Scent Work - The Nose Knows

Scent Work is an accessible sport for handlers and dogs that builds on the one thing ALL dogs do well — sniffing.  AKC’s brand new Scent Work program, and the events from which it is derived, are amongst  the fastest growing sports in purebred dogs. We visited with some of the judges and participants in this new game to bring our listeners in depth and up to date information.

Jon Sarabia - Scent Work Judge

Our podcast interview today features Jon Sarabia, a retired military dog trainer based in Missouri, who is now active in the sport as a competitor and judge.

Jon Sarabia

Listen to our talk with Jon Sarabia from Amore K9 Training in Sedalia, MO as he describes the way he starts dogs out learning how to find two drops of essential oil on a cotton ball buried under a foot of dirt.

 

We also had a chance to talk with Penny Scott-Fox, the Southern California trainer who was a founding member of the National Association of Canine Scent Work, Hallie McMullen, who has been training dogs for law enforcement detection work for over 20 years, and Karyn Eby, a Washington State based trainer who transitioned to scent work from advanced field work with her English Cocker Spaniels.

 

Penny Scott-Fox: National Association of Canine Scent Work

Penny Scott-Fox, NACSW Faculty and Founding Member, AKC Scent Work Judge, Certified K9 Nose Work ® Instructor

PDT:

I would love to hear some more history of how this sport began and what you think has propelled it to be so overwhelmingly popular.

PSF:

The original sport NACSW (National Association of Canine Scent Work) was started by Ron Gaunt and two of his students, Amy Herot and Jill Marie O'Brien. They realized that the scent work part of detection training could provide a lot of fun for dog enthusiasts and pet owners alike. It exploded. After selecting seven instructors to help them teach the sport (I am one of the original seven), classes started everywhere. People became certified nose work instructors across the country and soon there was an enormous demand for trials.

To be honest, it has been hard for the NACSW to keep up creating frustration in exhibitors being able to get into trials. Also in order to earn a title with the NASCW the team needs to earn a 100 percent score. Now there are long wait lists for trials and sometimes one has to travel great distances. As the sport continues to grow there seems to be more frustration with NACSW.

PDT:

I’ve gotten differing opinions as to the ease or, I guess, accessibility of the sport for folks new to the concept. Can you give us a typical training routine for a new dog, of any age, to prepare for a novice level trial? How does that time investment change as you go to higher levels of competition?

PSF:

Nose Work (NACSW) or Scent Work (AKC) is fun, there is no doubt about it. Anyone can do it, almost any dog can do it and you don't have to be super fit to run your dog. The training is straight forward.  There are a lot of instructors available plus some good online courses.  You don't need a ton of equipment to practice so it makes it a very accessible game to play with your dogs. Any age dog can do it too. I always start my puppies off at eight weeks and they are able to compete at one year (NACSW) or 6 months...