When searching for buried odor in sand or water, odor moves over the side of the container, so you'll often see dogs sniffing along the sides of a buried hide. The odor can catch on the next bin over or on another object if the air is moving or it's windy. Often, buried searches at trials are outdoors.
If your dog identifies a hide and you call alert and the dog moves away from the nose hold, just freeze and wait them out until they return to the nose hold then pay at source. If after identifying the odor and the handler calls "Alert" your dog moves away from the hide, just go with them to continue the search.
Sometimes trials are held on slippery footing, such as polished or finished concrete, which can be tricky for some dogs. It's a good idea to consider boots or special paw protector stickers and practice with them before you need to use them at a trial. Jackie's coach uses RC Pets sport socks for dogs, and Aqumax non-slip paw protectors.
Here's a clip of Jackie playing three searches this week: containers, buried water, and buried sand:
Jackie did multiple container searches in nose work class this week. Searching on and off lead improves Jackie's drive, speed, and leadership of each search in differing situations.
Canine Scent Work
Canine scent work, often referred to as nose work, is the canine sport that mimics the work of detection dogs like those used in search and rescue, law enforcement, and conservation efforts. It harnesses a dog’s natural scenting abilities to search for specific odors, such as essential oils, or even distinguish the scent of their own handler from the smell of other people.
Container Searches
Container searches are a subset of canine scent work where dogs are tasked with locating target odors hidden within a set of containers. The containers vary in size, shape, and material, challenging the dog to discriminate and identify the correct one based solely on scent.
Container searches offer several benefits for dogs and their handlers:
Mental Stimulation: Dogs engage their minds by focusing on isolating and identifying specific scents amidst distractions.
Physical Exercise: While mentally taxing, scent work also provides physical exercise as dogs actively search and move around.
Bonding and Communication: Handlers and dogs build stronger bonds through teamwork and clear communication during searches.
Training for container searches involves teaching dogs to recognize and alert to the target scent through positive reinforcement techniques. Handlers learn to read their dog’s behavior and cues, which indicate when the dog has located the target odor.
To proof for an obvious and prolonged nose hold: call "Alert!" then move in and pay Jackie at source. Once your dog has learned a solid nose hold, no longer use a marker word "Yes!" but instead just call "Alert!" and pay directly at source.
Proofing Jackie's nose holds while alerting three hides in a container search:
If Jackie breaks her nose hold to look up at the handler when I call "Alert!", simply freeze, wait for Jackie to return to her nose hold, then go in and pay at source. Jackie is paid for holding her nose at source, even while she hears the alert being called.
The tin can game proofs for distractions. Start by putting odor such as lysol or windex on a paper napkin inside a couple tins, and the source odor in another tin. Pay Jackie at source when she nose holds at the correct odor tin. After you pay at source, pick up the odor tin, toss a reset cookie, and replace the tin in a different spot to continue playing.
Move with Jackie around the tin can game, but don't get too close or crowd her. The handler can allow her to search independently while still supporting her by rotating on an imaginary person hole cover while staying in one place.
In this clip we see Jackie starting off very well playing the tin can game, and then she hones in on the food scents (especially the chicken pot pie!). Jackie then displays what I call the classic border collie out-of-body experience: they overthink so hard that they stare off into the distance until they recover to the task at hand.
Jackie proofing for distractions playing the tin can game:
Gradually increase the game's difficulty by adding more tins with food inside -- leftovers from your own dinner for example. Jackie particularly loved the tins with chicken pot pie and a pretzel with peanut butter on it!
The decision to play on or off lead depends on the search space. In a large, open area where the search space is not securely contained with fences or walls, for example, the handler will probably choose to search on lead to maximize time by keeping your dog on lead within the search area.
Jackie searching off lead in an interior search:
Searching off lead tends to increase Jackie's independence and search speed, and is a nice option when searching areas that are large but contained such as a school kitchen or gymnasium, or areas that are small but obviously demarcated such as during the tin can game. When searching off lead, stay within fifteen feet of Jackie with your hands in position as though there is an imaginary lead between dog and handler.
When teaching nose holds, gradually build duration of the nose hold by waiting at first a split second then mark and reward, then a second and mark/reward, then two seconds and mark/reward, then three seconds and mark/reward; upward to the point that the dog nose holds for several seconds.
Once Jackie understands a reliable several-second nose hold, begin proofing so she holds her nose at source while the handler calls "Alert!"
In scent work class this week Jackie played the 1-2, 1-3, 1-4 Game: a container search that teaches the dog to check each container without skipping any containers. We played different interior searches for multiple hides.
Video clip of Jackie playing interior searches and the 1-2, 1-3, 1-4 game:
