K9 Scentwork is a new sport sweeping the country.  Dogs of all ages and sizes can participate.  Dogs learn to use their noses in a fun way.  In the beginning the dogs are searching for treats. We quickly switch to the dogs searching for a specific scent such as "birch."  This does not take a big time committment or require special equipment.   It is wonderful brain exercise as well as physical exercise a dog can do at home.  You can train as much or as little as you want at home.

This training is along the lines of the training bomb and drug detection dogs receive.  It is a bit different from the tracking the search and rescue groups use to search for people, however some of the training is very similar or the same, and it could easily be expanded to include searching for people.  You can keep it as a fun exercise - or you develop it into something useful such as finding you car keys,tv remote or cellphone.  During the Introductory sessions you will progress to finding the birch scent.

We start with two types of searches.  One is a container search much like the shell game at the carnival.  There are multiple containers that are identical and the dog must locate the correct container that holds the treat or the scent.  The other search is a full room search where the desired treat or scent is hidden in a room. The dog much search the room and find the food or scent.   It is a lot of fun to watch the dogs learn to search an area.

When the dog learns to identify the specific scent - such as birch oil, a few drops of the oil are places on various objects and dog learns to search a specific area for the scent.  If you decide to progress to additional levels - the search is carried from a room - to outdoor - and even a vehicle search.

For those that wish to continue training after the first session, there will be additional levels and that schedule will be available when you are ready to progress.

This is being developed into a new sport and there are competitions where you can earn titles.  We hope to have some trials in this part of the country before too long.  

For more information or if you have questions,  you can e-mail l Nancy Walker  leapboundagility@aol.com