New sniff spots are the best kind of sniff spot to visit. They are exciting and you can be the first one to find out about an amazing new spot!

For new hosts, getting a first review is very important for them. Once a host has a review, it attracts many more guests, that also write reviews and it begins a virtuous cycle. Guests prefer to visit sniff spots with reviews. On the flip side, this also makes it hard for hosts to get their first review. This is why we created the First Review Program, to give a free sniff spot visit to any guest that writes the first review on a sniff spot.

When you are checking out any sniff spot you haven’t visited before, and especially new sniff spots, make sure to be extra cautious in how you introduce your dog to the space:

1. Leave your dog in the car and observe the sniff spot space yourself. Do you see any hazards? Are there any dogs (or doggie doors that dogs could use to enter the space), other domestic animals or people in the space? Walk around the space and observe it before bringing your dog into the space.
2. Does there appear to be any people on the property? It can’t hurt to knock on the door and let folks know that you are in the area and will be there with your dog. Sometimes new hosts forget to notify their household about guests. 
3. Bring your dog out on leash and walk the perimeter of the sniff spot before letting them off leash. Is the fencing, if expected to be secure, actually secure? Are there any hazards that the initial review didn’t reveal?
4. Make mental or actual notes of anything that surprised you about the sniff spot - make sure to include it in your review so future guests aren’t surprised! Also, make sure to include feedback in your private note to the host. Hosts are hungry to improve and they don’t know what to improve if guests don’t tell them!
5. Make sure to write a review and claim your free visit under the First Review Program!

Have fun sniffspotting!

Ellen is the host of Country Pasture Getaway, one of Sniffspot's most popular sniff spots. She has taken the time to write up the lessons she has learned about how to be a great sniff spot host.

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​Last year, when I first considered offering my field as a sniff spot,  I was apprehensive.  I had a ton of questions and I worried a bit about the dogs and people being on my field.   I wanted responsible people who respected my privacy and my dogs.   David helped a lot by talking to me about liability, how the app works, and how much control I had.   So we plunged in!   And we are really HAPPY with the results!

People who come to my sniff spot out in the country have made a commitment to their dogs.  Every person I have met is really invested in having the field clean and safe for their dogs.    What makes it work?

1. I try to respond to a request for a reservation within a couple of hours.   People are trying to plan their calendar around weather, work and dog, so I try to respond quickly.  Address, and directions of where to park are included.
2. USE THE CALENDAR!   If you have a friend coming out and don’t want to have a Sniffspot visitor at the time, block off your time.   Remember to block out vacations or days when you need to work on the field/play area.   If you just need a day to zone out, just block off the day on the calendar.  
3. I meet every person the first time they come out.   I like doing that….I can show them where the water spigot is, explain the difference in fencing and point out the stupid mole holes!   It’s great to meet people and get an idea of what they are looking for.   Some of the dogs have been highly reactive, so it’s been great if they come and not even see my dogs.   Some owners have asked me to allow one of my Wolfhounds to play with their dog.  I use my best judgement and have had a few of the visitors end up being great play buddies. 
4. We have stainless steel water buckets for your use.  Extra toys and a chuck it are right by the gate.   The water hose is stretched over so on hot days you can even spray your dog down.   We have a picnic bench in the field for people to sit at if they like. 
5. I try to make people feel welcome, but I don’t spend very long with them…maybe 3-5 minutes.  After that, they get to enjoy the field.   

The top request we get from hosts and prospective hosts is to have liability protection for their sniff spots. I am so excited to let you know that after an extensive search we have been able to secure liability coverage for our hosts! And not only that, but we are offering it to our hosts at no additional charge.

I cannot emphasize how rare this insurance is - as far as we know this insurance has never before been issued. We had an insurance company design and issue a new policy type just for our Sniffspot hosts.

Host Protection Insurance provides primary liability coverage for up to $1,000,000 per occurrence in the event of a third-party claim of bodily injury (dogs and people) or property damage related to a booked Sniffspot visit.

This policy only applies in the United States. This policy only applies for official Sniffspot bookings that are booked through Sniffspot.

Host Protection Insurance will only act as the primary insurance coverage for incidents related to a booked Sniffspot visit, but it's available to hosts regardless of their other insurance arrangements.

Here are some examples of what Host Protection Insurance covers:

• A guest breaks their ankle after misstepping and brings a claim for the injury against the host.
• A guest is sitting on a bench in your yard. The bench breaks and the guest is injured when they fall down. They bring a claim for the injury against the host and the landlord.
• A guest’s dog is injured by a stick on your property. The guest brings a claim for the injury against the host.

​Host Protection Insurance doesn’t cover intentional acts where liability isn’t the result of an accident.

By Jenny Persing, organizer Seattle WalkABulls

As a dog walker and the guardian of a dog-reactive and occasionally human-reactive dog, I deeply understand the frustration and embarrassment that comes with daily life in public with our anxious or fearful furry friends. Working daily with dogs has given me experience with mitigating reactive behavior during walks and redirecting the dogs attention to get more acceptable public behavior, but until I had my own “whirlwind at the end of the leash”, I didn’t really understand the emotional anguish that a dogs reactive behavior causes for the human members of the pack. 

You desperately want to be able to be out having fun with your dog, doing exciting stuff like going to the off-leash dog run and visiting busy city parks and events - taking them everywhere you go! It takes a bit of time to see that for sensitive, traumatized or anxious pups, some of these environments are WAY too stimulating, unpredictable and downright scary. Dogs rushing at them, people reaching for them, loud noises, distracting smells. They react, not because they are “bad dogs” or you’ve failed them in your training somehow, but because they are afraid and overwhelmed. You realize that you need to adjust your expectations of them and protect them from situations that cause them to lose control. You need to find ways to be out in the world, socializing and having a good time, without so much intensity.

When I discovered Seattle WalkABulls, I’d never heard of group walks before, but the concept made a lot of sense. The rules were that the dogs in attendance were not to have contact with each other, we’d walk in a line giving each other plenty of space, and if our dog freaked out and couldn’t regain control, we could either drop back, or drop out and try again next time. The idea is that since dogs are pack animals, they understand the group dynamic and work to be a part of it somehow. Because of the structured nature of the walks, the dogs would know what is expected of them and their stress levels around other dogs would lower in time. Also they’d have the chance to take their cue from the other dogs about how to behave, which is why having neutral, calm dogs on the walks also is incredibly helpful.

I signed up for a walk and immediately started worrying that my dog would be “the worst one there”, lunging and barking at everyone and making a scene like she sometimes did on our neighborhood walks. Admittedly, the first few minutes were challenging. We met up in a field, giving ourselves lots of space, and introduced ourselves and our dogs, mentioning what we might be working on behavior-wise during our walk. Some of the dogs found this few minutes of waiting tough, but once we started moving, something magical happened and they all just seemed to fall into line. My dog had absolutely no problem understanding what we were doing and after our first walk, only very rarely reacted to another dog in the group. As a matter of fact, after a few months of walks she started to function as one of our neutral dogs, and could take a place in the lineup as a buffer between more amped pups.

I noticed a difference in her public behavior after only a few walks. She did less barking and lunging at other dogs on our neighborhood forays. She seemed a bit more confident with both dogs and people, and even seemed to want to walk with some of them, lining up behind random dogs at the park like she was on a WalkABulls walk! It took time, but she became much calmer and happier out in the world and I was able to include her on more varied activities in public without as much fear for either of us. I’ve always needed to manage her contact with other dogs, and she’ll never be as relaxed around them as I would like, but we’ve both made incredible progress and I think the group walks had everything to do with that. I’m such a convert that I started to help organize walks for Seattle WalkABulls along with a few other members and we’ve been going for about 7 years now!

The benefits are many, and here’s why I think that structured group walks work so well. First, the structure itself makes for a safe environment for our dogs to learn in, both from us and the other dogs. It’s non-confrontational, so they can let down their guard a little bit and just enjoy the company of other dogs. They sniff what the other dogs sniff and engage in social behavior that makes them feel normal. They know what to expect and know that it’s less likely for challenges to come flying out at them from left field on these walks. They learn to trust us as companions when they’re not in such a fearful place. They can relax and be a good influence on each other. And there are SO. MANY. TREATS! 

And it’s not just the dogs that benefit from group walks! These walks create an incredibly supportive community of people who help each other overcome their challenges with their dogs. It was HUGE for me to be around other people who knew what I was going through with my dog, and could recommend things, and didn’t judge when we sometimes lost our composure. There is a wealth of dog knowledge and compassion in this community - it is an amazing resource for any dog owner, reactive or otherwise. I’ve formed some of my closest friendships on these walks. The structure may not be for everybody, and everyone has their unique approach to managing their dogs behavior, but if you are struggling with reactivity and want help, I highly recommend trying out a group walk to see if your dog could benefit from it.

If you’re in the Seattle area and want to try a group walk, check out Seattle WalkABulls: https://www.meetup.com/seattlewalkabulls/. We meet approximately every other weekend for a walk of about 1.5 hours with a rest break in the middle. You will need to attend your first walk without your dog so you can see how the group operates and give us a helping hand with managing the group along our route. We use a variety of pre-scouted routes around the city, all with plenty of room to maneuver, good sight lines, and a place to stop to rest. You’re always welcome to send us a message at the Meetup page with any questions or requests that you might have, or to request addition to our membership. Every type, breed and temperament of dog is welcome to join. We can’t wait to see you on a walk!

About Jenny
​A dog walker since 2000 and a pet photographer since 2006, Jenny has joyfully based her professional and personal life around Seattle's pets. She is an organizer for social dog walking group Seattle WalkABulls and donates photographic services via Raindog Photography to the Seattle Animal Shelter and various other pet rescues. In her free time she enjoys climbing, kayaking, hiking, reading and spending time with friends, her husband Scott and dog, Rain.

Photo credit: @adventurepup_leilani, at Ranch Setting

Are you disappointed that there are no sniff spots near where you live? Now you can do something about it! It turns out that it’s pretty easy to add sniff spots near you. We put together a list of easy things you can do to get sniff spots near you:

Share about Sniffspot in local Facebook groups

Are you a member of any local Facebook community groups? This is THE best way to connect with prospective hosts. You can very easily make a post in your local Facebook group, something like this:

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Has anyone heard of Sniffspot? Sniffspot lets anyone help dogs and earn side income through offering their yard as a play area for reactive dogs. I really want more sniff spots in the area. Anyone interested in hosting? www.sniffspot.com/host

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Post an ad on CL

Seriously, posting an ad on CL really works. We recommend posting ads in the Pets -> Community section and in the Gigs -> Event Gigs section. It’s most effective to post repeatedly, but make sure to wait 48 hours before posting again. Here is some text for what you can include in the ad:

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Did you know that many dogs can't go to dog parks because they are fearful or they get picked on by other dogs?

Sniffspot is a project to provide private areas for dogs to play.

Sniffspot needs more folks in the area that have yards or land that would be interested in helping reactive dogs by sharing their yards.

In addition to helping reactive dogs, this is a good way to earn passive income. Sniffspot has some hosts earning $1000+ per month.

You can learn more here: www.sniffspot.com/host

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Post on your local sub-Reddit

This is a great way to reach people that are passionate about being involved in your community. If you go on Reddit, search for your local community and you will likely find sub-Reddits related to your community. If there are multiple relevant sub-Reddits we recommend posting in the sub-Reddit with the most subscribers. For instance, Seattle has multiple sub-Reddits (e.g. r/Seattle, r/SeaWA, r/SeattleWA), but r/Seattle has the most subscribers so that would be the best place to post. We recommend posting something like this:

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Has anyone heard of Sniffspot? Sniffspot lets anyone help dogs and earn side income through offering their yard as a play area for reactive dogs. I really want more sniff spots in the area. Anyone interested in hosting? www.sniffspot.com/host

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Post on Nextdoor

Are you a member of Nextdoor? If not, it’s like Facebook, but super strict about locals only. It’s a great place to share the word about Sniffspot. You can post something like this:

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Has anyone heard of Sniffspot? Sniffspot lets anyone help dogs and earn side income through offering their yard as a play area for reactive dogs. I really want more sniff spots in the area. Anyone interested in hosting? www.sniffspot.com/host

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Share our posts on Facebook and Instagram

Sharing posts is a super easy way to spread the word. Make sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram and whenever you see a great post by us, share it!

Flyer around your community

Print some of our flyers and post them around your neighborhood and/or workplace. Here is our template. Great neighborhood places to post flyers are coffee shops, laundromats, community centers, apartment buildings and other local retail businesses.

Review new sniff spots

If you do see a sniff spot in your area, you can help the community by visiting it and writing a review. Even if the sniff spot isn’t a great fit for you, by reviewing it you will encourage more guests and more hosts to sign up in the area, which will bring on hosts that could be a great fit for you. You can visit any unreviewed sniff spot for FREE (read more here).

Forward our newsletter to your friends

You can help to spread the word by signing up for our newsletter and forward it to your friends. The newsletter sign up is in the footer of this page.

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I really hope that this can help you to get more sniff spots in your area. As always, feel free to reach out with any questions!