NW640: Advanced Handler Discrimination Scent Work Skills

SUPPLEMENTALS:

• Handler Scent Considerations
• Handler Discrimination Scent Rule Summary Chart
• Setting up "Clean" Training Environments

Week 1:

• Refresh of building value for our scent
• Importance of handler scent warmup
• Gear, handler role and startline overview
• Intro to Interiors using socks/gloves
• Adding cotton balls/swabs to your search games

Week 2: Interior hides with cotton ball/swab (Advanced level)

• Hide placement and discrimination scent aid guidelines
• Searching "staged" areas with nose height hides
• Running on and offleash
• Working accessible hides low, med, high (max 12 inches high)
• Discrimination of another person's scented item (judge)

Week 3: Exterior hide with cotton ball/swab (Excellent level)

• Intro to Exteriors
• Discrimination of another person's scented item (judge)
• Adding direction
• When the going gets tough ... handling the unexpected
• Running on and offleash
• Working accessible hides low, med, high (max 24 inches high)

Week 4: Preparing for Master Level/Overview of rules

• Overview of Master level rules
• Multiple hides in search area
• Running multiple hide search with discrimination aids (judge and steward)
• Proofing discrimination scents

Week 5: Mock searches, distractors and optional use of scent vessels

• Taking it on the road!
• Going Blind and running with "clean" setup with a helper
• Working accessible/inaccessible interior and exterior hides up to 36 inches high
• Adding different distractors: non-food, food, visual, auditory, human, or mimic
• Use of scent vessels (Optional for trial hosts)

Week 6: Back to Boxes

• Get ready/get those last legs on your novice title - searching for your scented glove/sock in closed box.
• Games to practice honing in on handler scent
• Searching for Master level container hides using scented cotton ball/swab.

** Syllabus details are subject to change.

Prerequisites: Equivalent experience in nosework or handler scent sports. NW620 Intro to Handler Discrimination HIGHLY recommended, but not required. That class can be purchased on the pre-req classes link at: https://fenzidogsportsacademy.com/index.php/self-study/prerequisite-classes

Equipment needed:

• A few bags of 100% Cotton Cotton Balls. (Alternate is white cardboard qtips)
• 3 to 6 cotton gloves or socks. Here are some links to 100% cotton ones:
  • https://www.amazon.com/Buster-Brown-Womens-Cotton-Socks/dp/B0000X5EJO/ref=pd_sim_193_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0000X5EJO&pd_rd_r=F8CSKQ4T152Q74YFWSRP&pd_rd_w=3U4bH&pd_rd_wg=7LuVc&refRID=F8CSKQ4T152Q74YFWSRP
  • https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KRY6IGY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
• Optional: A jar for storing your scented gloves/socks and cotton balls. Storing your scented items will hold the scent and keep them extra stinky! Using a ziplock baggie or other container would be fine too. Here is my 64oz jar (could be a little smaller).

• Disposable powder-free vinyl or latex gloves
• Distraction items that include but not limited to:
  • Visual (mild light source - cell phone, flashlight, LED keychain),
  • Auditory (continuous or spontaneous sound - moving toy, clapping, cell phone ring tone),
  • Mimic (stuffed animal or statue that looks like a realistic animal.
• Up to 10 cardboard boxes 10x8x3" - 10x8.8". Save your packaging boxes you get in the mail. I will be focusing on using the 4 way fold down type boxes like these below:

https://www.uline.com/BL_403/Flat-Boxes (10x8x3)

You can also plan to use the kinds typically used in Noseowork:

https://www.amazon.com/Bauxko-10-Literature-Mailers-12-Pack/dp/B01B9XXA30/ref=sr_1_1?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1490754056&sr=1-1&keywords=bauxko+mailers+8x10x3

From Week 2 - Searching "staged" areas with nose height hides

In the spirit of real detection situations, trial search areas will be natural and not appear staged with out of place items. Staged areas with out of place or obvious objects will actually draw the dogs attention to search only those items and does not imitate the work of a true working detection dog. For training, having a more staged area will help introduce new search elements/skills and build hunt drive and enable success in our early learning sessions.

We'll setup an area staged with a few random or patterned objects. A room with a line of chairs or a circle of stools/tables/chairs.

We want our dogs to be drawn to objects to search when first starting out. It gets them to odor faster, and builds confidence in their searching ability.

Now that your dog has value for and actively searching for your odor from our week 1 lessons/review, it's time to place your scented item AT NOSE HEIGHT for your dog under the edge of a chair or stool or table. *Note*: If you have not yet progressed to a scented cotton ball or swab, you may start with using your glove/sock in a slightly less hidden location.

We will run this off leash to build independent searching and not introduce handling complications or errors.

Place your scented item so that it is not visible but accessible.

Here is a clip of both of my dogs running 2 different staged setups with my handler scented cotton ball.

And here's a clip of Kelli and Griffin, a smaller dog running the same exercise also on a hidded scented cotton ball.