Can You Train Your Dog on a Sniffari Walk? (Teach, Test, Use)

You are a dog trainer.

If you have a dog, you’re a trainer—whether or not you want to be. That little soul is always watching you, always learning, and always wanting to connect with you.

That’s why we’re here: so you can intentionally weave short bursts of deliberate training into the everyday time you spend with your dog. Since your dog is always learning anyway, they might as well learn the stuff you actually want them to know!

Even On Sniffaris

We got a note recently from a friend who’s been 2-Minute training with us for a while. He competes in both Obedience and Rally, so he’s well-versed in formal exercise prep. But like all dog lovers, he also takes daily walks with his pup just to get outside, relax, and smell the flowers.

He asked if it’s okay to practice a few Obedience and Rally exercises during those relaxed sniffari walks. (After all, we always say there are three distinct types of walks: potty walks, training walks, and sniffaris.)

The short answer? Of course it is!

Teach, Test, Use

There are three distinct phases to adding any new behavior to your dog’s toolkit: Teach it, Test it, Use it.

While introducing a brand-new behavior works best in a quiet, zero-distraction environment, testing and using that behavior can happen almost anywhere. The whole point of training is to make daily life more fun, engaging, and frictionless—so it makes sense to practice useful behaviors out in the real world.

Take the game "Touch!" as an example. It’s one of the quickest, most reliable games for building instant focus and head-turning attention. It’s also the perfect game to test on a sniffari once the basics are solid indoors.

Let’s say you’re a few minutes into a leisurely walk and want to play a quick round. If you’re in the testing phase, pause, drop a hand flat against your thigh, wiggle your fingers, and cue: "Touch!"

If you’ve built up enough history and value for the game, your dog will happily disengage from the environment, pivot, and target their nose right to your palm. If they don't, no worries—that just tells you the cue needs a little more indoor practice before road-testing it outside.

Right Now, This Minute

Since you’re already stopped, take two minutes to play! Make sure you’re using top-tier, high-value rewards—especially if there are squirrels or interesting smells nearby. Deliver a few quick touches, heavily reward each one, and then send your dog right back to sniffing.

Can you play again five minutes later? Absolutely! That teaches your dog a vital lesson: playing a mini training game doesn't end the walk or ruin the fun. It’s just another fun game embedded in your walk together.

Define the Edges

If you want to practice something a bit more complex, make sure you clearly mark the start and end of the work. Call your dog over and start with a simple focus game like Touch or Puppy Push-ups to get their brain in gear. Once you have their full focus, run through a quick rep or two of Heeling, Fronts, or Finishes.

When you're done, release them clearly with a cheer and an all-done cue: "Good dog, that's all!"—then immediately release them back to their sniffari.

The more you weave these tiny micro-sessions into daily routines, the more joy you’ll both get out of the process. Training isn't a place you go or a chore to prepare for—it's simply part of the life you share together.