Some pet owners have mellow dogs. Others have exuberant pups with energies that border on maniacal if not properly channeled.
To any and all dog owners, the mobile app Sniffspot offers a private experience akin to an Airbnb of dog parks. Pet owners find a spot, book it for a fee (the average cost is $9-$15 an hour) and take their pet to play by themselves, with a friend or friends, or even work on some training or sport.
David Adams began Sniffspot in 2018 after he was inspired by his then-girlfriend, now-wife, who was traveling with her dog and wished for an app where she could find places to let him off-leash safely.
“The mission of Sniffspot is to make the world a more dog-friendly place,” says Adams. “And we are doing that by adding as many spots as possible. We want to have a spot on every block.”
They currently have locations in all 50 states and even outside the United States. More than 20,000 hosts have joined Sniffspot to date across the country in 3,600 cities.
It’s particularly well-suited for reactive dogs in need of more private spaces.
“A misconception people have about dogs is that reactivity is not the norm. Actually, our research and third-party research shows that 75 percent of dogs are reactive in some way,” says Adams.
He said the bulk of users are dog parents looking for safe exercise for their dogs, but there are all kinds of Sniffspot users.
“Some want to avoid public dog parks,” he says. “But we have a lot of other user types, too. We have dog meet-ups, like breed-specific meet-ups. Rescues use us for meet-and-greets. Trainers use us for training sessions. People use us for dog sports, like lure coursing, etc.”
Spots also vary widely — from small yards to multi-acre spots and even some that are hundreds of acres.
Melissa Schneider of Los Angeles has been a Sniffspot host for several months. She has three dogs that get very excited to check out all the new smells that canine guests leave behind.
“I know I’m super lucky to have a big backyard and I want to share it with all the dogs and their humans,” she says, adding that most dogs come to play and some to work.
“We get all types of people and their dogs: individual owners, dog trainers, dogs from rescues. We even have dog parties here.”
Schneider gets a lot of repeat guests, including members who return weekly. She uses the money she makes monthly from Sniffspot to add fun features — including, recently, a doggie pool and a ball pit.
“Sniffspot enables the dogs and the owners to feel free in a safe place,” she says. “It can be overwhelming for an owner to find a safe place for their dog to be a dog, especially if they live in an apartment. And this is L.A., most dog owners can’t afford to buy a house.”
