Yes, you can quickly be misunderstood in the wrong company if you mention mating and something about cans that smell or that the dog smells in the can.
But in the world of Nose Work, everyone knows what we're talking about. And this post and video describe how you can get your dogs started on scent. And the so-called pairing – we pair treats and scent.
Preparation : Your dog should be super strong at searching both indoors, outdoors, in containers and on vehicles with treats before you start the pairing. You can see that it understands the task and solves all the challenges it encounters on its Nose Work path. It is motivated, looks forward to the work and works with high intensity and focus. If you are missing any of these elements, you should solve them before you start putting scent on the search. It is important that the dog has the right mood/energy in the work before the scents are introduced. Because it is this mood and energy that will drive the work when the treats are completely phased out of the search.
If your dog lacks energy or focus, you can choose to use even better treats, leftovers from a roast may drive motivation higher than old Frolic.
You can also take advantage of the mood your dog is in, in certain situations, for example when it is very excited you can ask it to search an area. In this way we place a feeling in the dog about the work with Nose Work. If you want to work with the Nose Work scents you need to get either lavender hydrolate or lavender infused materials. Once you have acquired this and a few metal/aluminum cans you are ready to get started.
You can also choose to work on spices, coffee, tea or other things. If you are going to compete in Nose Work, I do not recommend coffee/tea as they can be disruptive scents for a competition.
Read my guide on hydrolates/infected materials here.
Pairing scent and treat: You place a small cotton ball or swab head in the can and drip hydrosol on it – or place an infected swab head in the can. A few drops is plenty. It should never be so strong that your dog can't stand to sniff it. Remember that your dog smells 4 million times better than you.
You set up the treat boxes as usual. However, you put one or more cans of lavender in them AND a treat on top. Remember that there are still “normal treats” in the box. This is the so-called pairing. Treat and scent are paired and we are now starting a positive brainwashing: Every time the dog smells lavender, it gets a treat.
You should practice this setup for a long time – preferably a couple of months. You can't pair treats and scents too much, rather too little. When you think your dog is showing great understanding, gradually remove the loose treats and only pair scents/treats (remember to vary the number of searches). When it works really well, try and remove the treat from one of the cans. And see if the dog doesn't mark the can. A marking can be touching it with its snout = treat. It can also be your dog finding it and looking at you = treat. Any initiative for the can triggers a treat. And it is important that the dog gets the reward from the can, even if it comes from you.
When the dog finds the can(s) without treats just as well as the ones with the treats – then it is time to phase out the pairing. This is done gradually.
If your dog suddenly becomes frustrated, it is important to go back to mating for a while to make him confident in the work.
Remember that the dog must be able to locate the scent regardless of distractions and in the four moments: container search, indoor search, outdoor search and vehicle search.
It is important that the dog ALWAYS gets a reward for its work and for finding the scent. Finding and marking a scent always triggers a treat/toy. That part is never phased out. It should be fun and we should maintain the good energy in the work. For a competition, you can reward your dog with both food and a toy when it has marked correctly.
Nose Work guide - part 4: Put the scent to work
Yes, you can quickly be misunderstood in the wrong company if you mention mating and something about cans that smell or that the dog smells in the can.
But in the world of Nose Work, everyone knows what we're talking about. And this post and video describe how you can get your dogs started on scent. And the so-called pairing – we pair treats and scent.
Preparation : Your dog should be super strong at searching both indoors, outdoors, in containers and on vehicles with treats before you start the pairing. You can see that it understands the task and solves all the challenges it encounters on its Nose Work path. It is motivated, looks forward to the work and works with high intensity and focus. If you are missing any of these elements, you should solve them before you start putting scent on the search. It is important that the dog has the right mood/energy in the work before the scents are introduced. Because it is this mood and energy that will drive the work when the treats are completely phased out of the search.
If your dog lacks energy or focus, you can choose to use even better treats, leftovers from a roast may drive motivation higher than old Frolic.
You can also take advantage of the mood your dog is in, in certain situations, for example when it is very excited you can ask it to search an area. In this way we place a feeling in the dog about the work with Nose Work. If you want to work with the Nose Work scents you need to get either lavender hydrolate or lavender infused materials. Once you have acquired this and a few metal/aluminum cans you are ready to get started.
You can also choose to work on spices, coffee, tea or other things. If you are going to compete in Nose Work, I do not recommend coffee/tea as they can be disruptive scents for a competition.
Read my guide on hydrolates/infected materials here.
Pairing scent and treat: You place a small cotton ball or swab head in the can and drip hydrosol on it – or place an infected swab head in the can. A few drops is plenty. It should never be so strong that your dog can't stand to sniff it. Remember that your dog smells 4 million times better than you.
You set up the treat boxes as usual. However, you put one or more cans of lavender in them AND a treat on top. Remember that there are still “normal treats” in the box. This is the so-called pairing. Treat and scent are paired and we are now starting a positive brainwashing: Every time the dog smells lavender, it gets a treat.
You should practice this setup for a long time – preferably a couple of months. You can't pair treats and scents too much, rather too little. When you think your dog is showing great understanding, gradually remove the loose treats and only pair scents/treats (remember to vary the number of searches). When it works really well, try and remove the treat from one of the cans. And see if the dog doesn't mark the can. A marking can be touching it with its snout = treat. It can also be your dog finding it and looking at you = treat. Any initiative for the can triggers a treat. And it is important that the dog gets the reward from the can, even if it comes from you.
When the dog finds the can(s) without treats just as well as the ones with the treats – then it is time to phase out the pairing. This is done gradually.
If your dog suddenly becomes frustrated, it is important to go back to mating for a while to make him confident in the work.
Remember that the dog must be able to locate the scent regardless of distractions and in the four moments: container search, indoor search, outdoor search and vehicle search.
It is important that the dog ALWAYS gets a reward for its work and for finding the scent. Finding and marking a scent always triggers a treat/toy. That part is never phased out. It should be fun and we should maintain the good energy in the work. For a competition, you can reward your dog with both food and a toy when it has marked correctly.