Hi, my name is Emma and I’m addicted to nose work. I’m not alone, my mom, and my sister Bailie are also addicted to nose work, as well as many of our human and canine friends. We have our friend Jodi at Heart Like a Dog to thank for our addiction as it was on her blog we first heard about the sport of nose work. This week marks two years since we started taking nose work classes. The photo above was taken in our class area the very first night of class. Since that night, we have taken classes from several instructors at several different schools, and so many locations, we could never count them all. We have come a long way in the sport, and still have a long way to go, but what makes nose work so addictive?
10 Reasons We’re Addicted To Nose Work
1. Natural Fun
Nose work is a sport that comes naturally to all dogs! Dogs in the wild sniff out their food, which is the basis for nose work searches. We started by learning to search for treats, and move on to searching for specific odor. Searching is never ending fun for dogs! The photo above is from one of my very first searches looking for treats in boxes.
2. No Need For A Lot Of Equipment
Some sports require a lot of equipment, but not nose work. All you really need are treats, but since we want to compete, we invested some money in our harnesses, and then the Palomine lines to match. As we moved on to odor, we invested in an odor kit, but that is about all we need.
3. Nose Work Can Be Done Almost Anywhere
Nose work is a sport we can practice in a place as small as a bathroom, or as large as a warehouse. It can be indoors, or outdoors, we can search vehicles, or containers. When traveling, we search in our hotel room. Searches can also be done in any weather, and in daylight or darkness if necessary. There really are no good excuses not to work on nose work homework!
4. There Are No Age Limits In Nose Work
Dogs over six months old can start doing nose work, and dogs that are seniors can do it as well. As long as a dog can walk and smell, nose work works! Human participation is also ageless. If you are under eighteen, you need an adult with you, and adult aged person can do nose work with their dog, and if you are a senior, it is a great sport for you and your dog to work on!
5. Nose Work Builds Confidence
Your dog’s confidence will grow as you continue working on nose work. Part of the sport is for dogs to learn to search in any environment. This means, dogs need to learn to work and not worry about things that may have previously frightened them such as cars, dogs barking, small spaces, and other obstacles. This is one reason, it is important to practice nose work in as many different places as you can. Mom and I started building our team confidence when I passed my first Odor Recognition Test four months after starting nose work. I learned how happy my “finds” make my mom and want to do it even more.
6. Great Mental Workout
Nose work is a perfect mental workout. We always fall asleep in the car on the way home from class or searches. We really put a lot of mental energy into searching. Good canine health is more than just physical exercise, it is mental as well. This sport is easy on the body for dogs and humans, but what it lacks there, it makes up for in our brains!
7. Humans Are Challenged
My mom loves challenges…one reason all us dogs are independent thinking breeds. Nose work really challenges the human because it is a complete team sport. It is you and your dog. The human team member cannot find odor on their own, which means relying 100% on the dog. Learning to trust your dog is huge, and the biggest challenge. We know how to find odor, but humans need to learn to work with us and to understand us if you ever want to be successful as a team. Since the GBGV is a rare breed, Mom has challenged herself to see to it that I get the first breed titles in this sport. We were both so proud when I got the first GBGV NW1 title!
8. The Human Canine Bond
Any type of sport you do with your dog creates a great opportunity to bond with your dog. Nose work is no exception. Mom says she is addicted to nose work in large part because she and I have developed such a deep bond through the sport. She has to rely on me and my nose, but I have to rely on her to understand what my signals are telling her. We both could search together forever! We also enjoy the time spent together at trials just hanging out all day and working together.
9. Learning To Understand Your Dog
Many dog behaviors are similar, but every dog is unique in many ways. Nose work forces humans to really focus on their dog and the dog’s body language. The human also has to focus on their own body language as we dogs read humans much more than you think! When you stop during a search, we notice and it means something to us although it may mean nothing to you. By reading our body language and watching your own, you start to function as a well oiled machine. Mom has more trouble reading Bailie as she is much more subtle, but it is coming together. We were all real proud when we passed the last of our Odor Recognition Tests last April. It proves that we are starting to work as a team with Mom, each of us in our own way.
10. Friendships Made
Last but definitely not least, all the friends we have made in such a short time. The nose work community is full of such fun and wonderful people. It is a sport where everyone supports each other because we are only competing against ourselves for a pass or fail. We enjoy searching with friends during class, or just for fun and practice. It’s always fun catching up with people at trials where we spend the day together.
We are addicted to nose work and are proud of it! I’m also thrilled to be the first GBGV to have an NW2 Title which I accomplished in less than two years of being in the sport. We are really hoping Bailie can be the second GBGV to get titles this year. It is a rare opportunity for us to get our breed on the board and something we can always claim as an accomplishment. Have you tried nose work? It is one of the fastest growing dog sports in the US! You really should give it a try!
I’m co hosting the FitDog Friday Blog Hop with SlimDoggy, and To Dog With Love! Please join us on Fridays to share your fitness stories with others, find new ways to have fun, and new fitness ideas too! Tell your friends to stop by as well – fit dogs are healthier, happier dogs!
Sounds like you found a great sport to be addicted to, Emma!! We always enjoy seeing the sparkle in you eye when we look at pictures of you doing your nose work!
Smileys!
Dory, Jakey, Arty & Bilbo
My searches are interesting to watch, but most of our friends love to see my enthusiasm the most. I truly love it.
Glad you’re havin so much fun!
I really do enjoy nose work.
I should check to see if there are nose work classes in our area. We are so proud of all of your success! ♥
OMD! Can you imagine if you get started in the sport and we can compare sniffin’ notes and stuff! Both you boys would love it, but for Bentley it would really be a winner!
Nosework looks so fun! I really enjoyed going to the trial I went to with my friend. I might order my dogs a kit soon. 😀
If you really want to do nose work, you should take a class so you get started correctly. It is so much fun and such an easy sport to do anywhere, anytime.
Great post, Emma! I absolutely love the picture of you and Bailie modeling your harnesses. Happy Friday! XOXO Sparkle the PBGV
For once, Bailie was attempting to cooperate and be fashionable!
Ok,Emma, I’m going to have to look into this when iI get off the show road, because, as you know I am a senior now and I like finding things – especially if they involve smells and “play time” with mom. Your friend, Chablis
People and dogs are never too old for nose work. It is a sport for life which is wonderful!
Congratulations on two years! You have done so well at it too. We’ve had a lot of fun reading about it and learning all the intricacies of the sport – thanks for sharing.
It is a great sport, especially since dogs and humans of really any age can do it. It really works our brains!
we are guessing the biggest reason you love it – is because it is fun 🙂
Sniffing is fun for pretty much any dog and that is why we love it.
You pups are so very talented when it comes to nose work! I dabble with it here and there. I like to take boxes, put them in yard, and hide treats that way. Really, only one of my huskies (Koda) like to participate, but he has gotten quite good at it!
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
If you want to really do it as a sport, a class is the way to go so you set it all up correctly and learn to motivate the dogs. I’m sure all of yours would love it if you got started with some assistance. It is more than just finding a treat in a box, you need to build the drive.
Congrats on two years and those are awesome reasons to be addicted! I did nose work with Cosmo when he got older and he loved it. It’s gotten so much more popular now. Keep up the great work!
It is amazingly popular with is great, but it also means it is getting harder and harder to get into trials. Great sport for dogs of any age.
Such a fun sport. Once we get out of here I may have to do this type of stuff with Torrey, while she is on leash only restrictions.
It’s all mental work. A bit of walking around, but all with the nose and the brain really.
HAVE NOSE…… WILL SNIFF!!!! RIGHT?
I like that! Could be a good t-shirt.
We are pretty addicted to seeing you have so much fun!
I really do have a blast with nose work. Bailie does it, but doesn’t have the same enthusiasm. She tends to save that for tracking.
It’s been a lot of fun watching you guy progress from novices to titles. Well done!
We are hoping Bailie can knock out a few titles early in the year this year, but I did say Bailie, so it is always up in the air.
Flat faced breeds are not good at this but to moms surprise I am excellently
Lily (& Edward)
Flat faced breeds have more difficulty, but they compete as well.
This is really cool – Shih Tzu’s don’t have much nose so I’m always impressed when I see nose work!
Every dog really has enough nose if you give them the right training. It is a super fun sport since we are using our instinct to hunt.
I think it’s fascinating! I keep saying I want to try it with Sherman because it seems like he has a great nose and he always does good with “Find It”.
You should get him into a class. We know two Newfies who do it and the one does super well. It is great for dogs who are getting older too. It keeps them mentally challenged and wears them out.
You guys are pure naturals. With Sam’s long nose, I had hoped he could do something like that but alas, he’s as dumb as a stump with no focus. Still, he’s sweet enough and the patients love him so that can be his ‘job.’ Continued success!
Everyone has their own things they love and are good at. Ours is nose work. Bailie isn’t as in love with it as I am, she is a tracker in her heart, but that is fine, she still enjoys nose work.
Congratulations on 2 years of Nose Work!
Thank you. Time has flown by, but we look forward to many more years of sniffing fun.
Great post Emma! It has been fun to watch your progress. We admire your stick-to-itiveness!! your doodle friend Dash
Mom has been told when she does something she dives in head first and gives 500%. I think it is true, but for her and me, it really is a huge bond of teamwork we now have and we love it.
We are so happy for all of you that this has turned out to be the perfect sport for you, and that you are achieving your goals, and bringing such positive attention to your breed. This is definitely on our radar as the #1 thing we want to try with Luke.
I sure hope he can get into a class and get started. It would be fun to follow his progress.
Ok, I think we need to try this! I wonder if there are any classes around us?
Go to NACSW.net and click on the certified instructors tab. The instructors have a link to the schools they teach at. That may help you find a good place to get started. It’s a great sport!
I haven’t tried nose work yet, although the dog training school not too far away from us offers classes. I love that it’s a combination of physical & mental exercise. Both are so important!
I think it’s amazing that both you pups are such great GBGV breed representatives and that you’re starting to make some noise in the competitive nose work world – chapeau!!
It isn’t real physical, that is more tracking that we do, but we got a lot of physical exercise every day, this is great mental exercise. You should give a class a try. It is addicting! When we started we thought we would take a class or two, never move to odor, but that all changed almost immediately.
Congrats on 2 years of nose work. We bet you both are really good at it.
I’m the family expert, but Bailie is pretty good too when she applies herself.
I think we’re going to try for an ORT this year. I hope we can find one close by!
Sounds like a good plan. You should check with the nose work schools as they often hold practice ORT’s which are good to do before you try a real one the first time. Good luck!
What a fun way to spend time with the pups!
We all love it. It is always fun and always something different.
One of my goals for 2016 is to get Zoey into nose work. I think she’ll really love it and it’ll help her with her confidence. I’d love to see the girl she she becomes.
One of our practice friends has a great nose work dog named Zoey! Hope you can get started with it. It does really build confidence in dogs, but it takes some time. We’ve seen it happen with lots of dogs.
Wow. I can’t believe it’s been two years since you guys started nosework. My how time flies. I was never able to get going on it with Gretel (remember that class we signed up for? Had to cancel because of conflicts with school) but the 10 reasons you love it is the reason it’s still on our interest list.
I know you were going to start but it didn’t really work out. I’m sure she would love it, and you can start at any age, so maybe it will still work out for you one of these days.
We love noseworks, too. We started about two years ago, too, because we needed something to keep Barley busy when it was too cold to be outside for long. Every time we travel, our odor kit comes along with us because it’s such an easy way to get her more relaxed in new places.
It really does help dogs with confidence issues. We’ve seen the changes in a lot of fearful dogs we know.
I love learning about nose work from you guys! One of my resolutions this year for Nala is to learn more about and get started in some kind of nose work. I think she would love it, and I would love it if it helped her become confident in novel environments more quickly!
I hope you can get into a class near you. It is such a great sport. We have to drive 30-40 mins to get to classes around here, but it is well worth it.
Yay! Congratulations on 2 years! We can tell you LOVE it!!
We sure do. Cat bro Bert enjoys watching and hopes he can get treats when we find the hides, but it isn’t happening for him.
Is nosework and AKC sport? Congrats on all of your success at nosework!
No it is not, it is NACSW. It is kind of a bummer, but there is more to life than AKC. Tracking is, at least.
I absolutely agree 100% with #1. Humans insist on thinking of dogs as visual animals because WE are. But their noses are key to understanding how they understand the world.
I’d add one more reason that may not be important for your family but was for several people I met: nose work classes can be a good sport for reactive dogs. Since dogs compete individually without other dogs for distractions, it’s a fun way to do something cool with a dog who just isn’t comfortable around other dogs.
I’ve found it fascinating to watch you move into competition. I don’t see us doing anything more than nose work for treats. But who knows? Maybe you’ll talk me into starting to work on odors with Honey just for a new challenge.
We know a lot of reactive dogs in the sport and their confidence has improved so much, it’s crazy. It is perfect for reactive dogs. When we started, Mom said definitely no interest in odor, but shortly after we started, that thought was squashed. I hope to try for an NW3 this year which will be tough since they don’t tell you how many hides, so Mom and I need to decide when we have found them all, and in interior search can have a blank room with no hides which I need to explain to Mom too. I want to try, but it will be very hard to keep Mom’s nerves calmed! Thinking about 3 for me makes doing an NW1 with Bailie seem like riding a bike with training wheels. We shall see what the year brings! I’m sure Honey would be good. As long as you have a good airtight storage container to keep your odor in, you could practice on the boat.
Two years, congrats!!! Those are 10 great reasons. I just went to a barn hunt training day and to watch the dogs use there nose to find the rat was amazing.
We would be really good at that too, but it conflicts a bit with nose work as we have to ignore animal scents in nose work.
You’ve been a champion in spreading the word about nose work for dogs. I for one have enjoyed every single post. Looking at your photo with your sister Bailey I’m noticing that she’s almost as tall as you Emma. You two look like twins.
Mom says we look a lot a like, but we also are totally different looking. Bailie is too tall, real long and lean with shorter ears and real wirey furs. I’m the perfect example of the breed standard, shorter by a couple inches, softer furs, and longer ears. I am short compared to Bailie.