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DETECTION RHODESIAN RIDGEBACKS AT WORK

from RHODESIAN RIDGEBACK EU MAGAZINE ISSUE 13/2023

from RHODESIAN RIDGEBACK EU MAGAZINE ISSUE 13/2023, page 86

OF LIL TOFFEE

Dogs live in a scent world. They have a fantastic nose with which they like to discover the world by sniffing. Where we as humans are primarily focused on our sight, dogs are strongly focused on their nose. You probably all know moments when your dog sniffs extensively at a clump of grass or a tree. This place tells a whole story about the dog that passed by there before. With a nose as the most important sense, this is of course very interesting for your dog.

With scent detection you can meet the natural need of the dog to sniff. All types of dogs can do scent detection, it depends on motivation, character, physical capabilities and level what can be asked and expected of them.

Scent detection starts with choosing a scent you want your dog to search for. This can be anything; cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, weed, coffee, etc. First the dog must learn that smelling the chosen scent will bring him a reward. One way to teach this is by using a clicker (first you teach your dog that everytime he hears the click, he gets a reward). Every time the dog smells the chosen scent, you click and a reward immediately follows. This can be a food reward, but also playing with a toy. At a certain point you see that the smell evokes positive associations in your dog.

When the dog has learned to recognise the scent, it is important to take a good look at what he shows in his behavior and body language. As a handler you often don’t know where the scent is hidden and you have to learn to trust your dog’s body language. It can be very subtle changes in his body that allow you to see if he smells the acquired scent or is just sniffing something out of interest. The more practiced you and your dog are together as a team, the more difficult you can make the hiding places. It is important to make it more difficult in small steps so that your dog maintains sufficient self-confidence.

Teaching the owners and their dogs scent detection is a lot of fun, especially when you get to teach a ridgeback and her owner. That’s just great fun!

Enough information about scent detection for now. I hope your Ridgebacks, in whatever way, get to use their noses regularly. They will love it. Now it is time to train with my own 3 Ridgebacks.

Kind regards, Marije Luiten and Kani van Hoeve de Hoef ‘Midas’, Noah van Hoeve de Hoef ‘Joeke’ & Hidaya Queen of Dragons ‘Nano’ from the Netherlands

Marije Luiten

Owning RR’s since 2000, I have always liked to work with them. With one of my oldest dogs I did mantrailing which she liked very much. She was a real hunter and this way I could satisfy her urge for hunting. When Manuka came into my life I became more curious about detection. Because she was, in some situations, a little insecure I thought this was a good thing to do with her. Bonding and hopefully make her feel more secure. Well that was a great plan! We came in contact with Marije and our first attempt for detection was a hit.

First she had to learn the scent, we choose cinnamon. Step by step she recognized the smell and the track/surroundings became more difficult. For example she surprised me by finding a cinnamon scented rubber band hidden in a suitcase compartment. What?!?

Until now she has searched in a school and a big barn with different objects. Like in suitcases, chairs, lockers, stairs, a box drifting in water. And in outdoor surroundings like a stable with strong odors from sheep and hay and in big machines like a tractor.