This marks our 1-year anniversary with Gaunt Nose Dog Training guru Julie Gaunt-Harris. This wonderful sport was founded by Julie’s father Ron Gaunt along with his colleagues Amy Herot and Jill Marie O’Brien. Julie is a professional handler and trainer of narcotics and explosive detection canine. K9 Nose Work® is a fun game for any dog and can become a field trial sport for dogs that pass their Odor Recognition Test (ORT).
My goal is for Dixie Rose to pass the ORT this year (2023) but as any proper trainer will tell you, the dogs already know what to do, it’s the handler that needs the training! And I am still solidly at level zero.
Intro to Nose Work
The foundations of K9 Nose Work®️. Dog search for a special treat or toy and self reward. This is also called “boxes” and we spent the better part of the year in boxes.
The dog is released into the search area full of boxes. One box (the hot box) contains the special treat/reward. When the dog finds the correct box, they self-reward by getting to eat the treat. The dog develops a lot of foundational skills in boxes, although it feels too easy when you watch. What dog doesn’t love finding treats? That’s the idea! The dog learning to associate a command (“find it” or “search”) with the game of searching through boxes and “finding” the reward. Dixie Rose’s special treat is salmon skin.
After several months, odor is introduced to the box. Now, when she finds her treat, she smells the odor. Dixie Rose can identify birch, anise, and cloves most of the time. The ORT (test) is challenging in that the odor is not paired with their treat, so it requires the handler to notice the dog’s behavior in a way that indicates finding an odor. (This is so much harder than it looks!) Identifying when my dog is “in odor” is why we are still at level zero. I’m working on it, and with some extra practice, we should be ready for her ORT in the coming months.
I hope you enjoy our year-in-a-video scrapbook of her learning this fun sport!
Golden Retriever Puppies 