Nose Work Basic

Intro to K9 Nose Work is an exciting detection-style sport for pet dogs and their owners. Nose Work develops a dog’s natural scenting abilities by using their curiosity, desire to hunt, and their love of food, toys and exercise. Any dog with a nose can get involved in Nose Work. It is a wonderful outlet for all kinds of canine personalities – shy and fearful dogs, hyperactive dogs, pups and seniors, pets recovering from injuries, dogs with disabilities, including reactive dogs. Nose Work is an activity that every dog is born to do naturally so this is a class where your dog is allowed to be DOG.

Intro to K9 Nose Work requires no prior training or skills and is relatively easy to teach your dog. Nose Work is a wonderful relationship builder and a great way for your dog to have fun, build confidence, and burn lots of mental and physical energy.

Intro to K9 Nose Work offers different level of classes, that include container searches, interior searches, exterior searches and vehicle searches with the food or toys and later with odor. Oscar’s Pet Resort will be offering the beginner level to start and will be adding the other levels as the students progress. In class dogs will “work” one at a time and will be crated when not actively searching. Classes are offered as 6 week classes and no more than 5 dog- handler teams.

Class Information:

Prerequisites

  • Dogs have to be at least 4 months old, current on Rabies, DHPP, & Bordetella vaccinations, and must be crate trained (dogs are crated while not actively searching).

Cost: $150 per 6 class session (cash price)

Level I Basics

In this introduction class dogs will use their noses, much like detection dogs do. Dogs love the activity and it builds confidence and enrichment, plus it’s fun! Dogs are introduced to box work and other environmental objects to find the odor source (initially it’s food treats or toy, if dogs prefer toys strongly over the food). In this class we start to build on the dog’s natural hunting ability, motivation and focus. The owners will learn how to read their dog’s hunting behaviors and signals. Adding challenges is individualized to the needs and skills shown by the dog/handler team. This process continues until teams are confident working the four elements: containers, interiors, exteriors, and vehicles.

Level I Nose Work

DateWeekDayTime
February 21, 20241Wednesday6:00 – 7:00 PM
February 28, 20242Wednesday6:00 – 7:00 PM
March 06, 20243Wednesday6:00 – 7:00 PM
March 13, 20244Wednesday6:00 – 7:00 PM
March 20, 20245Wednesday6:00 – 7:00 PM
March 27, 20246Wednesday6:00 – 7:00 PM

Level II Nose Work

Interiors:  Must have completed Level I. Teams will continue to work on their basic skills, building the searching drive and problem solving ability, practicing container searches and interior searches by adding more challenges. Owners will begin to learn leash handling skills.  

DateWeekDayTime
April 03, 20241Wednesday7:15 – 8:15 PM
April 10, 20242Wednesday7:15 – 8:15 PM
April 17, 20243Wednesday7:15 – 8:15 PM
April 24, 20244Wednesday7:15 – 8:15 PM
May 01, 20245Wednesday7:15 – 8:15 PM
May 08, 20246Wednesday7:15 – 8:15 PM

Level III Nose Work

Exteriors: Must have completed Level II. Teams will continue to work on their basic skills, building the search drive, excitement and problem solving ability as the hides become more challenging. Teams will move outside to work on location and environmental challenges, elevation and vehicle challenges. Owners will continue to learn leash handling skills and dog observation skills.

DateWeekDayTime
FULL April 3, 20241Wednesday6:00 – 7:00 PM
FULL April 10, 20242Wednesday6:00 – 7:00 PM
FULL April 17, 20243Wednesday6:00 – 7:00 PM
FULL April 24, 20244Wednesday6:00 – 7:00 PM
FULL May 1, 20245Wednesday6:00 – 7:00 PM
FULL May 8, 20246Wednesday6:00 – 7:00 PM
DateWeekDayTime
April 11, 20241Thursday6:00 – 7:00 PM
April 18, 20242Thursday6:00 – 7:00 PM
April 25, 20243Thursday6:00 – 7:00 PM
May 02, 20244Thursday6:00 – 7:00 PM
May 09, 20245Thursday6:00 – 7:00 PM
May 16, 20246Thursday6:00 – 7:00 PM