With subfreezing temperatures for days and snow piling up, Asa and I are losing our minds stuck indoors.  That’s when I decided to take matters into my own paws, and find a game we can play inside.  A game that’s is mentally stimulating, burns energy, but won’t make Mom worry that we’ll bring the house crashing down around us.  I’m training Asa to do Nose Work and be a Scent Recognition Dog like me!  When I was a mere puppy, I passed my Odor Recognition Test and was certified by the National Association of Canine Scent Work.  It’s about time I train my little brother, so he too can enjoy this mentally challenging sport of Nose Work!  Here’s how I’m training Asa in case you want to play along at home too:

What You’ll Need: For certification I was initially trained to recognize Birch essential oil, and then later Anise and Clove.  These are available at most health food stores or wherever essential oils are sold.  However if you’re just doing this for fun, any essential oil that catches the attention is fine.  You can even use smelly treats instead, but be weary because the goal of this game is to entertain your dog not add on a few pounds!  You’ll also need a Q-tip cotton swap or cotton ball; small Altoids tin box with holes drilled in the top for ventilation, or something similar that’s small for hiding and can hold the scent; 3 shoe boxes; your imagination; and treats for rewards.

Step 1: With Dad’s help, I dabbed a little Birch essential oil on a Q-tip, and placed it in an Altoids tin.  While Dad was preparing for our game, I let Asa take a sniff to get him curious.  Dad also took this opportunity to teach Asa a new word as a command to find it.  In honor of my Dutch cousin, Bear, Dad uses the word (phonetically pronounced) “Vind Het,” which I believe means “find it.”  Most Nose Work dogs use a German command, some use plain old “Find It,” whatever command you’d like is fine.  It’s just so he knows we’re playing the game, and will go search for the scent.

Step 2: Next, when Asa was distracted, I put the tin with Q-tip scent inside one of the shoe boxes.  I placed the three shoe boxes in the center of a room.  Then I let Asa into the room while Dad said our search command of “Vind Het.”  As soon Asa started sniffing the box with the scent, Dad praised him using the phrase “Good Vind Het,” and gave him treats as a reward.  This got Asa’s attention and motivated him to associate that scent with treats and praise.  Asa is a quick learner, so it only took us 4 or 5 times before he caught on to our game.  Each time we’d rearrange the order of the boxes so I knew he wasn’t just going to the scent box by chance.  We kept these sessions short, and did this game a couple times a day for a day so he could learn the smell.  Slowly we started waiting to reward him only when his nose actually touched the box, and eventually waited a moment or two longer before instantly rewarding Asa.  This helped to teach Asa that he had to keep his nose on the container to get his reward.  Ok, truth be told, Asa was getting bored with our easy shoe boxes.  So we quickly moved on to the next step.

Step 3: Once I was confident Asa was responding to the scent, we made it more challenging.  We took the tin container with the scent out of the shoe box and hid it in a very obvious location.  And I do mean obvious.  The first time Dad put the tin on the floor next to a chair leg, and Asa took forever to find it!  However, once Asa found it, and touched his nose to the tin he got treats and of course more praise.  We played this way for a couple more days until he realized the rules of the game we were playing: wait for the command, search for smelly tin, must touch nose to tin to signal he found the scent, and wait before doing his happy dance.  Personally, I just lay down after I find it, but Asa insists on doing a happy dance.  Also, we only did this for about 10 minute sessions.  Too long and too easy, and the game would get boring before we’ve even begun!  Remember, the point of this game was to keep Asa entertained on a snowy day, not to make him a Nose Work expert like myself!

Step 4: Within a couple days of starting this game, Asa was ready for more challenging locations.  By challenging I mean out of sight, and not smack dab in the middle of a room.  I joined in on the fun then too, with Asa and I taking turns while Mom or Dad hid the scents.  To avoid cheating, they would put us in our crates so we couldn’t peek, and then go to another part of the house to hide the tin box with the scent.  It’s funny how totally different our approach is to finding the scent.  I will run with reckless abandon through the house with my nose on the ground searching.  Asa takes a more methodical approach where he slowly walks with his nose up in the air.  He’ll even retrace his steps and revisit old hiding spots before sniffing out new places.  Either way, we both eventually find the scent!  Making this a fun and mentally stimulating way to spend a winter day trapped indoors.

With subfreezing temperatures predicted again for this weekend, we hope this Nose Work game will help relieve some cabin fever in your home as well!  Happy Sniffing!