I recently found myself checking out wish lists for several different shelters and rescue organizations.

What I found concerned me and made sense at the same time. It makes sense that shelters and rescues are reporting an increase in reactive, hyperactive and fearful behaviors in dogs. However, what concerns me is the lack of connection being made between the dogs’ behavior and hidden stressors lurking in the environment.

The olfactory system in a dog is 40 times larger than in a human, relative to brain size. The olfactory bulb accounts for one-eighth of the dog’s brain and is extremely important to the dog due to its function of processing scent. Scent information travels from the olfactory bulb to the limbic system, which is the part of the brain that deals with emotions, memory, and behavior. Scent also travels to the cortex, the outer part of the brain responsible for conscious thought. Because olfactory information goes to both the primitive and complex part of the brain, it affects the dog’s actions in more ways than we realize.

Dogs have approximately 200 million scent receptors compared to humans that have only 5-6 million receptors. This gives dogs the ability to smell up to 100,000 times better than humans. For example, you and I walk into a bakery and we can tell they’re making apple pie. A dog goes into that same bakery and he smells, apples, cinnamon, sugar, salt, baking soda, etc. You get the idea.\

A dog’s sense of smell is how they interpret the world.

I use scentwork to help dogs handle the stress of shelter life. Allowing dogs to use their natural scenting behavior builds confidence in the shy and fearful dogs and calms the hyperactive. Just five minutes of scentwork can work wonders for shelter dogs, as opposed to physical activities that need to be built upon daily as the dog builds up their stamina. A simple 15-minute sniffy walk tires them more than an hour jog.

So, what are the hidden stressors? Think about what you are using to wash their bedding, leashes, collars, and toys. If it has an overwhelming scent to you, like Gain Laundry Detergent Original Scent and Dryer Sheets (seen on one shelter’s wish list), just imagine what it is doing to the dog’s olfactory system. Overloading their scent receptors will most definitely affect behavior. Remember the limbic system deals with emotions, memory, and behavior.

Dryer sheets should not be used in the shelter environment because they can be harmful to the animals in your care. A dryer sheet works to disperse static cling by coating fabrics with chemicals transferred from the sheet by heat. These chemicals can then be ingested by the dog (or cat) licking the blankets or themselves where they have come in contact with the blankets. Further, a missed sheet in a blanket, if ingested, can cause a variety of problems for the animals ranging from minor skin irritation to widespread systemic distress and pulmonary edema. Kidney failure is also one of the problems that can occur after ingestion of dryer sheet chemicals. Formulas vary from product to product but may contain benzyl acetate, camphor, or even chloroform. None of this is good for pets. These same chemicals are present in liquid fabric softeners so skip the liquid fabric softeners as well when you wash pet bedding or pet clothes to keep them safe and healthy.

There is an excellent article on the Health Risks of Chemically Scented Products for Pets and People here. For these reasons, I recommend keeping chemically-scented products out of your shelter.

Another thing to consider is, how often you are washing their bedding and toys. Many shelters are changing out bedding and toys daily and some even more often, If their bedding and toys are not soiled, leave them! Every time you change them, you have removed something familiar and comforting to them and replaced it with something unknown. This adds to their fear, anxiety, and stress.

Another area to think about is what you are using to clean their food bowls and kennels. Do your due diligence when purchasing cleaning agents for the floors and kennel areas. I recommend
Rescue disinfectants and cleaners because it is safe to use around people and animals, and it doesn’t leave any residue when it dries. Rescue works to remove fear pheromones, which helps to reduce stress. Making these simple environmental modifications will help reduce stress and problem behaviors.

If you are using essential oils in your shelter, don’t mix it according to how it smells to you. Less is always more when it comes to essential oils. Try adding a drop or two of lavender oil with the bedding in the fi nal rinse to help calm the dogs or, you could put a drop of lavender or bergamoton a washcloth and throw it in the dryer, instead of using dryer sheets. Be sure the oils are high-grade, organic and not bargain brands that may have harmful additives.

In a 2018 study published by Applied Animal Behavior Science, exposure to ginger, coconut, vanilla and valerian resulted in significantly lower levels of vocalizations and movement in shelter dogs, while coconut and ginger additionally increased levels of sleeping behavior. These scents can be used by shelters to reduce undesirable behaviors, such as barking and hyperactivity, which may be indicative of stress and traits perceived as undesirable by adopters.

For more information on scentwork in the shelter environment, check out my website Sniffing Out Solutions and my book, Scent 4 Shelter Dogs available on Amazon. I also off er in-shelter training through Michigan Pet Alliance, Scentwork in a Shelter or Rescue.