About scent 

Scent is the dog's most important and innate sense. If you want your dog to expand his senses, sharpen his skills, develop his intellect and have fun, tracking or scentwork exercises are the best option. It is is non-violent, non-stressful and gratifying to your dog. Dogs want and need to smell things, animals, people, etc... He should not be deprived of smelling things when he goes out for a walk.

Odours

Odours transmit information about an animal's mental or physical state; they form a very effective "language". In dogs, the "smell membrane" is 50 times as great as a man's and contain 220 million receptor cells. Man's "smell membranes" contain 5 million cells. The comparison tells us the great difference between both species. Consider this example: A trained dog is able to find 2 grains of sand on a beach 500 metres long, 50 metres wide and 50 cm deep. Simply amazing!

In man, there are 7 primary odours:

1. Camphouraceaous

2. Musky

3. Floral

4. Pepperminty

5. Ethereal

6. Putrid

7. Pungent

Note: It is highly likely that dogs have a larger repertoire of primary odours than humans.

The greater number of receptor cells allows dogs to be able to detect a wider range of smells than can humans. It also makes dogs' noses more sensitive to weak smells. It has been found that dogs can detect a variety of substances at concentrations of one thousand to one million times lower than humans do.

ABOUT SCENTWORK

Scent discrimination

Definition: To discriminate between scents, or to pick one scent out from the others.

Example: A drug dog can recognize the scent of a narcotic even among all the other smells of sweat, fuel, leather, tobacco, etc...

 How to ensure success with scent discrimination:

.Motivation ( must be highly motivated ) is achieved by giving the right praise, in the right amount and at the right

time.

.Food is the ultimate reward when teaching something new.

.Training treats: should be small, fresh, juicy, tasty and easily swallowed.

Examples: Sausage, ham, cheese, chicken, boiled liver, roast beef, smoked fish.

.Use of VARIABLE reinforcement: Your dog never knows whether he will be rewarded or not. Always treat in the

beginning, then slowly begin to reward every third or more time. Stay on this schedule forever.

.Use of the "jackpot": This is when your dog performs extremely well. Use a big, valuable reward, but not often.

.Use of SHAPING and CLICKER TRAINING.

.Choosing the "marking" behaviour: The dog's way of reporting to you, so you understand what he has found and

where. This must be trained ONLY in a positive way. 


For information on a fun scent game, click here.