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Journal North: Home | Sports | Opinion | Obits | Entertainment
Monday, November 02, 2009
Dogs Train Their Noses To Hunt for Hidden Treats
By Phil Parker
Journal Staff Writer
When it was Bosco's turn to find the treats, the thick Rottweiler barrelled into scattered boxes like a bull. He stuck his face in one, then another. Jackpot. He scarfed down bits of chicken and other delectables — so quickly he had to pause for a moment and hack.
Then the search was on again.
Bosco and 10 other canines got together with their owners at Lucky Dawg Daycare, 1124 Calle La Resolana, on Sunday for a daylong crash course in K9 Nose Works, a doggie sport that combines most aspects of police dog training, with none of the responsibility.
Ron Gaunt and Amy Herot hosted the workshop and are co-owners of the company behind K9 Nose Works, the National Association of Canine Scent Work. They work out of Los Angeles, where their day jobs are training police dogs to sniff out explosives or narcotics.
"When we train our dogs, we find they have so much fun and are so focused," Herot said. "They're transformed by having a job to do. We thought, 'Let's try doing a fun version of this.' "
The idea was conceived in 2006, and since then they've taught owners of regular, household dogs to play the game rooted in problem-solving and the animals' natural instincts for smelling and hunting.
In the early stages, K9 Nose Works works like a shell game. The dog is shown a treat (preferably a smelly one) and maybe given a few nibbles. The dog watches as the treat is placed in a small cardboard box. The dog is then encouraged to dig the treat from the box, because sometimes timid canines are reluctant to stick their snouts somewhere unfamiliar.
Once the dog knows there's goodies, more boxes get introduced. (Old, ratty boxes about the size of a shoebox are perfect.) Only one box will have a treat, and while someone else holds the dog as the animal looks on, it's the owner's job to fake the pooch out as to where that treat can be found.
The lucky dogs at Lucky Dawg on Sunday started with four boxes and then graduated to seven.
While Bosco watched, his owner put a treat in one box but acted as though there could be a treat in any of them. Then he was unleashed, along with a command such as "Find it" or (in one dog's case) "Let's go shopping."
It sounds simple because it is, especially at first. But after lunch Sunday, the dogs took turns again and sniffed out their treats from a more elaborate collection of potential hiding spaces. The boxes were there, but so were plastic buckets, an overturned chair, a ladder on its side, a vacuum cleaner, and all manner of stuff to walk around and smell.
It can take a dog a while sometimes, and owners are encouraged to gently prod them along if they aren't getting close to finding their treat — walk in the vicinity of the treat or toss a box in its direction. But the dog has to work the solution out by itself and will almost always, eventually, get what it's hunting (a disinterested dog just needs a more enticing morsel).
After enough practice, the game becomes about finding a particular scent. Once dogs get good at ferreting out their treats, K9 Nose Works becomes about finding Q-tips dipped in distinctive-smelling oils, which can be hidden anywhere.
Sanctioned competitions have been held in California, and Herot's company is looking to expand eastward over the coming years.
For the dog's owners, the appeal is in the fun. Finding stimulating activities for dogs can sometimes be difficult, and K9 Nose Works is a easy game to play, Herot said, "but still requires so much mental and physical energy."
She's seen wild dogs adopted from shelters learn to focus because of the game.
Said Gaunt: "As you make it more difficult, the dogs love it because they love to problem solve."
The stubby-legged little corgi in Sunday's group, Bunky, had an easy time finding the treats in the boxes but took longer when there were more hiding spaces. The entire time, though, Bunky happily jogged from place to place.
"This game is great, because I think it's such a great thing to use your dog's brain," said Julia Clough, Bunky's owner.
"We don't tend to do that; we tend to spoil them, and they're more like lounge lizards."
K9 Nose Works is best played indoors, in an open area, but can take place anywhere.
Lucky Dawg Daycare's Jamie Fellows said she intends to host more work shops and get groups together to train starting sometime later this month.
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