Sniffspot: The only app you need as a dog owner

Pools, Yards, Relaxation.. all the sniffsssss

Okay… so I wanted to check out a few different Sniffspots before giving our feedback to reeeeeally understand the app, the experience, and obviously the backyards. Boonie and I have now visited three different Sniffspots which have all offered something a little different. Some of the backyards we’ve actually visited twice because we loved it so much!

So before I dive into each spot individually, what the heck even is a Sniffspot and why is it an absolute must have subscription for dog owners?

So what is Sniffspot?

Sniffspot is a website / app that is simply designed to provide safe spaces as private dog parks. These are great for people who either have reactive dogs, or maybe you live in an apartment or a space that doesn’t have a big backyard, or if you’re like me, you’re constantly looking for anything but a dog park to go hang out in. Nowadays, it’s so extremely hard to find places where dogs can be off leash, AND, places where you feel confident having your dog off leash.

We are still currently working on our recall training with Boonie. We’ve actually gone ahead and signed up with a dog trainer who will be coming to visit us next week for a first visit consultation (more on that later) but in the meantime, sometimes having Boonie out in public spaces, especially where other dogs are present, his beautiful angelic behaivor that we experience at home… is out the door. Boonie knows all the basic commands: sit, stay, come, shake, roll over, place, wait… etc. But seriously, we may as well be speaking another language when other dogs are present. Again, we are about to involve a trainer to better help us get this under control. Alas, i’ve always had mixed feelings about dog parks..

While we haven’t had a bad experience so far (touch wood) I’ve heard plenty of horror stories. It makes sense though, right? Anyone can walk into a dog park with their dog. You don’t know anything about these people, their dogs, if they have behavioral issues, are they aggressive, what if they don’t get along with my dog, what if there is a situation that arises where the owner is not controlling their dog, what if there’s some toxic materials or anything unsafe on the property that I don’t know about, etc etc. There are a million different variables that are outside of your control and things that could go wrong at dog parks. Not to say that there aren’t a few handfuls of awesome dog parks. If you follow us on Instagram or have read our other blog post on Snyder Park, we definitely still do take Boonie out to these public spaces but i’ve found there’s better luck when there’s a body of water – seems to provide a nice distraction for everyone to play nice.

Moving on… I discovered Sniffspot when I was doing some googling on ‘off leash dog areas’ in Fort Lauderdale. Big shocker, there’s not really a lot. We don’t necessarily have wide open spaces nestled in some mountains, surrounded by lush hills and trees. We’ve got the sand, the beach, and the everglades.

This is where I kept seeing ‘Sniffspot.’ Now listen, I’m a big time fan of an hourly rental that allows you to pretend you have another life for a hot minute. Hence why i’m an avid user of the ‘Resort Pass’ app (if you’re not using that right now…. run). I was quickly intrigued by Sniffspot as I could see it was a very similar layout. Except instead of paying to visit a resort and use their pool for a few hours an pretend you have six figures in your checking account, you could pay to visit a stranger’s IMMACULATE backyard with your dog and start manifesting the yard you want in your life AND get to sit back and watch your dog have the time of their life.

Sniffspot has a HUGE variety of dog parks that are available like:

dog water parks (pools, lakes, or rivers)
dog hiking trails
indoor dog parks like zoom rooms, perfect for those rainy days
fully fenced dog parks (perfect in our situation as our recall isn’t recalling right now haha)
dog BEACHES
agility parks
fields or large pastures
small dog parks
and finally, our personal favorite, DOG SWIMMING POOLS

Let's talk PERKS

Allowing your dog to SNIFF provides LOOOAAAADDSSS of mental stimulation!!!!

I’m talking bucket loads. Not only are they getting mental fun, but when dogs sniff, it actually helps reduce anxiety, stress, and is one of the best forms of enrichment. I feel like dogs sniffing is equivalent to me going on a coffee run. It provides so much meditation and calm, and is helping my brain in a positive way. I think the same thing goes for dogs.

Okay but seriously, don’t take my word for it. As per the AKC website:

“when dogs sniff, they are gathering vital intel about their territory. Dogs’ noses have more than 200 million scent receptors – compared to a measly six million in humans.”

The article goes on to say that studies even suggest sniffing makes dogs feel more optimistic. It allows them the chance to make more of their own choices and engage in naturally enriching behaivors. (brb… crying over that) I DEFINITELY WANT MY BABY ANGEL TO MAKE HIS OWN DECISIONS WHEN IT COMES TO ENRICHMENT! (as long as it doesn’t involve him taking off with a pack of wolves and me having to hire a PI to track him down).

I guess where this really comes into play with the Sniffspots, is most of the time, and I think I can speak for a lot of people here, but typically when we’re on a walk, we most of the time don’t have all the time in the world to stop and smell the roses so to speak. Or stop to smell every single leaf, overturned rock, trash can, etc. So to give them the opportunity to go smell as much as their little noses desire, is pretty cool, especially with knowing all the benefits that come alongside that. With all the other visitors that will be frequenting each sniffspot, it provides a smelling wonderland for our dogs and expect to spend the first 15 minutes watching your dog sniffing every single square inch of the place!

POOLS!

Let’s get straight to the gold here. With Sniffspot, you can book backyards that have pools for you and your dog. Yes. POOLS. Really really nice pools.

I’m not sure if this differs depending on your location or whatnot, but I will say that is a huge perk to being here in Florida: everyone has a pool (except for us because we are peasants) BUT that means that a lot of the backyards to choose from do have pools which is super nice. Everyone always asks me if I go swimming in them with Boonie. Um, yes of course Janice. That’s 90% of the reason I booked this spot!

I’ve also seen a lot of other Sniffspot locations that have private access to rivers, lakes, and even beaches. Can you imagine? I feel like this is really going to come in handy when we start to do some big roadtrips because I definitely want to check out other sniffspots in other states.

The two different sniffspot locations we visited with pools both had stunning pools + backyards. Both pools had ‘deck jets’ which you can request to be turned on for you, dog toys, and overall just a place I would genuinely want to hang out even if I didn’t have my dog with me.

How it works for guests:

So! If you’re wanting to visit sniffspots in your area, you first need to create a profile and have a “sniffpass” to use sniffspot. You can start this with a one 7 day trial – which is what we did, and this’ll allow you to try it out before committing to a paid membership. During this trial, you can access features and book sniffspots with a limited credit limit.

There are three different passes you can get.

Bronze
Silver
Gold

To learn more about the subscriptions, head to this link here for pricing and further details.

It was a complete no-brainer for me to have a monthly subscription. The amount of joy that this experience brings Boonie and myself, its unmatched. Im not going to lie, the first sniffspot I took him to, I teared up seeing him have the zoomies around the yard and jumping in and out of the pool. Just being a dog!

I’m on the Bronze plan which is only $20 a month and we get a little discount on bookings too.

If you want to BE a sniffspot HOST, then definitely check that out! I know its a great way for people to make some passive income on their backyards and help dogs play in a safe and enriching environment. Click on this link here to read more about becoming a host.

Sniffspot location 1: Private Yard in Cooper City with a pool

This was our first experience on the app. I’m not going to lie, it did feel a little odd at first just moseying into someone’s backyard and hoping you’re in the right spot, but then after we got inside and everything matched the photos, I could relax. Boonie had a blast here. I paid $5 extra to have the host turn on the deck jets and he absolutely loved them, however he turned it into a battle of him vs the jets which he definitely didn’t win.

We booked this spot for an hour and had a really great time. I will say though, Boonie is a digger, and he kept fixating on this one area that clearly other dogs had started to dig into so that quickly turned into a game. He’d get the zoomies, head straight to the hole, I’d chase him off and then he’d run around the pool and back to the hole again.

I finally got him to where I could keep him away from the hole and shake off in the nicer grass before hopping in the pool again. I have this spot saved as a favorite to come back again and I think the next time I go here, I’m going to bring a picnic blanket or something and put it over the dirt so he doesn’t go back to it. But other than that, this was a lovely first visit experience.

Price for one hour: $16 + $5 for deck jets 🙂

Sniffspot location 2: Fully fenced turf private dog park

Gaston’s spot has been by far our favorite; which is weird to say considering there isn’t a pool, but when the yard is this good, its just… dreamy as heck. The backyard is super spacious, clean, relaxing, it doesn’t even feel like you’re in the city, very secluded and private, and there’s plenty of areas for both humans and dogs to relax. There’s a hammock, a picnic table, extra seating, and a couple of cots for dogs to cool down.

I seriously couldn’t get over how peaceful it was here. Boonie spent the first 20 minutes sniffing every corner and surface, and then we played a big round of fetch. He discovered a soccer ball which I believe he fell in love with so we had a good runaround with that.

Biiiiiig soccer guy..

Biiiig time.

The best part about this sniffspot for me personally is that it’s only 10 minutes away, which honestly could be quite dangerous because now I feel like I’m going to want to come here all the time. We have since been back a second time and I have a feeling this is going to be a regular spot for us. Both times I only booked for one hour but I think for our next visit, i’ll do 2 hours and pack a lunch for the both of us, maybe a book?

One of the other things I love about this spot, is the owner of this property is very involved with dogs. He has a mobile dog grooming business which is super cool and also offers boarding. That being said, there were plenty of fun smells of lots of other dogs that had been there before to keep him occupied.

Like I mentioned before, selfishly, I loved this spot for me too. The privacy and seclusion felt super calming. With the turf, I didn’t have to worry about Boonie digging into anything, and this was REALLY soft turf. I’m no turf expert but it felt very soft and comfy. Please appreciate my failed attempt at a self timer photo of the two of us..

Another great benefit to Sniffspots and backyards like this, is it gives you a great area to practice some training which is what we did on our second visit.

So far, we’ve done a lot of training at home, on our walks, but not really in new locations and this was a great space to try it out.

All in all, this was our favorite spot. Will definitely be back.

For one hour booking: $16.50

Sniffspot location #3: Poolside Paradise Private Dog Park in Hollywood

This backyard was as ridiculous as that top photo – but in a good way. It literally felt like we were at a celebrity dog house. This backyard has been on our wishlist for a few weeks and it seems to book out pretty quick! The pool was awesome, we both were jumping in and out of it and then chasing each other around the yard.

I loved that there was a little sign welcoming us to the sniffspot as well as a big basket of toys. Boonie obviously absolutely loved the pool and we definitely want to come back here!