sing their nose and detecting scent is truly a dog’s area of expertise. Dogs have the amazing ability to use their nose to detect a variety of different odors including narcotics, explosives, cancer, changes in blood sugar, truffles, termites and much, much more. In K9 Nose Work, the dogs are taught to locate and source three target odors; birch, anise and clove. I have been competing with my dogs in various dog sports including conformation, obedience, rally, agility, field trials and earthdog for over 20 years and while I have enjoyed training and competing in those sports, I am not sure I have enjoyed any dog sport as much as I enjoy K9 Nose Work. Dogs are introduced to the game by just learning to search for food in boxes. The box work is the foundation of K9 Nose Work and it is critical that the foundation work is done thoroughly and carefully. The foundation work is where you build the desire to search. This is also when dogs learn to hunt, problem solve, persist and most importantly trust their nose! We spend a great deal of time being creative with our box work to continue to build those skills in our dogs. Because the dogs already know how to use their noses and how to locate scent, we don't actually teach them anything, instead it is our job to learn to read their body language so that we can determine when they have found the source of odor, so clearly that we can say with certainty "Alert!" and point out to exactly where the odor is hidden. Some people will just stop there. Box work in and of itself is extremely mentally stimulating and energy burning to dogs and some people may choose to just stop there. For those that want to continue whether to compete or just for fun can go on to train the dogs to actually learn to locate the target odors starting with birch. If you choose to work towards the goal of trialing you will need to train the dog to locate the odor in four separate elements including a interior search (the odor is hidden inside a building), exterior search (the odor is hidden outside), a container search (the odor is hidden in a container such as a cardboard box) and a vehicle search (the odor is hidden on a vehicle). The dog must pass all four elements in one day to earn a their NW1 title. As you move up new odors and challenges are added. Competing can be fun, but it is important to keep in mind that the goal should always be fun for the dog not ribbons for the owner. K9 Nose Work is for dogs and about dogs. One of the really great things about K9 Nose Work is that all dogs are good at it! All dogs have the ability to do this. It is a great activity for all different breeds of dog, older dogs and even dogs that have retired from other sports such as agility or field trialing. It is also wonderful for building confidence in fearful or shy dogs. It is for all dogs and so far every dog that I have seen do it has enjoyed it tremendously. A few people have expressed to me a concern that doing K9 Nose Work with a dog that is already doing another type of scent work such as field trials would interfere with the dogs other work, but this isn't really a concern. The dogs understand the difference contexts of the different types of work. I am currently training a Dachshund puppy for the field on rabbit scent and for K9 Nose Work. He will easily learn the difference between walking in the field with other hounds, tracking rabbits and being on a specific harness with me in a K9 Nose Work environment. I even have a client in one of my K9 Nose Work classes that has a medical alert dog that alerts her when her blood sugar level drops. Her medical alert trainer had no problem with her doing K9 Nose work. If anything, it probably just makes the dog quicker to learn the game to trust his or her nose. K9 Nose Work classes are taught by Certified Nose Work Instructors (CNWI), Associate Nose Work Instructors (ANWI) and individuals currently in the Certified Nose Work Instructor program (like myself) that takes about a year to complete. K9 Nose Work classes are a bit different than other dog training classes. The dogs are worked individually with all the other dogs put away. This makes it a great option for many dog reactive dogs who can't cope in a traditional group class. In my classes dogs are in the cars while the other dogs work or in crates behind barriers. I hope that this introduction to K9 Nose Work has sparked your interest in this fast growing sport! All my dogs enjoy it, my Dachshunds are absolute masters at it! It really is what this breed is all about, using your nose and getting rewarded for it! For information about K9 Nose Work please visit www.k9nosework.com. For information about competition, membership and instructor information visit www.nacsw.net. !
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Introduction
K9 Nose Work By Vicki Ronchette, CPDT, CAP2
I want to introduce you to a new dog sport called K9 Nose Work. This sport was developed by professional detection dog handlers as a way for pet dog owners to enjoy scent detection training as it is so enjoyable for most dogs.
Dachshund Club of America
46
AUTUMN, 2011