Scent Work for Dogs
What Is Scent Work?
Scent work, also known as nose work, is a great activity for dogs of any age or breed. It encourages your dog to search for specific scents (like a favourite toy, essential oils, and more) and let you know that they have found them. It’s the basis used to train detection dogs who look for missing people, narcotics, explosives, and more, but this version is done simply for pleasure!
What Are The Benefits Of Scent Work?
Scent work can help to:
- Utilise your dog’s extraordinary sense of smell.
- Provide your dog with a fun outlet for their natural desire to sniff and explore.
- Strengthen the bond between you and your dog by working together.
- Give your dog some much needed mental stimulation and enrichment.
- Make your dog feel fantastic by releasing Dopamine into their system.
- Build your dog’s confidence which is great for those who are shy or anxious.
How Can I Do Scent Training?
There are some easy activities you can do at home to see if your dog enjoys scent work:
- Scatter Feeding: Simply sprinkle some treats or your dog’s food onto the ground and encourage your dog to sniff them out.
- Cardboard Boxes: Scatter some treats into an empty cardboard box, hide them with some scrunched up paper, and let your dog shred it to access the treats.
If your dog shows a keen interest in activities like this, chances are that they will LOVE scent work classes. The great news is, I offer scent work courses which run for 4 weeks at Ockley Village Hall.
In this course we will cover:
- How to teach your dog a ‘Find It’ cue
- Introduction to the chosen scent
- Searching for the scent in different environments
- Searching a vehicle for the chosen scent
- Handling skills and cues used in scent work
Get in touch to confirm your dog’s place on our next scent work course!
