Forest Bathing with Your Dog: Slowing Down Together

Why mindful time in the forest can do you good – you, your dog and your relationship

In brief

Three things up front.

First: forest bathing isn’t just a walk by another name – it’s not about exercise but about perception. Second: the research on it comes from studies in humans; it is real, but considerably weaker than popular accounts suggest. The best-supported effects are on mood and stress markers, the weakest are the immune findings. To our knowledge, forest bathing with dogs has not been studied. Third: for your dog, the real benefit isn’t the forest air but being allowed to sniff to his heart’s content without having to perform.

We say this so plainly because forest bathing doesn’t need to be inflated into medicine to be worthwhile. It is worthwhile without that.

👉 Why sniffing means so much to dogs is something we explore in Mental stimulation, scent work and creative activities.

1. What forest bathing means

The term comes from Japanese – Shinrin Yoku, 森林浴 – and was coined there in the 1980s as part of public health promotion. Unlike hiking or going for a walk, forest bathing is not aimed at exercise but at sensory perception: immersing yourself in the atmosphere of the forest.

In practice, that means:

• walking slowly or standing still
• consciously perceiving – listening, smelling, feeling, seeing
• moving without a destination
• arriving in the moment

2. What the research in humans supports – and what it doesn’t

There is a considerable number of studies on Shinrin Yoku. Their strength, however, varies, and an honest account has to say so.

Important up front: all of the findings in this section come from studies with people. None of these studies measured anything in dogs, and their results cannot simply be transferred to dogs.

What is comparatively well supported: in people, time spent in the forest is associated with better mood scores, lower cortisol levels, lower blood pressure and a shift of the autonomic nervous system toward the parasympathetic side. There is a meta-analysis on blood pressure and several systematic reviews on mood and stress markers.

Where the evidence gets thinner: the much-cited findings on natural killer cells and terpenes come mostly from small samples and short study periods. Reviews point to considerable heterogeneity in study design, length of exposure and outcome measures, which limits causal conclusions. How much of any effect is due to the forest air, and how much to exercise, rest or simply the absence of everyday stimuli, has not yet been cleanly separated.

What the research does not support: claims that time in the forest prevents disease. One systematic review explicitly states that the methodological quality of the evidence is weak and insufficient for clinical recommendations.

That is why you won’t find any figures in this article on how long an effect lasts or by how much a risk is reduced. Such numbers circulate, but they don’t hold up.

What remains is still a lot: an hour without appointments, without screens, without demands – and a dog who gets to be part of it.

3. Why your dog is a good companion

The findings in this section come from studies with dogs – but none of them examined forest bathing. They describe general effects of sniffing and of the human–dog relationship, not effects of the forest.

Being allowed to sniff

The best-founded effect for the dog is the simplest one. In a study with pet dogs, dogs that were regularly allowed to do nosework afterward showed a more optimistic judgment of ambiguous situations than a comparison group that practiced heelwork instead.

That is an indication, not a miracle – but a fitting one: in forest bathing, your dog gets exactly that, namely time and permission to sniff at length instead of being led onward on the leash.

The explanation you sometimes read – that sniffing “activates the limbic system” and thereby regulates heart rate and breathing – is anatomically a gross simplification. The finding stands without it.

Not having to perform

Unlike in training or in a tightly scheduled day, your dog doesn’t have to get anything right here. In practice, for insecure or easily overexcited dogs, this is often the most valuable hour of the week – not because something is being trained, but because nothing is.

You regulate each other

That dogs respond to their people’s emotional state is well documented. A Swedish study found a long-term synchronization of cortisol levels between owners and their dogs – measured in hair over months. The association was more closely linked to the owner’s personality than to the dog’s. The study involved two herding breeds and measured long-term levels; it says nothing about what happens during a single outing.

What this synchronization does not explain is mirror neurons. Guidebooks like to invoke them, but they have not been demonstrated in dogs so far; the better-supported explanations are emotional contagion and behavioral synchronization. The practical point stays the same: when you become calmer, that can affect your dog – just not via a type of cell that isn’t documented in that role.

4. Without a dog, too

Forest bathing is first and foremost a practice for people. If you take part without a dog, you often have more capacity for silence and self-awareness.

For many people, though, the dog is an anchor: his closeness makes it easier to let go, and his attention pulls your own into the present.

5. How a session works

Arriving. Gathering calmly, a short welcome, an introduction to the idea.

Breathing and body exercises. Grounding through slow breaths, consciously feeling the ground, mindfully observing your own dog.

Mindful walking. In silence, with distance between participants. The dog is allowed to sniff; the person observes and listens. No destination, no pace.

Lingering. Sitting or lying on blankets. Optionally, a guided sensory journey.

Closing. Anyone who wants to can share their experience. Silence is just as fine.

6. What to bring for your dog

The forest is not a neutral space – a few things belong in your preparation.

• Tick protection. Forest edges and tall grass are the classic places to find ticks. Check your dog thoroughly after the session.
• Grass awns. From May into the fall, one of the most relevant risks in meadows and along paths – especially during extended sniffing.
• Leash rules. In many regions, special leash requirements apply in forests and open countryside during the spring breeding and rearing season; the exact periods and rules depend on local law.
• An honest assessment. A calm group in the forest is pleasant for many dogs – for a dog who gets stressed around other dogs, it isn’t. Talk to whoever leads the session beforehand so you can find a solution.

👉 Tick prevention · Grass awns in dogs

7. Who it suits

• people under heavy everyday strain, with inner restlessness or exhaustion
• owners who want to spend time with their dog without any training goal
• sensitive or easily overexcited dogs who, in our experience, can benefit from low-stimulus sessions
• anyone who would like to come without a dog

Forest bathing is a recovery practice, not a therapy. If you suffer from persistent exhaustion, anxiety or low mood, it is no substitute for medical or psychotherapeutic treatment – but it can complement it well.

8. Conclusion

Forest bathing with your dog is not a method and not a trick. It is an hour in which neither you nor your dog has to achieve anything.

Whether immune cells in people become measurably more active is scientifically open; in dogs, to our knowledge, it has not been studied. That you go home different from how you arrived is something you don’t need to prove – you’ll notice it.

References

• Doran-Sherlock, R., Devitt, S., & Sood, P. (2023). An integrative review of the evidence for Shinrin-Yoku (forest bathing) in the management of depression and its potential clinical application in evidence-based osteopathy. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, 35, 244–255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbmt.2023.04.038

• Duranton, C., & Horowitz, A. (2019). Let me sniff! Nosework induces positive judgment bias in pet dogs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 211, 61–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2018.12.009

• Ideno, Y., Hayashi, K., Abe, Y., Ueda, K., Iso, H., Noda, M., Lee, J.-S., & Suzuki, S. (2017). Blood pressure-lowering effect of Shinrin-yoku (forest bathing): A systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 17(1), 409. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-017-1912-z

• Sundman, A.-S., Van Poucke, E., Svensson Holm, A.-C., Faresjö, Å., Theodorsson, E., Jensen, P., & Roth, L. S. V. (2019). Long-term stress levels are synchronized in dogs and their owners. Scientific Reports, 9, 7391. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-43851-x

• Wen, Y., Yan, Q., Pan, Y., Gu, X., & Liu, Y. (2019). Medical empirical research on forest bathing (Shinrin-yoku): A systematic review. Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine, 24, 70. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12199-019-0822-8

Notes on the sources

The statements on Shinrin Yoku are based on systematic reviews and meta-analyses. They agree that effects on mood, blood pressure and stress markers have been reported repeatedly, but that the methodological quality of the individual studies is mostly low: small samples, short observation periods, heterogeneous designs and frequently no blinding. The findings on natural killer cells and terpenes rest on particularly small samples; we therefore give no figures on how long such an effect lasts. Causal statements about preventing disease cannot be derived from this evidence.

For the effects on dogs, the evidence is thinner. On nosework, there is one controlled study with pet dogs; on the synchronization of stress parameters between people and dogs, there is one cohort study using hair cortisol. To our knowledge, there are no studies specifically on forest bathing with dogs – to that extent, the assessment in this article is based on general findings from behavioral biology and on our practical experience.

Key takeaways on forest bathing

Forest bathing isn’t just a walk by another name. It’s not about exercise but about perception.

The research in humans is real, but weaker than popular accounts suggest. The widespread promises of effects go beyond it.

Human findings are not dog findings. To our knowledge, there are no studies on forest bathing with dogs.

In dogs, the often-cited mechanisms have not been demonstrated. They are being transferred from human research.

For the dog, the value lies elsewhere: he gets to sniff, doesn’t have to perform and moves at his own pace.

Not having to perform is the real difference – no cue, no exercise, no expectation.

A calm group in the forest doesn’t suit every dog. A dog who gets wound up around other dogs won’t be relaxed there.

The terrain and the duration need to suit the dog – with older dogs or dogs with physical limitations, it’s worth checking in advance.

The format also works without a dog, and for some people even better.

The measure isn’t the distance, but the state you’re in afterward – both of you.

Frequently asked questions about forest bathing with your dog