This is another good topic! Annie makes our 2-3 mile walk into an hour event due to the sniffing that must be done. And the gliding across the sidewalk from tree to grass, then back to tree, ad nauseum. The nose goes into the smell, if it's hidden then the nose goes deep, if it is a superficial smell (poop) then she allows like 2 inches between nose and specimen, if it might be a bone or food particle (or cat poop) then she goes in with the mouth. She knows what is coming next. My hand on her collar and a stern "Drop it!" The item usually drops at this point. What cracks me up is when she is smelling something and I can actually see her nose moving. Pretty impressive actually.
In two of the pictures Annie is showcasing the "nose IN the ground" approach to sniffing. In the third she is doing a general sweep for snacks. The fourth is from today, ever the vigilant hunter...I had to point the ducks out for her. Lucky ducks, they waddled back to the water just before Annie scaled the 6 foot fence...NOT.