# Scentwork people- Question?



## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

Yesterday we went to agility and it was freezing so we ended up inside working on foundations and weaves. I really wish we had a full indoor setup instead of a small room... And we ended up not getting the heater to work anyways so it was still just barely above freezing.

Anyways, this room is where we've been doing our indoor nosework. The last few weeks we've been doing outdoor searches but our container searches and room searches have been in this room. I get in the room and she starts clearing her nose and getting excited whining. I know she's anticipating to get to go search the room. So we get ready to go do the weaves and I let Mia off her leash and she bolts and starts canvassing the room. She's searching all the agility equipment, all the kennels, the walls, etc for the scent. She is very very good at it and very driven for it unlike any other sport we've tried. It's surprised me a lot. I wish she was bigger honestly, I think she would be an awesome dog to really work behind. 

Anyways, once I got ahold of her and set her up and pretty much baby stepped her through the weaves it was like her brain went off and she realized 'oh, we're playing THIS game, not that game.' 

So anyone who does scentwork, how well do you get the dogs to differentiate between 'we're going to search' and then 'pay attention to me, we're doing something else'? They say nosework is an obedience free zone and we do have a search word. 

I think the real issue was it just being the same room she's used to searching.


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## juliemule (Dec 10, 2011)

Mine have no trouble. I have different commands for different things we search for, live person vs cadaver, track or air scent, and article finds. It takes a little time when first starting training, but they learn fast. Many of mine will anticipate what we are doing by putting on a harness or tracking lead, or removing a collar. I have one building I train at often, and a couple tend to expect hrd work there, but will follow my commands.


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## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

agree it comes with experience and you will find that your body language is different for different events that the dog picks up to.. I do start with using different equiptment like the harness for scent work, hard collar for OB, and jewel choke chain for show..different words for events, and never train multiple events on the same day when they first learning.. After time exposure they know exactly what is up and are able to switch to each event one right after the other. You did excellent in working through the situation


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## Poly (Sep 19, 2007)

This is really a learning process so don't expect it to happen overnight. Also, a lot depends on how you and your dog interact in general.

Having your own specific routines and/or start instructions for each activity is a key part. Try to make the associations with the instructions/routines as explicit and obvious as possible. For example, if you use a specific harness like a tracking harness for nosework (many people do), don't put the harness on until you reach the actual place where the work will take place, and avoid transporting your dog with the harness on. Make putting on that special harness a big deal. And while you are putting it on, start instructing your dog, e.g., "let's do a search" or whatever. If you use a search cue, you may as well tie the instructions to whatever you have selected as your cue (our cue is "SEARCH").

How much you want to "amp-up" your dog during your start routine is really dependent on your dog's personality. Some dogs need a lot of 'amping-up' to get ready, and others are so excited already that you want to keep it low-key.

Try to do the activities in as many different places as you can. For nosework, this can be tough for the indoor or container searches because of the setup required. However, you can certainly do outdoor and vehicle searches in different places. If you can work with a partner or two, it's much easier. But you can do it on your own if you take the time to set things up. 

I had the advantage when starting nosework that I had already done tracking with a few dogs, so I carried over a lot from those experiences. But I don't think it's hard to come up with a routine that works for you even if you haven't had that experience. 

I wish I could be more specific, but I would have to know how you interact with your dog in general.


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## Darkmoon (Mar 12, 2007)

When I figure that out, I'll let you know. That's why Peanut failed her CGC the first time we tried. We did a noseworking class along with a CGC class and that room was used for both. That's the reason why I refuse to take another noseworking class. There's no structure to nosework and teaching it, so the dogs end up thinking they are always looking for their prize. Annoyed the daylights out of me.


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## 3doglady (Jul 31, 2011)

That happened to us in our Rally class. The class was held in the same ring a her previous nose work class; our 1st Rally class ended up being a big old mess. I kept her on leash and worked through warm-up commands for a while. After 2 classes she understood she wasn't there for nose work. 

If you're going to use the same room for both activities, is there something you can do or add to the routine that will help cue her to anticipate one or the other? I would think a warm-up routine, on leash, in the room, would help her to understand and bring the focus back on you.

Sometimes I also differentiate activities with Leann by adding a different collar or harness on her, for example with therapy work, I use a particular collar and a scarf and she knows she's working when I put them on her. When I go to the park, I have a special thermos I bring and they immediately know that means we're going to the park when I bring it out.


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

If you have a trainer who's training correctly, the dogs should not think they are always looking for their prize. There IS structure to competitive nose work. 

There's no obedience to nose work, but if you aren't working, by all means a dog should be corrected for going off and doing is own thing. When we work, Frag has a find it command, and he's to search until I end it with OK (hopefully once he's found it) and he gets a reward. Dogs shouldn't be auto-searching. Something isn't clear to the dog at that point. 

Just like at flyball, the dogs don't go into scream mode until you say "Ready?"... Should be the same with a nose work command. I've personally never had an issue with Frag or Recon auto searching, but I know a beagle that will do it at the park where I work. She's corrected, leashed and worked on focus and basic obedience until she's paying attention again. It can get obsessive and my trainer said he's seen dogs get very guardy when searching without even being asked.


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## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

It's sad, you have people who are conducting scent work with no knowledge of what they are doing, then punishing the dogs for it? I would find away in these conditions to add to the dogs positive willingness to add to their skills and knowledge about scent work instead of inducing a negative that will take away from it.


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

PatriciafromCO said:


> It's sad, you have people who are conducting scent work with no knowledge of what they are doing, then punishing the dogs for it? I would find away in these conditions to add to the dogs positive willingness to add to their skills and knowledge about scent work instead of inducing a negative that will take away from it.


I'm wondering who you're responding to?


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## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

total disreguard for cross contamination is what I am responding too. When I post I like to keep it to the general situation.. If I intend to make it personal I will put a name directly to it


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