Dogs can smell up to 100,000 times better than humans. Photo / Jenny Ling
Nosework is a search and scenting dog sport that's taking off in Northland. Reporter Jenny Ling discovers why a dog's nose is so wondrous.
A whiff of an odour in a small metal tin.
That's all it takes to get Buzz the border collie cross beyond excited, tensed like a coiled spring, and all fired up to play a new search and scenting dog sport called nosework.
His owner, Whangārei dog trainer Angelika Cawte, said the intelligent 2-year-old finds the game highly satisfying – even more so than his regular walks.
When practising at home for fun, she pulls out the odour tin containing a cotton bud dunked in clove bud oil or birch and he goes a bit berserk.
"He starts running in circles, he gets really excited," Cawte said.
"I put him in the garage, close the door and hide the odour.
"Then I go back and open the garage door and he just shoots out and runs past me 100 miles an hour, around the corner of the house.
"By the time I get there, he's already indicating, he's tense like a coiled spring.
"He's just waiting for me to say 'yes' and he leaps at me to get his toy. He plays with such intensity... you can see it in the body language, the tail is wagging so fast."
Inspired by working detection sniffer dogs, nosework harnesses a dog's most natural ability to use his nose.
With around 300m olfactory receptor cells compared to human's mere 5 million, a dog's nose is incredibly powerful.
Cawte, from Happy Tails Dog Training, said it's at least 100,000 times more sensitive to smells than a human nose.
Put another way, if a human can smell a spray of perfume in a room, a dog will have no trouble smelling it in an enclosed stadium.
"They live through their noses, it's their primary sense," Cawte said.
"When we smell pizza, a dog smells every single ingredient on the pizza."
Nosework can be a simple enrichment activity for any dog or a competitive sport.
At home, anything can be used as the odour, from dog treats, to teabags or free-range eggs.
When competing, essential oils are used; clove bud oil at the novice stage, followed by birch at the intermediate stage.
"It's quite easy once you've taught your dog the first odour to add the second and third to it.
"Professional drug detection dogs can identify up to nine different substances."
Judges hide the odour sample in an office room or garage so it's not visible, the handler and dog enter and the handler lets the dog go and "do what he knows best".
As they progress, they repeat the exercise outside, around a car, and using 10-15 identical containers like cardboard boxes.
"He's basically going in and catching a whiff of an odour and following the trail back to the source, he finds where it is and alerts to it.
"It's all about the dog, and the team.
"In other sports it's usually the hander telling the dog what to do, but with nosework we have to learn to trust the dog because we have no comprehension as to what their nose can actually do.
"We're tapping into their hunting and predator instincts."
The sport is huge overseas and has been growing rapidly in New Zealand since 2014.
Nosework trials are now being held around the country through Scent Sport Association New Zealand and Dogs New Zealand.
The first nosework mock trial in Northland was held by Cawte in Whangārei on July 18, and saw seven competitors and their dogs test their skills.
"It was absolutely fantastic," she said.
"They had fun, all got some learning out of it. The dogs did better than the people."
Cawte is now planning to hold an SSANZ sanctioned trial later in the year.
Buzz started his nosework journey in May 2020 and had qualified as a novice nosework dog by December.
He loves nosework so much he's been nicknamed "The Buzzinator".
Cawte said Buzz and her other pup, a 1-year-old golden retriever called Yogi, are so content after a session they often just "crash and sleep".
"The mental stimulation and dopamine seems to make them content, I can go into the office and work while they sleep.
"There's nothing that excites him as much, even going for a walk.
"The benefits for dogs are tremendous."
Dog training is Cawte's third career following stints in public relations and finance.
She began working with man's best friend initially as a volunteer with the SPCA, then as a volunteer instructor at the Whangārei Dog Training Association before starting her own dog training business 14 years ago.
She became hooked on nosework after attending a three-day seminar held by Jill Marie O'Brien, co-founder of the American National Association Of Canine Scent Work, in Wellington in 2014.
"I've been working my own dogs and training other teams ever since," Cawte said.
"I see how much the dogs love it, there are so many benefits for the dog."
Dogs have long been used to sniff out drugs and explosives at airports and can detect cancer, malaria, and Parkinson's disease.
Our canine friends can also detect if a patient is about to go into epileptic seizure or have a narcoleptic moment.
K9 Medical Detection NZ has trained German shepherd Levi to detect bowel cancer in urine samples with a success rate of 98.4 percent.
The Dunedin-based charitable trust is also working on training a springer spaniel pup to sniff out the early signs of ovarian cancer.
With the right training, a dog should be able to detect "anything that has an odour", Cawte said.
Using a clicker device helps be more precise, as the trainer wants the dog to indicate and stay there a little while.
When he gets it right, reward him with toys or food.
Nosework is suitable for most dogs including shy and fearful, ageing, or the socially challenged, Cawte said.
Apart from the metal tin and essential oils, no equipment is needed.
The activity is also great for dogs with behavioural issues.
"For example, a dog with way too much energy who engages in problem behaviours like barking and jumping, get them onto nosework because it burns mental and physical energy.
"After a good session, they are relaxed and happy.
"It builds confidence because they're learning to problem solve, and work independently from the handler, and the drive to search overrides some of the fears they may have.
"The great thing about nosework is that it provides a highly beneficial enrichment activity for your dog.
"I haven't found a dog who doesn't love it, and it's a matter of making sure the dog has fun."
* A dog's nose has two functions; smelling and breathing.
* Dogs can smell separately with each nostril.
* Dogs can smell up to 100,000 times better than humans.
* A dog's nose has 300 million olfactory receptor cells compared to human's 5 million.
* Dogs can smell the passage of time. They can smell where you've been and who is approaching.
* Dogs can detect cancer, malaria, and Parkinson's disease.
* They can also detect if a patient is about to go into epileptic seizure or have a narcoleptic moment.
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