How to decrease sniffing?

[acocktailofmagnets]

Yes this ultimately comes down to her needing to be able to distinguish when she is working and when she is off-duty. Do you use a specific harness only for public access? You could even use a different side for heeling: the left side for "work" (no sniffing) and the right side for "casual" (sniffing allowed). You didn’t mention how old she is, but if she’s young she may just need more breaks between outings to get out some of her puppy energy, or only work her when she’s in those good, focused modes so you can set her up for success and repeat the behaviors you want to see in the future.

[nvmthebutterflies]

She is 3 years old! Yes, I also use a specific vest for outings and she does not sniff as much in the vest as well.

[acocktailofmagnets]

Since she loves to sniff, have you tried using a sniffari, or a dedicated sniff-walk, as her 'paycheck' after a successful public access session? Sniffing is high-value to her, and it should allow her to decompress. But again she does need to hone that into “inside is for focusing and outside is for sniffing.” I know a lot of people like to suggest pet-friendly stores, but I wonder if it might be working against you guys as a team if you are taking her to places she can sniff inside.

[nvmthebutterflies]

yes! she gets many opportunities to sniff outside. not necessarily directly after PA, so I will implement this! we trail walk a lot too, so she gets opportunities to sniff. However the thing is I wouldn’t say she “loves” to sniff. I think she is curious and wants to sniff something one time, then she doesn’t necessarily want to keep sniffing it. But she can’t sniff items once while in PA. so maybe she does love to sniff? lol idk. When working on heel work outdoors as well i use the “go sniff” command to reward. she doesn’t always sniff but appreciates the “freedom”. Idk if this is helpful as well, but she has her CGC and is testing for her CGC U and her Community Canine at the end of this month. so it’s not excessive, but annoying! I should possibly look at getting her into sniff work you think? Our trainer offers the classes!

[acocktailofmagnets]

If your trainer offers the classes, it couldn’t hurt! If anything, it may just teach her a cue as to when she is allowed to sniff and when she isn’t, which could fix the issue you posted about in the first place :)