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Sylwia: Exactly, nosework is based on the most important canine sense. The dog’s sense of smell is amazing and much more sensitive than ours! For example, a dog can sense a drop of blood dissolved in six liters of water and has a much larger surface of the olfactory epithelium – we have approx. 3-5 cm 2 , a dog has an average of 150 cm 2 ! Dogs also have more olfactory receptors. We do quite poorly with our five million versus two hundred million, and even three hundred in the best smelling bloodhound. The dog also has more types of these receptors and more genes that code for them. He can sniff an average of five times a second, independently with each nostril, and he never completely expels the air with odor particles from his nose. Moist truffle allows for the attachment of odor particles, and long, drooping ears of hunting dogs, in addition to their cute appearance, are used to trap these particles in the nostrils. The dog smells the past with his nose – when you come home and your dog sniffs you in the corridor, this is how he finds out how your day was: where you have been, what you did and with whom, what you ate in, what mood you are in, etc. He also feels the future! There is a theory that when a dog handler returns home at the regular time, the dog learns the concentration of its odor in the home that this return takes place and waits for the human.
What is the training and competition of nosework?
Paula: The story about recognizing the concentration of smells is amazing to me! Of course, the training analysis turns on right away! When working in a physiotherapeutic office, we say that the dog can easily smell the smell of the veterinarian, the owner’s stress or the smell of the previous patient. And here are details such as the concentration of this fragrance after a certain time! Okay, let’s get into sports then! What are the basic rules of the nasal bag? What are trainings and competitions about?
Sylwia: In the nasal bag, as you have already mentioned, the dog is looking for specific smell samples. He remembers these smells and searches for and indicates them on a specific command. So it does what dogs often do in uniformed services – this is the genesis of the rhinoceros. We have four categories, or types of searches: items, rooms, terrain, and vehicles. In rhinoceros, we also divide into classes with different levels of difficulty. For example, in class zero there is only one sample and one fragrance used (cinnamon), then other smells come, the dog is already looking for several samples (in higher classes you do not know how many there are in the ring), there may be deceptive smells, e.g. the smell of game or food that the dog should not be labeling. In competitions, it is important to find all samples and the time the dog finds them.
Preparation for training nosework
Paula: Let’s assume that our dog has a chance to find himself in this activity. How to start? Are we able to take any first steps at home before we decide to exercise with a trainer? How does the preparation for training look like afterwards?
Sylwia: It’s nice if we put the dog’s nose on before coming to training, because not all dogs can sniff as much as they can. I happened to have adult dogs in training that were just discovering their noses. I always recommend any olfactory games, e.g. olfactory mats or balls, looking for delicacies hidden in the apartment or garden. I recommend, of course, the introduction of the fragrance, as well as all further steps, under the supervision of a trainer. Nosework is also cool in that we can train ourselves at home between sessions with the trainer. No special equipment is needed, we can successfully use many items that we have at home.
Paula: Great that you mentioned nasal activation, because I also often recommend such elements to my patients during rehabilitation or limited activity. We often close ourselves only to learning commands and physical exertion, and such sniffing sessions can super mentally activate our dog without tiring its paws.
Sylwia: In nosework training, we can teach the dog a specific smell or all three smells at once, i.e. cinnamon, orange and cloves. This does not mean that the dog will feel the Christmas mixture, but just individual smells, because this is how the dog’s sense of smell works – the dog distinguishes individual smells. When we smell the broth, we smell the broth. When a dog smells it, it smells like water, chicken, salt, parsley and so on.
Safety-during-nosework training
Paula: I would like to tell our readers that they can watch a training session with an amateur rhinoceros, my dog Bułka, and a real professional, Sylwia, Sylwia’s dog. In conclusion, I would like to ask what we must watch out for in the case of such training? Any precautions?
Sylwia: Certainly the gradation of difficulty. Coaches of other sports are raising the bar very slowly, right? In rhinoceros, it sometimes happens that someone tries to experiment or does not have enough knowledge of the smell theory and will create a very difficult olfactory puzzle for the dog. Of course, the result will be a drop in motivation and confidence, and an increase in frustration. We also train in various places, so of course we should always pay attention to the dog’s safety – if there are no dangerous objects in the ring, e.g. if the dog does not get hurt, fall off something, etc.
Paula: I’m so glad you mentioned the safety considerations for the equipment! I would also like to add that the very surface we work on will be of great importance to the dog. If we are working with a puppy or an older dog, we should avoid slippery surfaces (e.g. tiles, panels), because the dog focused on using the nose may have poor control of the limbs. With neurological disorders, instability in the joints or in growing dogs, regular sliding on the wrong floor can lead to serious orthopedic problems! Repeated microtrauma results in very tense muscles, soreness, a change in the pattern of movement or an increase in anatomical defects.
We encourage you to try nosework training with the dogs. It is great fun for the dog, and for the caregiver a great way to entertain the dog with activities that can then be trained at home without much participation by the handler when he is busy. So… nasal truffles in motion!
