K9 Scentral

18/09/2020

One of the concepts of Scent Work competition at the higher levels our dogs have to understand is to not be put off the search for the target odours by a variety of distractors. Distractors can be anything - roast chicken, cheese, a big mac! They are always contained in a way that the dog can’t get them, but learning to not be drawn in by them is a big learning curve! All to often I see people just “seeing how they go” with distractors, in other words asking the dog to search for target odour and ignore a distractor WITHOUT training the dog first. It breaks my heart! Nose work is about building communication and a working relationship with your dog, not setting them up to fail.

Here is Alice’s introduction to working around a distractor from our training this afternoon. It’s not the only way to break it down for the dog and present it in learnable bits, just one way.

Feel free to share, use and build on in your training as much as you feel it is valuable.

07/06/2020

Good information about the type of harness you work your dog in.

26/03/2020

Another “box game” video. Adding difficulty in getting the food.

26/03/2020

Right now, we are all in a time of change. We can choose to make a change for the better. Adding some searching time to your dog’s life is free, easy and can be done at home. This is a video to help you understand one way of doing this.

16/10/2019

A really good read

Sniffing is vital to the way dogs gather information and interact with their environment. Scent is the predominant way in which dogs make sense of their world.At times, depending on the context, a dog is not just sniffing a scent; he is communicating. What he is communicating can vary according to t...

30/09/2019

This video explain the effect of sniffing on the dog's pulse. More information on dogfieldstudy.com

25/09/2019

Nose work handling - so much to think about! Here’s one thing!

23/09/2019

A GREAT weekend of nose work in a plane hanger!

Best helpers in the hangar.

04/09/2019

Here is one of my nose work favourite puzzles for building a dog’s confidence to work independently of the handler. When we do nose work with food, we have two distinct parts to the game - the finding of the hidden food and the getting of the food once found.
This is Sparrow, Quinn and Fly working out how to get the food that is in a paper cup with a long bit of fabric attached to it. We call it “The treasure hanger” 😊

25/07/2019

12/07/2019

Have you already done the first two levels of K9 Nose Work, either with us or another K9 Nose instructor, but couldn't continue for some reason? If you would like to move on, we have an unexpected place available in our Intro to Odour course starting this Sunday morning at Maitland. Message us if you're interested :-)

12/07/2019

Have you already done an Intro to K9 Nose Work class either with us or with another K9NW instructor, but then couldn't continue to the next level for some reason? We have a couple of unexpected vacancies in our Intro to Elements 4-week course at Maitland, starting this Sunday. Message us if you're interested :-)

23/06/2019

An article I wrote for the association of pet dog trainers newsletter on what makes nose work classes therapeutic...and what doesn’t.
It’s the first article listed - “Seeking Therapy?....”

If you are looking into nose work classes because you have heard it is great for shy/reactive dogs, make sure you check out HOW the nose work class is set up.

https://animaltrainingsolutions.com.au/articles/

Here you will find a link to PDF’s of some of the articles I have written and some of the powerpoint presentations I have done. Every animal reminds me of the importance of self reflection as…

22/06/2019

We've been checking out locations for a Road Trip class for our Maitland Advanced Odour group. Flirt reckons this one looks pretty good! (She also thought it was pretty cool being out and about without the Cone of Shame!)

25/05/2019

LOL!

Where will your dog’s nose take you today?

09/05/2019

Registrations are now open for a new Introduction to Nosework course at our Maitland location with Steph McColl. The course starts on May 26, and places are limited, so if you would like to join us, follow the Dropbox link to the registration form and get you and your dog started on the journey!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/n5qeo7ldl82wncx/Maitland%20Intro%20to%20Elements%202019-06.pdf?dl=0

Shared with Dropbox

03/09/2018

Over the past four days I have been on a Nose Work learning bender with some awesome dogs and their peoples. At Riverwood Downs in NSW. It was a bit of a trial for us to see how we would work a Nose Work camp here in Australia, and it was a huge success. I can guarantee that all you Nose Work lovers out there will have a blast at our 2019 camp.

But I just wanted to share with you all the note that I sent out to all the folks I shared the weekend with and some of the things that really hit home watching the dozen teams that were present run. What a joy!
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I learn so much from observing, you all really gave me a lot to think about this weekend. The drive home was put to good use. Here are my thoughts:

1). We need to know that all birch is not equal. Even ACSW birch is going to differ from batch to batch. Old odour (defined as anything used more than once) is different to new odour (first time out of the bottle). It’s ok to reuse tips - s**t we would all be broke if we couldn’t! But especially if you are a trialler, you must buy new odour from ACSW regularly and use fresh odour regularly. What you do consistently here gives the brain the information on the boundary of the odour that “pays”. Obviously same rules apply for anise and clove.

2) We need to be like Oprah - SELF AWARE! The dogs are always learning what is meaningful in their environment and what isn’t. If you always stand and face your dog when it hits source, alerts and is paid - it will associate your position as a discriminative stimulus (a stimulus that holds meaning).
It is virtually impossible to be totally self aware of what we are consistently doing with our body in a search. This is why we VIDEO OUR SEARCHES - including ourselves in the video and/or train with friends who will watch what we do and feed back to us. There is no use videoing just the dog, unless you are doing a run where the handler doesn’t move from the threshold.

3) We need to shut up. Re-cuing is not what you think it is.
Scenario: Dog is searching, dog looks at you, you give your search cue in response to the dog looking at you. Congratulations , you are teaching your dog to focus on you. Don’t do it.
A dog that orientates to you has been asked to perform a search that is too hard for it RIGHT THEN AND THERE. That’s the information you are being given. If the dog needs re-cuing during a search the search is too hard.
Re-cuing is not the same as “I don’t know” but the dog’s behaviour is still telling you you have asked too much.
So what do we do when that happens? You all can answer that.

4) We need to be more generous. Most of you pay like there is a famine.

5) We need to know science. I am sorry, but you can not get away from it. The principles of learning are always at work and you ignore them at your peril. The govern every bit of advice I gave over the weekend. One of the most obvious areas is our alert behaviour.

Understanding how we have built our dog’s alert behaviour is paramount to keeping it strong. The more you wait for the dog to turn to you after it’s hit odour, the more you will weaken the dog’s alert. TRY AND MEET THE DOG AT SOURCE. THROWING FOOD AT SOURCE IS THE BEST WAY TO DO THIS. If you can’t do that, make the FIRST change in the environment after the dog has shown an alert behaviour an audible one for the dog. Not to “mark” any behaviour, but to ensure your movement doesn’t pull the dog out of the hunt.

I’m sure there is more, but that’s all I have for now. And what was that saying?

“We came, we sniffed, we alerted!”

15/06/2018

A really great article from CNWI (Canine Nose Work Instructor) Di Randall. We are all doing an awesome job getting the information out there about the power of the sniff! Di has classes in Randwick, Sydney. Her business page is http://www.dogstartraining.com.au/nosework.html

A new dog sport, K9 Nose Work® is taking Australia by storm. Di Randall explains the art of scent detection, a great therapy for any dog.

02/04/2018

There are lots of different methodologies when it comes to teaching dogs to use their nose. Whichever way you look at it though, letting a dog hunt for food is a wonderful enrichment and, should you want it to be, a great foundation for a future competition dog. Love this post by The Canny Canine!

21/02/2018

Lovely to watch!

20/02/2018

Beginners week 3 were introduced to the minefield last night, near misses, but all survived.

19/02/2018

29/01/2018

K9 Scentral Games Day raised $ 4000 for bowel cancer research!

A little late, but a big thank you to all who came and shared on games day last Sunday. It was a wonderful day of learning and community. We had our first live Facebook stream to a few of the people undertaking their CNWI (Canine Nose Work Instructor) certification but who live in remote areas of Australia so are finding it hard to get to observe classes etc as a tester, and it was a roaring success.

All handlers were challenged to work their dog off leash and the focus on the day was on independent searching - just how much does your dog depend on you to find odour? How well do they understand the game of finding the odour? Lots of new information for us all to use as we train our way through 2018.

Thanks again!

25/01/2018

Getting all ready for games day! Complete with Luka making sure the fridge is working for our cool drinks and ice blocks 😁

21/01/2018

A quick radio spot to spread the word about the value of Nose work for dogs!
https://www.talkinglifestyle.com.au/podcast/dogs-need-nose-work/

17/01/2018

For those of you who need to leave your dog in your vehicle between runs at a nosework event - Aldi have on special this week battery operated fans that have a strong clip to clip them onto your crate, or a car door-handle, and an adjustable neck so you can angle the breeze onto your dog. Or yourself :-) Only $8, and they work really well. They have foam blades that shouldn't damage an inquiring nose should you place it within reach of such a thing ;-) I bought two, one for Flirt, one for me :-)

15/01/2018

Clone of K9 Nose Work® Class Registration Form

Beginners and Intermediate Nose Work Classes at St Ives Show Ground Tuesday evenings. Click on the link for all the info

Please click the link to complete this form.

05/01/2018

A great chance to get an intro to nose work FOR FREE!!!’n

30/12/2017

BBC The Secrets of Quantum Physics 2of2 Let There be Life

Wholly nostrils Batman! Are we actually “hearing” with our nose? This is pretty heavy stuff, but oh so interesting.

17/12/2017

K9 Scentral's cover photo