Early Scent Discrimination Training

I’ve been working with a handful of four month old puppies on some very basic service dog training tasks. A couple of the puppies are very keen and I have decided to teach them scent discrimination. This task can be used to alert to a diabetic high and/or low blood sugar value or even food allergens in the environment.

Scent work has become a very popular hobby / sport for dog owners, as well. I understand that because, well, working with dogs on this skill is amazingly fun. All dogs use their noses – usually FIRST – to learn about their environment and the people within it.

For every trainer there’s a method. This is how I like to start nose work. I first teach the “touch it” which has no element of scent to it. It’s just asking the dog to “touch” an object. Once the dog is performing the “touch it” command at a high level of competence, I’ll add a scent to the perforated container that I’ve been asking the dog to touch. At the same time, I introduce the dog to the scent in a remote container in which I have placed a small vessel that contains the scent. I toss treats into the box and say, “find it.” When the dog sticks his head into the box to get the treats, he can’t help but also get a whiff of the scent. This pairs the sensation of getting the reward / treat and the scent.

Here’s a video I created of Kindred, my Standard Poodle, in his early training for scent work.