My dog - a Weimaraner named Cairn - is ruled by her nose. More than any other dog I have had, she sniffs obsessively. She is also smart and - like most bird dogs - full of energy. But she has also always been quite timid - afraid of water and loud sounds and plastic bags, and many other objects and phenomena. While searching for some way to increase her confidence, challenge her, and give her an outlet for her energy, a coworker mentioned that she did scentwork with her dogs. Scentwork, also called nosework, is a team sport in which the dog has to find certain hidden scents (birch, anise, cloves, cypress) and indicate to the handler where the scent is. At the lowest level, one scent is hidden. As a team proceeds through the levels, searches get increasingly more difficult, with more scents and more hides possible.
I was intrigued, checked it out. So glad I did. That was a couple of years ago, and Cairn and I were quickly hooked. The work HAS increased Cairn’s confidence and challenged her. She has won ribbons and is always happy proud when she finishes a successful search. But as my instructor points out, scentwork is a team sport. The dog’s job is to find the hidden scents and indicate to the handler where it is. But the handler has to be very aware of the dog’s behavior, notice when the dog is “in odor,” and help the dog work out situations that the team may not have experienced before. The work is satisfying and builds a strong bond between dog and handler.
One big reason I like scentwork is that - as you move up the levels - the dog needs to be better at what dogs are naturally good at. This is different from many other competitions where a dog has to either be a beauty queen or king (not that I think there is anything wrong with it - it’s just not for me) or has to move beyond basic necessary obedience to what seems to me are tricks.
Today’s photo was taken by my scentwork instructor, Hallie McMullen, at scent camp this past weekend at Warm Lake in Idaho. I chose it because Cairn is afraid of water - she will move close to the water’s edge, but a small wave lapping up on the shore can make her take a foot-long leap backward. Here, the scent is hidden in the crack in the concrete right by the water’s edge. Cairn was brave enough to identify it - I was proud of her.
We have almost earned our Novice Elite title and have just started our Advanced title work. We have a long way to go yet - through Advanced classes to Excellent to Master and then to Detective. But we’ll do it together, my dog and me.