Dogs use their noses (sense of smell) to create images of who or what have been crossing their paths wherever they are. We can use this natural instinct to stimulate them mentally – it’s called scent work. Our first article looked at the benefits and showed you some exercises. If you have been practising those exercises, we can now start to make things a bit more challenging.
Hiding treats
As an extension of the first exercise we showed you, place small treats in containers higher up from where you practised the previous exercise, but still where your dog can reach it. You can even begin to stop using the containers, and just hide the treat if your dog is doing well. Cubed cheese works quite well for this, as it can stick to furniture, so it’s perfect for hiding under the base of chairs or tables. Just be careful if your dog has to balance on his back legs to get to the treat, especially if you have a puppy or elderly dog – we don’t want your dog to injure himself!
New locations
Make the game more interesting by placing the treats in different places, such as:
- Under or on a low stool.
- In an open drawer.
- On a low shelf on a bookcase or cabinet.
Search, Fido!
You can also add in a verbal cue to ask your dog to go and look for the treat. I use ‘search’ as my word, but you can use anything, like ‘find it’. Eventually, once your dog finds the specific item or treat that you asked him to look for, you want him to stay at that container or the spot where the treat is, thereby clearly indicating to you where he found it. You can then reward him in that spot – you want him to keep his nose on the scent that he found. But you need to teach your dog how to do it.
Start by hiding a treat in a bowl or container and place it in the search area with the other bowls or containers. Ask your dog to find the treat and, once he found the bowl or container with the treat in it, throw more treats in the same bowl, one by one. This will help to keep your dog’s nose in the bowl for longer, and he will begin to understand that there is value in not moving away from the area where the treat was found. Dogs love this game!
Other rooms
Start to train your dog in different rooms of the house once he knows the game. You may need to start back at the beginning, by letting him see where you hide the treats. Dogs don’t always generalise, so although he understands the game in one room, he won’t necessarily transfer that to a new room. Try the kitchen, bathroom, living room and the garage, and see how your dog does.
Outside
Once you have practised in different rooms of the house, have a go outside in a sheltered area or where it is not windy – wind can play havoc with scent. The conditions, for example if it is wet or hot outside, will also have an impact on how your dog ‘sees’ the scent.
To add in some self-control, practise putting your dog in a stay position while you go and hide the food. One way of getting him to stay in one place is to ask him to stay on top of a raised platform or bed – I find that helps dogs to understand what you expect from them.
Next level
Make the search area more difficult by adding in some smelly distractions. This can include putting out some of your dog’s toys, bedding, or your shoes (the smellier the better!) among the containers where you hide the treats. If you find your dog is too distracted by the items, just start to add in one distraction item to the search area at a time.
Benefits
Sniffing activates the seeking system of the dog’s brain. It’s a part of the brain that is also responsible for the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine, also known as the ‘pleasure’ hormone, regulates feelings of happiness, increases our level of arousal (attention), feelings of motivation and reward, and is related to an enhanced memory. Dopamine feels good! This is why scent work is so beneficial for every dog!
