Can anyone tell me a little bit about how the train them in obedience to pick up the judges scent on the scent rags? I am interested in just how they teach it really as I would like to teach my dog how to do it. Not at competitive level or anything! :D Just as something else that I can teach him. He seems to be a bit of a natural at it as I can get him to sniff something like money and then hide it in another room and he will find it. Any information at all would be greatly appreciated :) Thanks

Sarah xxxx

LOLOLOLOL There as many ways as there are dog handlers

Basically I use blank cloths  that are fastened down & the scented cloth is always loose I do teach the hold separately so the dog doesn't mouth the retrieve or scent cloth or retrieve article. I always start with two blank & one hot & move the hot one around I only do the exercise once a day as it can be easy to confuse a young dog(btw I always give the dog my scent from a cloth & not my hand)

I for some reason always have a hot scent for dogs & I never act as decoy scent steward at shows for this reason as dogs always seem to prefer my scent to their owners or the judge

Once my dog has a grasp of what scent is about I will increase the number of cloths & gradually introduce decoys(LOl I had a lot on other peoples scents on cloths in sealed containers) when I am sure my dog has grasped the idea of bringing the cloth with my scent on it & will ignore the others I go to the C scent using the afore mentioned other people's scented clothes but allowing a little of my scent to be given on the cloth & go back to the fastened down blanks & no decoys once my dog is doing it the first time of asking I increase the number of blanks & then the decoys

How you given the dog the scent also varies from handler to handler & I put the cloth around & over the dogs muzzle so he(mine are always he's ;))gets as much of the scent as possbile

Now another hander may use salt on the blanks & decoy or use tiles etc There is no oe way & the right way for your dog is the way that works the best & gets the beat results, the only wrong way as with any dog training is one that uses force

BTW the scent cloths are now usually all weighed outdoors as I always use weighed cloths. It is very important not to use your hands to put out the blanks unless you use the disposable gloves & use a mixture of gloves & tongs

To kill the scent on cloths I use cotton cloth & a hot wash with no wash powder/liquid & then only handle them wearing my posh gloves I have for this only LOL they are elbow length & the sort Aggie ete use the on the house cleaning show on TV complete with the fake fur trim & very smart I look in them too LOLOLOLOL:D I have one of those white launder bags & I hand it on the line until the worst of the water has gone then a friend tumble dries them for me ;)

i dont think we can teach dogs much about scent!!! they know better than us.
sounds like you are doing ok, (ive also taught flytnn to get excited about the scent of cash....maybe he will find me a hidden stash one day!!)

MM has given you good advice, & tips about how to start.

teach your dog a few commands, so you can tell him what you are about to do. i use things like "right shall we do some findies now?" , "scent" to get him to scent my hand or the articles scent,& "find" to get him to find it!

hide things around the room at first, pair of socks is good. make sure the two articles the hidden one & the one you are going to show the dog are made of the same material,  (dogs will take the scent of material as well as the scent on it, & some materials hold scent better than others).
after youve mastered that dot a few articles about (make sure these blanks really are blank!) so that they have to find "your" article in there.

go slowly
really praise the good bits
if the dog makes a mistake,it probaly is confused (ie youve gone to fast) or there is something "masking" the scent. try not to let them make mistakes! :)

if you do it outside remeber scent carries on the wind....maybe onto the wrong articles.

have fun. if you dont intend to compete you dont have to make it too formal.

you can cut up a old sheet or buy a cheap pack of hankies.

ROFL Michelle I should have added that like most things we do not teach dog to do things but teach them to do it when & where we ask :D

yes like teaching them to scent the objects & not the grass,rabbit droppings,trees & a million other exciting things.

my tara was a NATURAL scent dog. would do A,B C scent perfect, never taught her a thing. i could get her to go & match peoples slippers etc too.

nell is scent bonkers. shes got a brill nose but just thinks it is the most exciting thing ever. ive never got her to do a steady scent .ever. her USUAL trick (although she had many others to keep me on my toes) wopuld be to zip out get the cloth,zip back lob the cloth at me then run up & down the line until i called her back. no piont in doing HW if the scent was down in the next ring either!

flynn is a "keen" but messy scent dog. & not as careful as id like but is getting better. he only makes mistakes when distracted & the harder the scent the better as it makes him think. a easy Ascent is the worse thing for him as he will mouth & just plonks himself down . but if hes really worked on a hard B scent ,he dosent mouth & pr & Fs are spot on

Thank you both that's brilliant :) Can't wait to start and teach him! At the moment he is busy playing football in the back garden so I will have to wait till later. Where do you do obedience and do you compete?

sarah xxx

i compete all over the country,but am based south west, MM is opp  north ! ;)

First time I did scent in the ring with my young collie, he ran out at full speed, skidded, turned, picked up the right cloth, ran back, threw the cloth in the air, twisted, caught it and presented; all in one fluid movement! :D Not a straight face to be seen, especially me. lol

LOL!! :D :D :D awww i could just picture that in my head!!!

sarah xxxx

But I will heading down south for a BC puppy later this year(god willing)I don't compete anywhere at the moment as I only have my cavaliers(who are trained but prefer to ogle girlie dogs at shows) & one 9 year old rescue GSD. So hopefully by next year I might just be competing up here in God's own county of Yorkshire ;)

I am a Obedience & Breed judge tho' & might be even persuaded to judge the odd class next year as well s running an open obedience show, if I start competing again

just as an aside......it really bugs me when you see them wrapping the scent cloth around the dogs noses in competitions......having worked with scent hounds competetively and otherwise for over 20 years.....take it from me this is a very uneccesary thing to do :(