Scent is a moving target, carried and distorted by the wind. As a handler, one of the most challenging parts of your job is figuring out how to help your sniffer dog get to where they need to be to find odor, rather than hindering them by blocking or pulling them away from scent. Therefore, […]
Scent Theory: How Scent Cones Move Read More »
We’re in the golden period of imprinting scent with our 9 week old litter of puppies. Unfortunately, today Alberta is experiencing record-breaking temperatures (1), combined with smoke blowing from forest fires in BC and Washington that is so thick it’s visible on satellite imagery. Throughout the day, the haze obstructs our view of the Rocky
Heat and Sniffer Dog Acclimatization Read More »
Starting at 3 days of age, we introduce scents of our litters of puppies, and follow the Biosensor (Early Neurological Stimulation) program (1) daily and introduce a new scent daily. This early brain training accelerates development. It kickstarts the olfactory and neurological systems and may result in earlier proficiency and improved performance over what would
Building the Brains of Scent Detection Puppies with Early Scent Introduction Read More »
Do infants smell delicious? A 2013 study in Frontiers in Psychology used brain imaging to show that the scent of 2-day-old infants activates the reward related areas of the brain (1). This activation didn’t show up in the olfactory cortex where you might expect, but in the reward areas: the same areas activated by yummy food like
Baby Body Odor and Human Scent Theory Read More »
While horses might not be the first animal that springs to mind for scent detection, there’s no doubt that horses living out on the range regularly employ their senses to find the resources necessary for survival. Check out horses learning search and rescue drills at: http://www.ktvn.com/story/37954691/horses-use-scent-detection-in-search-and-rescue-drills?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=14272991 (on KTVN Channel 2 Reno Tahoe Sparks News). Once they realize
Horses Have the Nose for Search and Rescue on the Range Read More »
In the race to save Syria’s archaeological treasures, researchers at the Penn Vet Working Dog Center (PVWDC) are looking into the efficacy of detection dogs trained to find smuggled ancient pottery. This video features a candidate named Moxie, demonstrating a change of behavior on the target odor of pottery, during imprinting using a daisy wheel1. At PVWDC,
An Australian woman noticed her husband smelled differently, but dismissed it until after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. Upon attending a lecture on Parkinson’s Disease, she recalled the experience and asked the lecturer what scent she might have smelled. Intrigued, researchers explained that the “slightly musky aroma” might be caused by changes in the
Wife Detects Parkinson’s by Change of Husband’s Scent Read More »
This Brittany puppy uses scent to find his dam’s milk at 1 week of age. At birth, healthy puppies are blind and cannot hear, for at least 10 days. A dam simply cannot make every puppy in her litter suckle at her nipples every few hours. In order to survive, each puppy must rely heavily
Brittany Puppies Find the Milk | Hunter’s Heart BB x Boo litter Week 1 Read More »
Wonder how scent works? Learn about the science behind olfaction and how dogs learn scent detection. Topics include: What is Scent detection? Nosework demonstration How scent works Canine olfaction and muscle memory How dogs learn and how best to teach them Breaking down components of a dog’s search Why we don’t use a verbal command
Nosework Theory 101 – Feb. 24, 2017 (Calgary) Read More »
