Nose Work is the American and Nordic term for a dog sport that teaches dogs to search different environments and recognize different scents. Just like a drug or bomb sniffer dog can identify drugs and bombs.
The dogs should eventually be able to recognize the following 3 scents:
- Lavender
- Eucalyptus
- Anise
The dogs must be able to find these scents outdoors, indoors, in containers and on vehicles.
The sport will become an official competitive sport in DKK in 2017.
But Nose Work isn't just for the competition people. Nose Work is for EVERYONE.
Breed and experience with search work are of no importance. It is fun work that mentally stimulates and activates your dog. They learn to work independently and solve problems. It is a great activation that gives mentally tired and satisfied dogs that sleep well at night.
How to get started:
What you need: Containers: cardboard boxes, plastic boxes, all kinds of containers work. Preferably both open and closed and boxes with holes in them.
You lay all your containers on the floor and place treats in them.
Initially, all the treats should be reasonably easy for the dog to get to.
You let your dog explore all the boxes and eat all the treats.
After a few times with easy treats, the dog will understand that it's all about treats - in boxes - fun play!
The difficulty level increases gradually by hiding the treats more advanced, so your dog has to work more intensively to find the treats.
For example, you can hide treats in boxes that are placed inside each other, so dogs have to take one box out of another to get to the treat.
Please note that the dog must complete the task exactly as it wants, they must not destroy the boxes to get to the treats.
You want the dog to have focus, joy and intensity in the task.
You want a dog that goes wild when it sees crates. Once that is achieved, take the crates outdoors and see if the dog can still complete the task as well as indoors.
There is a great deal of independence and problem-solving involved in this dog sport, and you definitely want to demand that of your dog.
The dog needs to learn to work independently so that in the long run you can trust 100% that your dog is right when it identifies a scent in an unknown area where you don't know where the scent is.
Nosework part 1: How to get started
Nose Work is the American and Nordic term for a dog sport that teaches dogs to search different environments and recognize different scents. Just like a drug or bomb sniffer dog can identify drugs and bombs.
The dogs should eventually be able to recognize the following 3 scents:
The dogs must be able to find these scents outdoors, indoors, in containers and on vehicles.
The sport will become an official competitive sport in DKK in 2017.
But Nose Work isn't just for the competition people. Nose Work is for EVERYONE.
Breed and experience with search work are of no importance. It is fun work that mentally stimulates and activates your dog. They learn to work independently and solve problems. It is a great activation that gives mentally tired and satisfied dogs that sleep well at night.
How to get started:
What you need: Containers: cardboard boxes, plastic boxes, all kinds of containers work. Preferably both open and closed and boxes with holes in them.
You lay all your containers on the floor and place treats in them.
Initially, all the treats should be reasonably easy for the dog to get to.
You let your dog explore all the boxes and eat all the treats.
After a few times with easy treats, the dog will understand that it's all about treats - in boxes - fun play!
The difficulty level increases gradually by hiding the treats more advanced, so your dog has to work more intensively to find the treats.
For example, you can hide treats in boxes that are placed inside each other, so dogs have to take one box out of another to get to the treat.
Please note that the dog must complete the task exactly as it wants, they must not destroy the boxes to get to the treats.
You want the dog to have focus, joy and intensity in the task.
You want a dog that goes wild when it sees crates. Once that is achieved, take the crates outdoors and see if the dog can still complete the task as well as indoors.
There is a great deal of independence and problem-solving involved in this dog sport, and you definitely want to demand that of your dog.
The dog needs to learn to work independently so that in the long run you can trust 100% that your dog is right when it identifies a scent in an unknown area where you don't know where the scent is.