Building Endurance in Scent Work

One of the easiest ways to ruin the Scent Work game for a dog is to over-face them with problems that are too difficult and too mentally and/or physically challenging. This makes perfect sense! If something used to be light-hearted and fun and now results in your brain hurting and your body feeling spent and sore, you are not going to like that activity much any more!

Our goal with this course is to outline a variety of exercises which will incrementally increase your dog's endurance, while giving you the tools necessary to ensure the game stays fun for them. After all, you need for them to maintain their drive and enthusiasm!

• your dog

• flat or martingale collar

• back-clip harness (optional)

• 6'-8' leash

• 10'-15' long line

• LOTS of high-value and smelly treats

• crate or area you can stage your dog in while setting up your searches

• minimum of 10 boxes of various sizes (good excuse to shop at Amazon!)

• minimum of 10 novel containers (Tupperware containers, purses, bag, etc.)

• earthquake putty or GlueDots

• q-tips

• Birch ("Sweet Birch" aka Betula Lenta)

• Anise ("Aniseed" aka Pimpinella Anisum)

• Clove ("Clove Bud" aka Eugenia Caryophylatta)

• minimum of 10 tins with holes

IMPORTANT:

Dog must know how to hunt for a target odor (Birch, Anise and Clove). Same exercises may be done with primary alone if the handler chooses.

• How to Build Endurance Fairly

• Multiple Hides and Searches Areas

• Hit the Goal of 10 Hides

• Pacing the Search

• Keeping It a Game

• Reaching 15 Hides and Beyond

Do you want to improve your dog's overall endurance as it comes to Scent Work? We will discuss how you can do this fairly and effectively with your dog, both with searching for a larger number of total hides, more challenging hides, more complex search areas and more!

Are you interested in competing in Scent Work trials? These events, even at the lower levels, require a certain level of mental and physical endurance from your dog. We will walk you through how you can build both in this course.

INSTRUCTOR NAME:

Dianna L. Santos

SHORT BIO:

The President of Online Dog Training, Inc. and Cyber Scent Work, Inc., Dianna is the Owner and Lead Instructor for Scent Work University. She is passionate about Scent Work and loves the benefits it awards dogs and handlers alike.