Introduction to Scent Work

Scent work is a type of training that encourages dogs to use their noses.

Scent work training include hiding treats or toys around the house for your dogs to find, creating scent trails with different smells in the garden or taking part in a scent course such as Man Trailing. Any dog can engage with nose work games no matter their breed, age and ability.

Mental stimulation from dogs using their nose increases calmness and relaxation, reduces stress, as well as building optimism and independence in dogs.

Processing scents is one of the most exhausting mental exercises for dogs, studies have shown that on average about 20 minutes of mental enrichment such as scent work is equally as effective as an energy outlet as 60 minutes of walking.

These activities may be new for your dog and they may not understand how to interact with them straight away so lots of encouragement and direction will help build their confidence. Keep it simple and fun!

• Pick a treat your dog enjoys and a cue you would like to use for this game like “find it” or “search” 
• Ask your dog to sit or down while you place the treat on the floor a few steps away. You can use a lead if they haven’t learnt these behaviours yet
• Use your cue and point in the direction of the treat and allow them to eat the treat. Mark and reward them for finding the treat
• Repeat this until they have learnt to wait until you have used your cue for them to find the treat.
• Progress to moving the treat further away with a couple of treats
• Next, progress to hiding the treat in an easy location and repeating the above process, stay close to where it’s hidden and encourage them when they are getting near. When they find, mark and reward with lots of fuss
• If they struggle to find the treat or lose interest make the treat more visible

• Dogs have 300 million olfactory receptors
• They have 100x more nerves between nose and brains than humans
• Their part of the brain dedicated to analysing smell is 40x greater than humans
• They can smell in 3D where both their nostrils smell independently
• They can tell the passage of time by the strength of a scent