A dog’s nose is a pretty amazing structure. Humans have about 5 million cells devoted to smelling; dogs have 220 million! Dogs have the ability to wiggle each nostril independently, breathe through the holes in the front of their nose and exhale through the side slits. They can also discern individual odors making up what we would call “scent.”
Scent Class is a great opportunity for dogs to use their natural instincts and develop skills along with building deeper bonds with owners. Dogs start by searching for their favorite food or toy reward hidden in a variety of environments, increasing the challenges and adding new search skills as the dog progresses. Most people will choose to have their dogs learn to find the target odors used in Nose Work: birch, anise, cypress, and clove. More advanced students can even train their dogs to search for commonly lost items such as car keys or cell phones! Searches will take place indoors, outdoors, and beyond!
Benefits of Scent Class
-Dogs easily burn lots of mental & physical energy doing searches
-Provides much needed mental enrichment for any dog
-Searches can be done anywhere you can take your dog
-No prior training is required and no obedience is needed
-Shy or fearful dogs build confidence and overactive dogs put their energy into fun searches
-Stronger bond between dog & handler as handlers learns to observe, understand, and rely upon their dogs
-Learn a great activity for rainy and cold days to relieve your dog of excess energy
-Mental enrichment helps to prevent and resolve behavioral problems
The class is 6 weeks in length and costs $160.00. Dogs must have be current with Rabies, DHPP, and Kennel Cough vaccines, and need to be at least 6 months of age or older.
Our next round of Intermediate Scent Class will be starting on Thursday, October 27th at 5:00PM. To register for Intermediate Scent Class click here. **Completion of an Introductory Scent Class is the prerequisite for Intermediate Scent Class.**
If your dog likes to mark or frequently pees on objects, please contact the office directly prior to registering.