Nosework Classes At DePaw Dog Sports - Taught by Kathryn Butts

 Canine Nose Work: What is it?

​The sport of Canine Nose Work provides an opportunity for dogs & handlers to test their teamwork and civilian scent detection skills.  One dog and one handler form a team. The dog must search for a hidden target odor and indicate to the handler when the odor has been found.  Each search is a blind hide and must be completed within a specified amount of time.  During competition, the team is evaluated on their ability to search for, locate and respond to the hidden target odor(s).  As a dog progresses through the various levels of competition the size of the search area will increase, the number of hidden odors increases and the number of distractions also increases.

There are multiple organizations that sanction competition tests (AKC, UKC & NACSW are the three largest venues), but all basically have the same four competition search elements:
​
  • Container – a line of identical boxes (from 10 – 24), test can be inside or outside
  • Interior – a specified interior area (from 100 sq ft - 1,200 sq ft)
  • Exterior - a specified outdoor area (from 100 sq ft - 2,000 sq ft)
  • Vehicle – utilizes 3 – 7 vehicles
  • Buried - tubs of water or sand (from 6-16) cover the target odor
  • Handler Discrimination - dogs search for their owners' scent in containers, interior or exterior searches
Some of the many benefits of Canine Nose Work are:
  • Dogs easily burn lots of mental & physical energy doing searches
  • Searches can be done anywhere you can take your dog
  • In classes, dogs work one at a time and rest crated or safely in a vehicle between searches so reactive dogs can enjoy the activity, too
  • Shy or fearful dogs build confidence and overactive dogs put their energy into fun searches
  • Stronger bond between dog & handler as handler learns to observe, understand, and trust his dog 
Essential Oils used as target odor for Canine Nose Work
  • Birch Sweet Oil – (Betula Lenta)
  • Aniseed Oil – (Pimpinella Anisum)
  • Clovebud Oil – (Eugenia Caryophylatta)
  • Myrrh Oil – (Commiphora Myrrha)
  • Vetiver Oil – (Vetiveria Zizanoides)
  • Cypress Oil - (Cupresses sempevirens)
The Introduction class uses a cocktail of all 6 odors.  All materials necessary to practice at home will be provided during class.