Sniffspot - About Us

Our mission: To make the world a more dog friendly place

Cities are not built for dogs. It's tough to be a dog in the city. Just taking a walk, dogs are assaulted with noise, unfamiliar movements, unknown dogs and people. This situation is taking a toll. 56% of dogs are obese. 75% of dogs are reactive. Our founder experienced this first hand. Owning two high energy dogs in Seattle, he and his wife just couldn't find good, safe places for their dogs to exercise. He started crowd sourcing yards to solve his problem and Sniffspot was born! Now there are spots all across the world providing safe, private spaces for dogs to play - our community is growing every day. The world is not dog friendly, but Sniffspot is working to make it a more dog friendly place one spot at a time.

Learn more about making the world a more dog friendly place through hosting here.

Our Story

The founder of Sniffspot, David Adams, was inspired to start this movement by his difficulty finding a good off leash area for his dog, Soba (pictured to the right with me, during a Q13 interview for Sniffspot!). Despite living in Seattle, one of the most dog friendly cities in the country, he had to walk over 45 minutes to get to the nearest dog park, and his dog was once bitten there. However, the idea was really kicked off by his wife when she traveled for work with her dog to Baltimore and couldn't find any off leash park for him to play in - she said she wished she had an app for dog parks, and that was the original idea for Sniffspot!

Prior to Sniffspot, David was an Entrepreneur in Residence at Battery Ventures and he founded 2nd Address, a marketplace for extended stay rentals. For school, he graduated from University of Michigan and Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Our Principles

These are the standards by which we are building our platform and community

Treat others like you want to be treated. That includes folks in the community and neighbors.
Don’t discriminate against people or dogs. We have a zero tolerance policy for any kind of discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status. Any user discriminating against other users will be removed from the community. We also do not allow discrimination against dogs on the basis of breed.
Leave it better. Whether it’s a spot or an interaction with a person or dog, leave them better than when you met them.
Be respectful. Follow the rules. Be agreeable, even when you disagree. Remember to criticize ideas, not people. Find the common ground.
Give grace. You never know what someone may be going through. Always put yourself in someone’s shoes and ask for clarification before making a judgement. Assume the best intentions.
If you see something, say something. If you see a problem with a spot or a guest or the platform, let them know or let our support team know and we can help.

Recommended by experts

"I think Sniffspot is a great idea! Dogs really need exercise in a safe space. Public exercise areas have a lot of risks for dogs with reactivity issues, so I'm excited to see this stress-relieving option." - Grisha Stewart, trainer, speaker and creator of BAT

Trainer Review Board

Meet our review board of certified trainers, who advise us in creating great product and content!

Danette Johnston
Owner - Dog's Day Out, Ballard, WA
Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA)
Licensed AKC CGC Evaluator
NW Coordinator, Doggone Safe

Wynona Karbo
Owner - Ahimsa Dog Training, Ballard, WA
Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA)
Co-host, “It’s Raining Cats and Dogs” on KIRO 97.3 FM

Shannon Finch
AnimalKind Training
M.Ed. Humane Education
Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner
Certified Tellington TTouch and TTEAM Practitioner

Lindy Langum
Founder - K9 Fun Club
Staff Trainer - Summit Assistance Dogs
Certified in Canine Studies (CSS), NW School of Canine Studies

Olivia Peterson, CCS
Owner - Sound Connection Dog Training
WSU Bachelors in Animal Science Business Management
Northwest School of Canine Studies (NWSCS) Certification

Guest Testimonials

Guest: Aarya E.
Capitol Hill, Seattle, WA

I just wanted to say thanks for putting SniffSpot together! We just had our first session yesterday and it was a great experience for both my girlfriend and I, as well as our dog Maya. Since we live in a small apartment in Capitol Hill, we have had a hard time finding safe, easy to access areas to give Maya some exercise. Hikes and walks don't accomplish much in the way of depleting her bottomless energy level. We have been resorting to using tennis courts either really early in the morning or when it's pouring rain, neither of which are very fun or safe. Maya had a much better time running around in a controlled, grassy space yesterday, and we felt a lot more comfortable letting her off the leash.

Guest: June M.
Edmonds, WA

My very active border collie Kai loves nothing more than to chase his ball or catch a Frisbee. While I do have a yard, I’ve been looking for places where he could really run. And that’s why I was so excited when I discovered SniffSpot. I love that I can peruse the listings and see pictures of the different locations. I was able to identify a place that was safe and securely fenced and Kai could really run. We have been to our favorite SniffSpot several times now and plan to return, as well as try out some new places. The price and the cancellation policy are very reasonable and best of all, Kai gets to run to his heart’s content!