When starting NoseWork, it is important to familiarize yourself with the two types of scent materials that you can use to train with (hydrolates or infected materials).
In DKK, it has been chosen that the competitions are on infected materials.
What does it mean? What is the difference? And why is it important to understand the difference?
This post is written in continuation of our article about Nose Work :
Putting the scent to work
It is important because you want the best for your dog – both in its search work but also because you care about the dog's well-being.
Two types of materials are used in NoseWork:
Hydrolates:
- Made from water vapor and plant parts.
Should be stored in a dark/cool place and has no side effects when ingested or touched on the skin.
- They are weaker in scent than essential oils, so a dog that can find hydrolates can always find infected materials.
- Can be dripped directly onto material and will evaporate again over a period of time. They are therefore relatively easy to handle in everyday life where you want to set up a search on your walk.
- They can be purchased in a few webshops in Denmark, including my own; tinahougaard.dk/shop
Infected materials/essential oils:
- Essential oils are very concentrated and strong.
This means you need to handle them correctly so you don't contaminate everything around you.
- The contaminated swab heads should always be stored in a container. They should never be placed directly into the environment.
- There is a detailed description of HOW to correctly contaminate materials with essential oils here: loruphundecenter.dk/kontamineringsmitte
Both parts should always be handled with gloves on, so you don't apply your own fragrance to the material.
Your dog should never eat infected materials or things that have had hydrolate dripped onto them.
Read the instructions on the essential oils to know how to proceed correctly if this happens anyway.
Which type you choose to work with is entirely up to you. I work with hydrolates on a daily basis and occasionally I practice a little on the infected materials as well. As long as you handle the infected materials correctly there is no difference between the two.
About the author
Video and text by professional dog and nosework instructor Tina Hougaard.
If you want to learn more about Nosework, you can find classes and courses at
Howard & Dog
Nosework Guide - Hydrolates and Infected Materials
When starting NoseWork, it is important to familiarize yourself with the two types of scent materials that you can use to train with (hydrolates or infected materials).
In DKK, it has been chosen that the competitions are on infected materials.
What does it mean? What is the difference? And why is it important to understand the difference?
This post is written in continuation of our article about Nose Work :
Putting the scent to work
It is important because you want the best for your dog – both in its search work but also because you care about the dog's well-being.
Two types of materials are used in NoseWork:
Hydrolates:
Should be stored in a dark/cool place and has no side effects when ingested or touched on the skin.
Infected materials/essential oils:
This means you need to handle them correctly so you don't contaminate everything around you.
Both parts should always be handled with gloves on, so you don't apply your own fragrance to the material.
Your dog should never eat infected materials or things that have had hydrolate dripped onto them.
Read the instructions on the essential oils to know how to proceed correctly if this happens anyway.
Which type you choose to work with is entirely up to you. I work with hydrolates on a daily basis and occasionally I practice a little on the infected materials as well. As long as you handle the infected materials correctly there is no difference between the two.
About the author
Video and text by professional dog and nosework instructor Tina Hougaard.
If you want to learn more about Nosework, you can find classes and courses at
Howard & Dog