Sniff Walks Beat Power Walks Almost Every Time

A dog walking briskly on a tight leash for 45 minutes burns calories. A dog allowed to slow down, choose direction, and sniff for 45 minutes does something completely different — they process information, regulate their nervous system, and come home tired in the way that actually quiets a dog down for hours.

The nose is a dog's primary sense. When they sniff, they're reading. When you yank them off the patch of grass they were investigating because you're trying to finish the loop, you're closing the book on page two.

This is the whole concept behind my Five Senses Adventures — 1- to 3-hour outings designed to let dogs engage every sense, on real terrain, with the freedom to actually be a dog while obedience and focus are still woven through it. It's a deliberate counter to the "more exercise" trap that doesn't actually solve the problem most owners are trying to solve. You can practice the same idea on your own.

The Boardwalk Is a Distraction Goldmine — Use It

Most owners avoid Ocean Avenue and the boardwalk because their dog can't handle it. Pulls, barks, lunges, freezes, whatever. That avoidance reads as caution but it's actually rehearsing the problem — every week your dog goes without exposure is a week the boardwalk gets bigger in their mind.

The right way to use a place like the Asbury Park boardwalk:

• Start far. A block back. Two blocks. The parking lot at 2nd Avenue. Wherever your dog can still take a treat, still respond to their name, still look at you when you say it. That's your starting distance.

• Work the distance down over weeks, not days. A dog who isn't ready for Convention Hall on a Saturday at 5pm is ready for Convention Hall on a Wednesday at 11am. Build the ladder.

• Reward calm, not just commands. When your dog notices the skateboarder and doesn't react, that's the moment that matters. Mark it. Pay for it. Most owners only reward sits and downs and miss the actual behavior they want.

• Leave before it falls apart. End sessions while your dog is still doing well. The worst training rep is the one where you stayed five minutes too long and your dog blew through threshold. Now they've practiced the wrong thing.

This is the difference between a dog who tolerates the boardwalk and a dog who actually enjoys it.