Train Your Dog with Paws of Gold

Preparing your target odour.

First, you need to pick a target odor. Commonly used are clove, birch, anise, and gun oil.

You will then need a glass jar with a lid and Q-tips.

Once you have chosen your odor, it's now time to prepare your q-tips. Work on a clean surface away from strong smells like food and cleaning products.

To prevent contamination, prepare the odor on a chopping board so it's easy to clean.

You will need to wear gloves while handling the odor as this will stop your scent from transferring onto the Q-tips and will keep the odor "pure."

Put 1-2 drops of your essential oil in your glass jar. Do not put too much in as this can be overwhelming for your dog.

Put a few of the Q-tips into the jar and leave them with the lid sealed, to absorb the odor.

Leave in the jar for at least 24 hours before using the Q-tips.

Refresh the scent by replacing the Q-tips every 4 to 6 weeks.

Preparing training tins

Now we can use the scented Q-tips for searches. 

You will need a vented tin or vessel. This is a container with small holes. Some have magnets so they can be attached to metal surfaces like cars.

You will need tweezers to move your scented Q-tips from the jar to your scent container.

Use separate tins for different odors.

Keep "hot" tins/vessels in a glass jar to prevent contamination to other training equipment.

What you will need to start scentwork training

• Scent/ essential oils
• Cotton q-tips
• Tins / containers with vents holes
• Powder free gloves 
• Tweezers
• Airtight glass jars
• Plastic box to keep it all in
• High value treats for rewards

How do use an odour imprinting pipe.

Start by lining up identical scent pipes. Ideally, use 3 to 4 to begin.

One pipe will be your "hot" pipe, meaning it contains the target odor.

Place the target odor under the filter so the dog cannot access it.

Make sure you wear gloves when handling the odor to reduce contamination.

The other pipes will be "blanks" or "cold pipes," meaning they will have no odors in them.

Once set up, bring your dog to the pipes and use your search command, such as "search" or "find it." Walk them down the line, and when the dog stops to sniff the pipe with the target odor, mark and reward the behavior immediately.

You can mark with either a clicker or your marker word.

There is a hole on the back of the pipe to reward the dog with treats at the source. Reward the dog as close to the source as possible. This will encourage the dog to keep their nose in the pipe.

To build an association, repeat the exercise in short sessions, ideally 15 to 20 minutes.

You can make it harder by switching the pipes around, but make sure you don't make it too difficult, or the dog may stop searching.