In my August 2009 issue of THE WHOLE DOG JOURNAL, there is an interesting article about a new sport called K9 Nose Work or Fun Nose Work. This sport is the brainchild of three dog trainers who are experienced in training detection dogs for narcotics and explosives. It is a great activity for dogs who are shy and reactive around people and other dogs. It is also ideal for owners looking for a sport that is less physically demanding on their dogs.In the beginning, dogs are encouraged to "find" a toy hidden in a box. Later the toy is hidden in a box among other boxes. Training progresses to where dogs are trained to an essential oil such as clove, anise, or birch. As the dogs become more proficient, the scent is hidden in more difficult locations such as the trunk of a car.
K9 Nose Work is currently exploding on the west coast, but new trainers and instructors are being certified as instructors, and the sport is slowly reaching into other parts of the United States. For more information, check out the K9 Nose Work website.
http://k9nosework.com/
And here is a video clip from YouTube showing several dogs doing nose work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE2yYq6wN38
Do you think you and YOUR dog would enjoy K9 Nose Work?
3 comments:
Interesting. Mmmmm, not sure if Chloe would be good at this though. She is - believe it or not - much more visually inclined. Her eyesight is REMARKABLE. She can see great distances and small objects ... she even knows how to use reflections to spot things. It might be something with her breed - small dogs learn to use their eyes to communicate with their human owners.
Hi that looks really good fun. I'm sure my dog martha would like to do this. I play something similar at home hiding a toy in a room and she has to find it. Perhaps we could try something similar on one of our training nights at the community centre. Do you train the dogs just to indicate or do they retrieve the article?
I started my dogs in K9 Nose Work and I'm looking for online training plans. But I'm not finding any!
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