According to the AKC scent games allow dogs to channel their love of sniffing while enriching their minds. What do dogs do when they meet each other? They sniff. What about when they walk near where another dog has gone potty? Sniff. Their own back yard? Sniff. In the house, looking for crumbs? Sniff. In the car? Yup... sniff.
Any dog, any age, any breed, any health can play. It's kind of the perfect go-to thing to do. It appeals to their natural instincts, is portable and is fun. Yes fun. It builds optimism in dogs. It can be as easy as scattering their food, tossing their kibble or a snuffle mat. No equipment necessary. Their food and a place to toss it. In kitchen, in a pile of dirty laundry, inside their empty food bag. You can toss kibble on walks or in the yard and use the grass as a snuffle mat. It's remarkable that a dog can find a single kibble tossed as far as it will throw, into the grass. I could never find it. They can, and they love it!
Scent work is introduced to my pups before the tender age of 10 days old. Yes days old. Because the underlying reason for breeding my Jack's is to produce Service Dogs, an eager nose is an undeniable asset. Allergies, blood pressure or sugars are all detected via their noses. Early on, I can see which pups are intrigued and which ones are not overly interested. It's incredible to see a blind/deaf baby puppy move toward or away from a scent. Now sometimes, it's the scent I've chosen (nail polish remover is never a positive), vanilla, however, intrigues some! I'll try to get a video with the next litter, I'll link it when it happens.
Did you know that when your dog is sniffing out a kibble (instead of a eating in a boring bowl) they are toning muscles, calming down and using their nose and brain? That thing that gets them into trouble most times? It also promotes logical thinking, they naturally will follow scent tunnels or get downwind of a scent.
Can we talk about bonding? Scent is a great way for us to marvel at our dogs natural abilities. They easily surpass us with this innate ability. What starts as a game (tossing their kibble so they can forage instead of gulp out of a bowl, can move to puzzles or adding the "wait" cue (plus sit or down or or or). How much easier does a weekend morning get than sitting outside enjoying a coffee and tossing kibble for your dog to find. You exercise them, burn up mental energy and set you both up to enjoy the day.
You can move to competition scent work. This can be done at home, by hiding the q-tip embedded with a particular scent. It's a great rainy/snow stormy activity. Or if you are both keen, you can compete against other teams. This activity promotes watching your dogs body language, trusting your dog and having fun. Jack's can follow their nose in barn hunt activities, they are excellent at this game!
I like to play the cups game, because it entertains me hahah. Be sure to mark each "cup" with a y(es) or a n(o) ( a check mark or an x will work too). Also identical "cups" as well. Here's Squish with Tupperware and metal cups. It takes him a few times to settle down to play the game... he likes the treats I use (and this can be rectified by using lower value cheerios) and I like to see his joy! It's our game, so we play it in "happy" mode.
A couple guidelines that I find are helpful. First length of time you play this game. (Duration for those of you who follow the training). Honestly, keeping it to under 2 minutes to start is perfect. It builds the muscle memory, it allows your dog to process the game and keeps it fresh. Reinforcer, that thing we pay our dogs with. The ease of this activity is they immediately reinforce themselves. Find the kibble, eat the kibble. No more fumbling for a treat or a marker word. The game itself is reinforcing. The kibble is an added bonus.
I think it's important to be mindful of your dogs frustration. Frustration is the opposite of optimism and not what we are trying to promote. As always, if your pup isn't being highly successful, you've moved one or more bars too quickly. Building on success is the easiest and best way forward. Check your Duration, have you played for too long? Distraction, have they had a lot of company? Lots of other things going on? I think we can all agree that starting at an off leash park would lead to frustration. Keep distractions low to start. Distance, are the kibble too far away? Initially I toss in the house, one spot, then the room, then the room + hall. Moving to room + hall + another room. Build it. Build it slowly. If your dog isn't immediately enjoying the game, you're moving too fast. Who cares if all the dog does is forage in the living room? This is about their mental and physical happiness. Outside, start with a small handful of kibble in a 1' square. Slowly increase the distance, then lower the number of kibble. Can they find a single kibble in a 4' space without help? Awesome, add 3 more kibble and toss into a 10' space! Before long they will be able to find those kibble anywhere!
This is my bliss... outside with the chickens and pigs and pups. Squish foraging for super stinky. I make is easier for him when I add this many distractions/competitors, it also increases the positive outcome for him, something I always want. It's supposed to be fun and challenging, not frustrating.
If you are ready to play "search" (I use "find it" when I've tossed or hidden kibble and "search" for a specific q-tip scent) you first need to decide on an odor. Head to the baking aisle and grab an extract that you won't be using in baking. For me it's typically "orange extract" I don't like the taste and won't likely use it. Get a mason jar with lid, some q tips and your chosen extract. Impregnate a few cotton swabs, and put them in the jar with the others, that scent will merge with the unscented swabs. The swab shouldn't be returned to the bottle after use. It picks up more scents and the game becomes less clear for the dog.
The first week or so, simply present the scented q-tip and use your marker (I use the word "yes) for any interactions with the q-tip. Then give the dog a kibble! Simple. Q-tip/interaction/yes/treat. Repeat! Repeat many times, while you're standing/sitting/scrolling, in different rooms, wearing different shoes. You really want to build a solid scent=reward muscle memory. Quick, easy lessons. 2-5 repetitions/kibbles. This is the part where you're building a positive association with the scent. Otherwise your dog may well look at your and ask "what's in it for me?" That is a fair question. We are the ones that want our dogs to do specific things. We need to be able to answer that question. When they "find it" the immediate kibble reward is the answer. When we want a specific scent to be found, we need to provide the pay cheque!
Once the dog is eagerly seeking the scented q-tip, start to move it. Higher so they reach, lower to the floor, behind your back, under your bent leg, off one side, then the other. You want the dog looking for it.
What happens when they are engaged in looking for it? We increase the difficulty! How? Glad you asked; by tossing a kibble away from us, moving the q tip, from where it was (from high to low, left to right, front to behind) so when they re-orient to your body, they do a mini "search". Search/yes/treat/repeat. Toss another, move it and repeat!
Next you can start to do simple hides. On the floor near you, on the sofa, near a rope toy (we are building duration, distractions and distance). If your dog knows sit/wait you can add that now and place the q-tip. Remember different surface heights need to be taught, if it's always on the floor, the back of the sofa doesn't exist.
Continue building it until you can incorporate more difficult "hides". Before long your dog will be searching like a pro, following their nose from room to room.
Move forward slowly. It doesn't have to be hard to be enriching. Dogs sniff because dogs sniff. Try tossing a used sock from Value Village in the back yard, they will find it and investigate it. With their nose. Because .... dogs sniff.
Sniffing is life!
Go Play with your Dog!
PS Did you know you can sign up for the Newsletter or be added to the puppy waitlist? Contact me to find out how!