K9 Nose Work® Classes

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Building Bonds ~ Shaping Success 

We are pleased to offer official K9 Nose Work® classes at multiple locations in 2022

Exercised Finished in Chicopee, MA on Sundays (afternoon – evening) & Thursdays (late morning – late afternoon) ;

The Good Dog Spot, Bloomfield, CT on Thursday (evening);

and a various roaming class locations throughout Western & West-Central MA; CT; NH; RI, Taipei & Taichung, Taiwan; Chengdu & Beijing, China; Phuket, Thailand; and Australia.

 

Does your dog have an amazing nose? Is your dog always looking for that stray piece of kibble that rolled under the fridge? Do you have a retired competition dog who would love a new job? Does your dog or new puppy have more energy than there are hours in the day? Do you have an older, shy, bored, or reactive dog who could benefit from learning a fun confidence building activity? Have you recently adopted a dog and want to participate great bonding activity? Then K9 Nose Work® might be just the activity for you both! Whether you just want to participate in the activity of K9 Nose Work® or decide that competition is in your future, you will have lots of fun!!

 

Class offerings at training facilities:

Email for info on classes in Bloomfield, CT.

Click here for K9NW classes at Exercised Finished

Introduction to K9 Nose Work® (Intro 1):  In this class we focus on introducing the ‘game’ by capitalizing on your dog’s natural ability to hunt for and locate high value food or, for some dogs, toys. You and your dog will progress together; as your dog develops confidence and an independent search style you will begin to learn how read your dog’s body language while they work to solve increasingly difficult odor puzzles. This will serve to enhance your communication, build teamwork, and help you begin to develop your own handler skills. Rewarding at source, odor movement, odor cones, hide placement strategy, and other foundation concepts will be discussed. This class set will begin by building hunt drive using boxes and will progress to elevated,  interior/exterior search areas, and low level distractions (note: vehicles searches will be introduced in Intro 2). The joy your dog experiences will be proof that this game is one you can both enjoy for life!

  • Duration: 6 weeks; 1-1.5 hours per class
  • Prerequisite: No previous training is required. However, as all dogs search independently your dog will have to wait away from the search area when not working. You may bring a crate, use one at the facility, or leave your dog in your car (weather permitting). Crates may be covered or kept behind a barrier and will never have a line of sight to the search area. If your dog has clinical separation anxiety please contact us so we can discuss suitable options for you; our goal is to include rather than exclude.

 

Introduction to K9 Nose Work® (Intro 2): In this second Intro to K9NW class we will continue to develop and build on foundation skills introduced in the Intro 1 class set. We will expand handler prowess, including use of body pressure to manage search areas and on-lead handling skills. This class will expand search areas to include vehicle and more distractions, incorporate more complex scent puzzles, as well as include novel hide locations. This class is geared toward getting handler teams ready to go on odor.

  • Duration: 6 weeks; 1-1.5 hours per class
  • Prerequisite: Introduction to K9 Nose Work® with a CNWI/ANWI or equivalent. Please contact us to discuss which class you should enroll in if you have not taken an Intro to K9NW class with a certified instructor or if you have spent some time off. As all dogs search independently your dog will have to wait away from the search area when not working. You may bring a crate, use one at the facility, or leave your dog in your car (weather permitting). Crates may be covered or kept behind a barrier and will never have a line of sight to the search area. If your dog has clinical separation anxiety please contact us so we can discuss suitable options for you; our goal is to include rather than exclude.

 

Ongoing K9 Nose Work® Primary (Primary Ongoing): This class is beneficial for all teams but particularly for teams who are experiencing some environmental challenges. It is highly recommended to further develop a team’s abilities before going on odor. This class will progress forward from the Intro 1 & 2 courses by continuing to introduce increasingly more challenging and complex scent puzzles for the handler teams using primary (food) to further develop a team’s search prowess. Sensitivity to teams experiencing environmental concerns will be taken into account. It is often stated by the Founders of K9NW that handler teams can greatly benefit from remaining on primary for several months. However, we are also aware that some teams are eager to move on to odor; therefore, we also offer the option for most teams of moving to Introduction to K9 Nose Work® Odor (Odor 1) after completing Introduction to K9 Nose Work® (1 & 2).

  • Duration: 6 weeks; 1-1.5 hours per class
  • Prerequisite: Introduction to K9 Nose Work® foundation classes (Intro 1 & 2) with a CNWI/ANWI or equivalent. Please contact us to discuss which class you should enroll in if you have not taken an Intro to K9NW class with a certified instructor or if you have spent some time off.

 

Introduction to K9 Nose Work® Odor (Odor 1): In this introduction to odor class we will build upon the foundation skills learned in the Intro to K9NW (Intro 1 & 2) classes. In this class we will focus on teaching the dogs to search for a trained target odor (birch) and building odor obedience. We will discuss the use, handling, preparation, storage, disposal, and the responsibility that goes along with using odor. We will revisit some of the exercises in the introduction series to aid in odor acquisition. However, as dogs progress we will move on to exposing them to a wider array of search scenarios helping them to solve odor puzzles more effectively. Handlers will continue to learn valuable techniques for supporting their dogs during searches, as well as beginning to understand how odor and odor movement can be affected by the environment and the handler team.

  • Odor: You will receive odor for use at home.
  • Duration: 6 weeks; 1-1.5 hours per class
  • Prerequisite: Introduction to K9 Nose Work® foundation classes (Intro 1 & 2) with a CNWI/ANWI or equivalent. Please contact us to discuss which class you should enroll in if you have not taken an Intro to K9NW class with a certified instructor or if you have spent some time off.

 

Introduction to K9 Nose Work® Odor (Odor 2): During this second introduction to odor class set we will further our knowledge about working different environments. Dogs will learn to search expanded areas more effectively, through exposure, and will work in all four elements. We will work on increasing search duration, examine odor in environments more comprehensively, and increase exposure to varied search areas. Additionally, handlers will gain more knowledge about how they influence searches (intentional or not), and develop handler team communication. We will discuss and begin preparing handlers for taking the Odor Recognition Test, a necessary requirement for competition trialing in both the NACSW and the UKC.

  • Duration: 6 weeks; 1-1.5 hours per class
  • Prerequisite: Introduction to K9 Nose Work® foundation classes (Intro 1 & 2) and Introduction to Odor (Odor 1) with a CNWI/ANWI or equivalent. Please contact us to discuss which class you should enroll in if you have not taken an Intro to K9NW class with a certified instructor or if you have spent some time off.

For those training at the NW1, NW2, or NW3 level please contact us for facility classes, Drop-in roaming classes, and the details below!

Continuing K9 Nose Work On Going/Adv Trial Prep Classes (NW1-Summit) We have built a solid foundation, developed resiliency, increased our team’s stamina, and established a distinct and profound detection team relationship. We are beginning to read our own dogs and other handler’s dogs with hardly any effort; we observe handler prowess and predict potential errors before they happen. We can tell if a dog is ‘in odor’ by merely listening. We can consider how odor might move in a myriad of environments, yet we trust that the dogs will always tell us what we need to know. Our eyes have been trained to see what we might have missed only months before; we look at our dogs and our dog’s world with a more trained and knowledgeable eye. We have all the foundation pieces to begin to explore more advanced material. Therefore, during these on-going classes we will further develop our knowledge regarding competition preparation (Element trials & NW1, NW2,& NW3 trials) as well as begin comprehensive competition handling critiques via video and other methods. Having built resiliency and an excellent foundation into our teamwork, we can explore in earnest more advanced hide setups that will profoundly challenge us. We will continue to build duration, work through increasing difficult distractions,  as well as greatly expand access to off-site search environments. This class will have multiple travel opportunities, mock trial scenarios, timed events, and crazy fun hides! If you think of it we can probably make it so!  These classes run at the appropriate level so there may be multiple classes happening at the same time (for instance an NW1 class and an NW2/3 class). Please email us K9SniffWorks@gmail.com us for more information.

Want classes at your facility or in your area? 

We are open to scheduling an outing in your specific area if you have a few people who would are interested.  If you have a suitable outside location on your property please contact us and we can discuss use of your area in lieu of payment for you and your dog’s nose work classes!  We are happy to provide a full insurance certificate! We accept: cash, checks, credit cards via Paypal!

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For those just getting into the sport or experienced folks: We are currently seeking suitable indoor locations to hold classes. We are looking for safe indoor locations that have a clear area of  approximately 12 ft by 12 ft or larger and has outdoor parking close by for at least 8 vehicles.  If you have an idea please give us a shout at K9sniffworks@gmail.com

We are happy to discuss use of your facility in lieu of payment for you and your dog’s nose work classes. We are happy to provide a full  insurance certificate! We accept: cash, checks, credit cards via Paypal!