Nose work (also referred to as scent work) is a dog sport based on scent detection. The concept began in the USA in 2006 when three professional detection handlers were playing scent games with shelter dogs. They soon discovered how much fun the dogs were having and how good they were at it. From this, the joy of teaching nose work to companion dogs snowballed around the world and it is now one of the more popular dog sports.
What exactly is nose work?
Nose work is all about our dogs using their natural sniffing ability to search for specific odours in different environments. The sport involves training our dogs to search and alert, just like scent detection dogs but without the pressure. It’s all about building trust and understanding between the dog and the owner, as well as creating a confident dog that is happy to search in different environments.
The sport involves our dogs searching for a target odour (referred to as the hide). These consist of essential oils (sweet birch, anise, clove and cyprus). The hide is then placed in a search area (referred to as an element) for the dog to find within a specific time limit. These elements include exterior areas, interior areas, vehicles and container searches. As the dog progresses through the sport, the difficulty level increases. At beginner levels, a search area only has one hide for the dog to find while at the more experienced levels, the number of hides is unknown, and it is up to the handler to decide when to call finish based on their dog’s behaviour.
Why should I consider nose work training with my dog?
As one of the more popular dog sports these days, there are plenty of opportunities to compete with your dog in nose work trials. These allow you to test your training as well allowing you to win prizes and pretty ribbons. However, the real benefits of nose work are not the ability to compete but the relationship that you will build with your dog.
Unlike most other dog sports, nose work is very dog driven. It’s all about learning to read your dog’s body language and encouraging them to use their natural abilities to search. The sport is a great way to build up your dog’s confidence and independence. It is also good for their mental and physical stimulation.
It is also a sport that EVERY dog can do. All dogs can sniff!
How to get involved
Below are two links to organisations that are involved in nose work competitions.
https://dogsaustralia.org.au/training-dog-sports/scent-work
Nose work training help
There are plenty of people that offer classes to teach nose work but preferably you want someone who follows K9 nose work methodology and has some certification. These can be found here:
https://acsw.com.au/certified-instructors-k9-nose-funstructors/
Thanks to Natalie Leong one of our fabulous nurses for compiling this information.
