The sport of Scent Work celebrates the joy of sniffing, and asks a dog to sniff to their heart’s content; turning your Dandie’s favorite activity into a rewarding game. It is a terrific sport and a wonderful way to build confidence in a shy dog.
In so many dog sports the handler is in control but this isn’t true in Scent Work. Neither your Dandie or you will know where the target odor is hidden. You have to rely on your Dandie, and follow your dog’s nose to success. In Scent Work, your Dandie is the star of the show.
The sport of Scent Work is based on the work of professional detection dogs (such as drug dogs), employed by humans to detect a wide variety of scents and substances. In AKC Scent Work, dogs search for cotton swabs saturated with the essential oils of Birch, Anise, Clove, and Cypress. The cotton swabs are hidden out of sight in a pre-determined search area, and the dog has to find them. Teamwork is necessary: when the dog finds the scent, he has to communicate the find to the owner/handler, who calls it out to the judge.