為什麼讓你的狗狗嗅嗅如此重要

研究表明，社群媒體會導致焦慮和憂鬱，並會讓你陷入比較循環，讓你覺得其他人都比你更好。因此，將社交媒體等同於讓我們的狗嗅聞並不完全準確。

If you’re a dog owner, you’ve probably gotten stuck on a walk much longer than anticipated because of your dog’s incessant sniffing.

如果您是狗主人，您可能會因為您的狗不停地嗅而在散步中花費的時間比預期的要長得多。

While it may feel annoying in the moment, especially if you’re in a rush, research shows it’s important to let your dog sniff for their own well-being. People have even suggested that sniffing is essentially a dog’s form of social media — meaning it provides them with entertainment and enrichment.

雖然此時可能會讓人感到煩人，尤其是在您趕時間的情況下，但研究表明，讓您的狗嗅嗅以了解自己的健康狀況非常重要。人們甚至認為嗅探本質上是狗的社交媒體形式——這意味著它為它們提供了娛樂和豐富。

Why is letting your dog sniff such a big deal? Is it really a social media equivalent? We asked veterinarians to break it down:

為什麼讓你的狗聞氣味這麼重要？它真的相當於社群媒體嗎？我們請獸醫分解一下：

Social media has downsides, but letting your dog sniff does not.

社群媒體有缺點，但讓你的狗狗嗅聞卻沒有缺點。

Research shows that social media can lead to anxiety and depression and can put you in the middle of a comparison cycle where you feel like everyone else has it better than you. So equating social media with letting our dogs sniff isn’t entirely accurate.

研究表明，社群媒體會導致焦慮和憂鬱，並會讓你陷入比較循環，讓你覺得其他人都比你更好。因此，將社交媒體等同於讓我們的狗嗅聞並不完全準確。

“While social media scrolling has its known downsides and can be a mind-numbing activity for many people, sniffing is a beneficial sensory experience for dogs by providing them with mental stimulation,” Dr. Whitney Miller, the chief veterinarian at Petco, told HuffPost via email.

Petco 首席獸醫惠特尼·米勒(Whitney Miller) 博士告訴赫芬頓郵報：「雖然社交媒體滾動有其已知的缺點，並且對許多人來說可能是一種令人麻木的活動，但嗅覺對狗來說是一種有益的感官體驗，可以為它們提供精神刺激。

However, sniffing is similar to social media in that it’s how dogs get updated on their surroundings. It’s how they recognize other dogs, learn and make decisions, Dr. Danielle Bernal, the global veterinarian at Wellness Pet Company, told HuffPost via email.

然而，嗅探與社交媒體類似，狗狗透過嗅探來了解周圍環境的最新情況。 Wellness Pet Company 的全球獸醫 Danielle Bernal 博士透過電子郵件告訴《赫芬頓郵報》，這是它們識別其他狗、學習和做出決定的方式。

Every time a dog sniffs, they take in data about their animal neighbors and their surroundings, she said.

她說，每次狗狗嗅嗅時，它們都會吸收有關動物鄰居和周圍環境的數據。

Sniffing is a necessary part of a dog’s existence, while social media is not a necessary part of ours. But both are ways that we learn about the world around us.

嗅覺是狗狗生存的必要組成部分，而社群媒體卻不是我們生存的必要組成部分。但這都是我們了解周遭世界的方式。

Sniffing is good for your dog’s health.

嗅對狗狗的健康有益。

“Sniffing has so many benefits for our dogs. Not only can it be a key method of communication to help them make sense of the world, but it doubles as a great form of mental enrichment to engage the body and mind, which is key to a dog’s overall well-being,” Bernal said.

「嗅聞對我們的狗有很多好處。它不僅可以成為幫助它們理解世界的關鍵溝通方式，而且還可以作為一種很好的精神豐富形式，讓身體和心靈參與其中，這是狗整體健康的關鍵。

While many dogs get stimulation from running around or playing with other pups, this isn’t always the case for dogs higher in age, making sniffing an even more important activity.

雖然許多狗會從四處奔跑或與其他幼崽玩耍中獲得刺激，但對於年齡較大的狗來說，情況並非總是如此，這使得嗅覺成為一項更重要的活動。

“For older dogs, especially, where physical activity may be reducing, taking a moment to stop and sniff delivers so much mental stimulation,” Bernal said, noting that sniffing can help older dogs stay healthy and active.

伯納爾說：「特別是對於年長的狗來說，體力活動可能會減少，花點時間停下來聞一聞可以提供很大的精神刺激。」他指出，嗅聞可以幫助年長的狗保持健康和活躍。

Specifically, sniffing can help your dog stay physical active “as it increases respiration rate and can stimulate hormonal and metabolic processes in the body,” Miller said.

具體來說，嗅覺可以幫助你的狗保持身體活躍，「因為它可以增加呼吸頻率，並可以刺激體內的荷爾蒙和代謝過程，」米勒說。

Sniffing can even have benefits for a dog’s mental health. It can make them feel more optimistic and lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which can reduce anxiety, too, Bernal said.

嗅聞甚至對狗狗的心理健康也有好處。伯納爾說，這可以讓他們感到更加樂觀，並降低壓力荷爾蒙皮質醇的水平，從而減少焦慮。

Miller stressed the importance of sniffing on a dog’s well-being, saying, “Dogs may feel stressed when they are not allowed to stop and sniff while on a walk because sniffing is how they assess their surroundings.”

米勒強調了嗅探對狗的健康的重要性，他說：“當狗在散步時不被允許停下來嗅聞時，它們可能會感到壓力，因為嗅探是它們評估周圍環境的方式。”

In fact, it’s part of their DNA.

事實上，這是他們 DNA 的一部分。

Your dog’s desire to sniff can be traced back to their ancestors, who roamed the earth hundreds of thousands of years ago, according to Bernal.

伯納爾說，你的狗的嗅覺慾望可以追溯到它們的祖先，他們數十萬年前就在地球上漫遊。

“In North America, the most common canine ancestor was that of the gray wolf,” she said.

「在北美，最常見的犬類祖先是灰狼，」她說。

Gray wolves communicated through howling, body language and more, but their sense of smell was their most important tool.

灰狼透過嚎叫、肢體語言等進行交流，但嗅覺是它們最重要的工具。

“Today, that specialized and sensitive sense of smell is still dominant in our dogs,” Bernal said.

「今天，這種專門而敏感的嗅覺在我們的狗中仍然占主導地位，」伯納爾說。

Humans largely depend on vision, but for dogs, smell is used to communicate and assess their surroundings.

人類很大程度上依賴視覺，但對於狗來說，嗅覺用於交流和評估周圍環境。

Bernal explained that dogs have upward of 100 million sensory receptor sites in their noses, while humans have just 6 million. Plus, the part of our dog’s brain that analyzes odor is roughly 40 times larger than the comparable part in our human brain.

伯納爾解釋說，狗的鼻子裡有超過 1 億個感覺受體點，而人類只有 600 萬個。另外，狗大腦中分析氣味的部分大約比人類大腦中相應的部分大 40 倍。

“It’s estimated that depending on the breed, a dog’s sense of smell is 10,000 [to] 100,000 times better than a human’s,” Bernal said.

「據估計，狗的嗅覺比人類的嗅覺強 10,000 到 100,000 倍，具體取決於品種，」伯納爾說。

There are several ways you can provide your dog the opportunity to sniff.

有多種方法可以為您的狗提供嗅探的機會。

Although sniffing around your neighborhood is how dogs learn about their neighbors, sniffing inside your home is also beneficial to their health.

雖然在你的鄰居周圍嗅是狗狗了解鄰居的方式，但在你家嗅聞也對它們的健康有益。

“While allowing your dog to get outside and sniff around is always a great option, there are some helpful at-home sniff toys and puzzles for rainy days when your dog may need extra stimulation,” Miller said.

米勒說：“雖然讓你的狗到外面嗅一嗅總是一個不錯的選擇，但在雨天，當你的狗可能需要額外的刺激時，有一些有用的家用嗅覺玩具和拼圖。”

You can let them sniff through snuffle mats and puzzle treat toys, or even hide treats around your home and challenge your dog to sniff them out. In other words, a rainy day doesn’t have to keep your pooch from sniffing.

您可以讓它們透過鼻煙墊和益智玩具來嗅聞，甚至可以將零食藏在您家周圍並挑戰您的狗來嗅出它們。換句話說，下雨天不一定要阻止你的狗嗅嗅。

Whatever you do, be sure to keep a watchful eye, especially when you’re outdoors.

無論你做什麼，一定要保持警惕，尤其是在戶外時。