(Day #5) Natural Calm

If you attended last night’s class, you’ll know just how powerful a tool ‘controlled sniffing’ is in your stress free dog arsenal.

Here’s why.

Scentwork is highly engaging and tiring for dogs and it taps into their natural instincts. By encouraging your dog to use their nose before going on a walk, you help them burn off some of that excess energy, making them calmer before they leave the house.
Teaching your dog a scent game reinforces the habit of paying attention to you. By enjoying today’s activity together indoors, they are more likely to remain engaged with you during the walk, making it easier to get their focus.
Setting up designated scentwork opportunities, where your dog can satisfy their sniffing instincts under controlled circumstances, can reduce the obsession with pulling to follow animal scents, as they’ve already had a chance to engage their nose.
You can even chuck the items into a backpack and take them out on your walk with you for a connection-building, anti-pulling engagement break.

For a contented, calm dog, provide more sniffing opportunities! Use Cache before a walk to help them calm down from the ‘leash-on’ excitement or after a walk to help them switch off and settle into a deep sleep!

You may not see these benefits straight away or all at once, but there is a reason scentwork has been scientifically proven time and time again to calm dogs. If your dog doesn’t seem calmer right now, there’s nothing wrong with you, with them, or with the method – it’s about consistency and combining this activity with the other strategies from this challenge, especially those from the Masterclasses. Novelty – ‘newness’ – can be really exciting for dogs. When we first introduce something they inherently love doing and find super rewarding, they can be a bit overcome with ‘Wow! That was fun’! When Scentventure becomes a routine – part of their ongoing enrichment – the calming, tiring (in a good way!) benefits really show themselves. Believe me, scentwork is a potent calming tool when you adopt the low-stress lifestyle.

Here’s what to do now:

Watch the video and film yourself having a go with your own dog
Share your training clips with the hashtag #day4 #scentventure
Catch up on last night’s Masterclass before Class 3 on Friday.
Join the discussion and get our personalised advice in the Facebook group.

Happy sniffing!

Cache

Scentventure Compass Point: Scent

Equipment & Set Up

All you need is a gathering of assorted ‘stuff’ and some treats.

Don’t get too hung up on what the ‘stuff’ is! Have a quick wander around a few rooms and pick up whatever clutter you can find. Just make sure that everything is safe and suitable for your dog to be sniffing around e.g. nothing sharp, electronic or anything you wouldn’t allow them to touch normally.

Make a small ‘search area’ by placing your gathered items together on the floor. It’s supposed to look messy and thrown together in a pile! Space them out a little so your dog is able to step over and around them whilst searching.

METHODS

Activities like Cache can be so useful to helping your dog learn to wait before their cue – but learning this takes time and there’s no need to miss out on the fun! When you’re starting out there are several alternatives to ‘wait’. Choose whichever works best for your dog.

If your dog is able to ‘wait’ when asked, ask them to wait while you set up the Cache. If not, gently restrain them by their harness. Then follow the steps:

With your dog in front of you watching, place the treat just out of sight. Use a search cue (e.g. ‘Find It!’) to release them.

Once your dog is easily finding it, place the treat down in one position but pretend to put it somewhere else. This is called a ‘dummy drop’ and gets your dog using their nose instead of their eyes. Release your dog with your search cue.

Now start to set up your hides with your dog out of the room (only if they’re comfortable with separation). Make it easy at first to ensure they succeed. Open the door and release them with your search cue.

Spread your items out so your dog has to move between objects to search. This makes your dog’s mind, body and nose work harder, increasing their search stamina and leaving them tired and relaxed.

If your dog can’t yet ‘wait’ when asked and/or can’t be gently restrained, but is comfortable with separation:

If your dog doesn’t get stressed when they’re separated from you, pop them outside the room, behind a baby gate or in a pen while you lay the hide.

Let them in and use a search cue (e.g. ‘Find It!’). As they didn’t see you hide the treat, you may need to help them out at first until they get the hang of it.

Once they’ve found the hide, you could just throw a treat in the opposite direction while you set up their next search!

Gradually spread your items out so your dog has to move between objects to search. This makes your dog’s mind, body and nose work harder, increasing their search stamina and leaving them tired and relaxed.