Your dog truly rules when it comes to scenting ability, but you hold the key to allow him to learn how to more fully explore his kingdom. And that key is your willingness to work with him in what dog trainers call nose work exercises and games. While your dog has a wonderful innate ability to scent, nose work will present fun and interesting challenges which will make your dog more physically and mentally fit as well as to help solidify your relationship with your dog. Anne Lill Kvam's The Canine Kingdom of Scent provides you all you need to know in terms of training techniques and tips so that you and your dog can both get all the benefits from doing nose work.
In the world of dogs, there is now more awareness than ever of the need to provide enrichment, especially in shelters. But what exactly is enrichment? The concept is pretty straightforward: learn what your dog’s needs are, and then structure an environment and routine that allows them to engage in behaviors they find enriching. To truly enrich your dog’s life, you should offer them opportunities to engage in natural or instinctual behaviors. Aside from the limitations we have to place on a dog in today’s modern, busy world, the biggest constraint to enriching your dog’s life is your imagination! What the experts say about Canine Enrichment: Don’t let the word “enrichment” in the title fool you into thinking that the scope of this book is too narrow or not something you will find valuable. It focuses comprehensively on meeting your dog’s needs and is written in a holistic, science-based, practical, straightforward, and easy-to-understand way. I love this book! Ken Ramirez, author of Animal Training: Successful Animal Management Through Positive Reinforcement Canine Enrichment is a deep dive into what dogs really need and how we can provide it. It’s a great book for dog lovers who want to go beyond the standard superficialities of “dogs need exercise.” Just the chapter on agency is worth the price of the book! Patricia McConnell, Ph.D., CAAB Emeritus, author of The Other End of the Leash and The Education of Will The scope of this book is ambitious and the authors deliver, navigating the subject of enrichment with depth and relevance. Caregivers will gain critically important perspectives and practical information to improve the lives of their animals. Susan G. Friedman, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Utah State University, and founder of Behavior Works, LLC
This book on the training of scenting dogs explains the composition of scent, how it works in the dog's nose, and what affects scent. It contains chapters on the sense of smell, anatomy and physiology, the human as scent source, the transmission of scent and factors that influence the working with scenting dogs.
A “haunting meditation on trust, hope and love” by a woman who adopts and trains a Golden Retriever puppy to become a search-and-rescue dog (People). In the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing, Susannah Charleson’s attention was caught by a newspaper photograph of a canine handler, his exhausted face buried in the fur of his search-and-rescue dog. Susannah, a dog lover and pilot with search experience herself, was so moved by the image that she decided to volunteer with a local canine team, plunging herself into an astonishing new world. While the team worked long hours for nonexistent pay and often heart-wrenching results, Charleson discovered the joy of working in partnership with a canine friend and the satisfaction of using their combined skills to help her fellow human beings. Once she qualified to train a dog of her own, Charleson adopted Puzzle—a smart, spirited Golden Retriever puppy who exhibited unique aptitudes as a working dog, but was a bit less interested in the role of compliant house pet. Scent of the Missing is the story of Charleson’s adventures with Puzzle as they search for a lost teen; an Alzheimer’s patient wandering in the cold; and signs of the crew amid the debris of the space shuttle Columbia disaster—all while unraveling the mystery of the bond between humans and dogs. “A riveting view of both the human animal bond and the training of search and rescue dogs. All dog lovers and people interested in training service dogs should read this book.” —Temple Grandin, author of Animals Make Us Human
Make dog training a pleasure with these fun and positive methods. With clear explanations for how a dog thinks, how to read canine body language and moving on to simple training exercises, you will soon have a "great family dog."
Dogs detect scent from a source that is carried to them in a plume by the wind. The most important tool for a detector dog handler to have on searches is a knowledge of scent plume movement or "scent dynamics" (the science of scent movement). Such knowledge resides primarily in scientific journals that are largely inaccessible to detector dog handlers and written in language that is difficult to understand. Detector Dogs and the Science of Scent Movement: A Handler’s Guide to Environments and Procedures retrieves, reviews, and interprets the results of pertinent scientific research on scent dynamics and presents these results in terms that are easier for handlers to understand. Information on the physiology of the dog’s nose, their sense of smell, and the properties of scent provide the essential information on the process of scenting. The composition of training aids for explosives, narcotics, human remains and other sources is discussed. Recommendations are made on the use of training aids, their placement during training, and the resulting availability of scent. Potential problems and handler errors in the use of training aids are also examined. The characteristics of scent plumes and how wind influences their movement are a key focus of the book. The primary task for the handler is to get the dog into the scent plume so that the dog can detect the scent and follow it to the source the handler seeks. As such, a knowledge of scent and scent plume movement will vastly improve the ability of the handler to accomplish this task. The influence of weather and physical settings such as terrain, vegetation, ground cover, soil and water on scent movement are examined in detail. Strategies for searching, detecting, and locating sources in all physical settings are presented. Specific effects associated with hills and mountains, fields and forests, bare soils and soils covered by vegetation, different soil types, and lakes and rivers are examined in detail. This includes specific recommendations are made about weather and physical settings that result in higher probability of success on searches. Detector Dogs and the Science of Scent Movement will be a vital resource for K9 handles in the private and public sectors—including in Homeland Security, law enforcement, and military settings—as well as a useful guide for lawyers, forensic, and investigative professionals who need to better understand K9 operations.
Canine Tracking Guide details the two most common uses of the canine nose: following blood trails for wounded game and tracking humans (from lost children and missing hikers, to escaped convicts). The author explains the concept of human scent and how the amazing canine nose functions and then elaborates on the basic training principles, commands, exercises and patterns used in tracking work. Whether a reader is working with hunting dogs, police dogs, cadaver dogs or competition dog, this guide offers the correct information needed for every tracking pursuit.
Renowned K9 trainer and handler Jan Kaldenbach brings his considerable expertise to bear on the subject of scent detection in K9s in his classic work on scent detection, now back in print. Beginning with some notes on canine intelligence and observation, Kaldenbach also covers topics such as the perception of odors; the structure of the nose and how it works; the right dog and handler for scent detection work; and how dogs can find human beings. Each topic is accompanied by detailed diagrams and illustrations. He then includes detailed instruction on how to train a K9 in scent detection for tracking work, drug detection and human scent discrimination. Two approaches round out the book. The first is a description of Police Detector Dog Requirements in the Netherlands, to help police administrators develop specific targets for their K9 units. The second is a series of case files from Kaldenbach's own experience, providing insights into the benefits and problems of training and using K9s for scent detection work.
