concreteyour lawn

[alfieblue]

I have a cocker spaniel! A sniffer too! Perhaps you may be able to stop access to that particular piece of grass either by a sort of safe wire mesh or something that will stop her and let her poor nose heal. I can see now why spaniels are used as sniffer dogs - they are spot on when they smell something. and wont give up the cause!! Another idea may be to make up a very very weak solution of citronella - literally a few drops in a sprayer and lightly spray the area. Perhaps combine this with the mesh fence.Its not harmful but will deter the doggy. All animals hate the smell. Hopefully in time she will lose interest! If i can think of anything else, I will be in touch.

[showcatbenga]

Your dog is exhibiting obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). This is common in many different breeds & not a criticism of you or your dog. As she is damaging herself you need to take action. You can train the 'no' or 'leave' command & may have to use some sort of aversion therapy like a rattle bottle or a squirt of water to distract her enough to get control. You won't be able to leave her unsupervised in the garden. Also you need to devise some sort of enrichments or distractions to give her something else to do. Puzzle feeders are good, more or different exercise & some searching type exercise will utilise her undoubted sniffing skill. Retrieving can also keep a dog like yours stimulated & if you can put in the time dog agility or flyball. If you struggle with any of this join a dog training club of if you can afford it invest in some one-to-one training for you both with a professional dog trainer. Hope this helps.

[almac50]

OMG...our dog is doing the exact same thing!

We have two beagles, m and f 1.5 years old, and the female for the last 5 days has been compulsively sniffing a section of our backyard, about 20 metres across by 5 metres wide, so much that the skin under her nose is very irritated and bright red.

We watched her on the weekend and she only seems to do it obsessively at night (they are beagles so they do tend to sniff a lot anyway) from about sunset. She will stay out there for hours and we finally made her come inside and go to sleep at 10pm last night. The male dog pays her no attention at all, doesnt seem in the least interested in anything in particular in the grass and is content to come inside and sleep while she is doing this.

We've been at our place for over 2 years and never had this happen before. We have a dog door so they have free run of the backyard and can come inside when they choose. Her nose seems to improve a little, to a dark pink, during the day when she isnt sniffing. Both dogs have recently had very mild contact allergies on their feet, we suspect from some wandering jew vine we've found further up at the back of the yard.

We thought there might be a grub in the grass or some sort of fungi she is smelling coming into contact with the nose? Our vet has only suggested to increase the dose for her slightly of the medication she is still on for the foot allergy and to see if that helps with the irritation.

Have you had any success with the other solutions suggested?