Speaking of “intense sniffing”, if you can locate someone local who would be willing to work with you and ol’ Buford, a very enjoyable activity for both of you would be tracking. Essentially, you lay a scent track and at first you lace it with something tasty. The dog gradually learns to follow this track and to find the “scent article” at the end.
It’s a sport for many, but there have been more than one instance where a dog doing this sport has located a kid or Alzheimer’s patient for a worried family.
I love this website (Dogwise). It’s my go-to place for serious dog books. Here are links for (a)tracking and (b)general nosework.
http://www.dogwise.com/Browse/SubCatList.cfm?SubCat=Tracking
http://www.dogwise.com/Browse/SubCatList.cfm?SubCat=Nose%20Work
These are the only areas where we humans must defer to our canine partner. We cannot smell, so we show our dog what we want and then, we follow. I think scentwork is one of the most fascinating things available to cement the man/dog partnership.
And, best of all, you do not necessarily have to own a hound or a Labrador to do tracking or other nose games with your dog friend.