Hockey was my chosen sport as a kid. I learned to skate when I was 3 and after just a year I was already playing in a league. I absolutely loved playing and still do. Hockey is an amazing sport, but with all the gear needed and the need for ice time, there is a boundary to entry! The same can be said for a lot of dog sports. The need for equipment, for classes to line up with your schedule, and for them to be offered in your area can make the idea of trying a new sport with your dog daunting.
That isn’t the case for Scent Work though! This is one of the most inclusive dog sports in the world. You hardly need anything and guess what! Every dog loves to sniff and every dog is good at it! Anyone who has taken their dog for a walk doesn’t need to be told how much a dog loves following their nose. That’s what makes scent work so great. We take one of our dog’s most basic desires, the desire to follow their nose and turn it into a game that they will never tire of playing.
Now there are endless benefits to signing your dog up for a Scent work class, but these 5 simple ways to play scent work at home will keep you and your dog busy until the next one opens up in your area!
5 Ways to Play Nose Work at Home
The Scatter
The easiest of all scent games! No matter where you live, no matter your dog, this one is easy and fun to play. Choose your search area, and grab a handful of food. (breakfast, dinner, treats, it all works!) and scatter them all around. You can throw it up in the air, meticulously place the food, or go somewhere in the middle. Start by letting your dog watch you while you place the food and over time do it without them watching before letting them find it all on their own!
Hansel and Gretel
Taking the classic tale and giving it a much better ending! This involves setting up a breadcrumb trail, leading your dog not to a scary witch’s house, but a grand prize at the end. Have fun with this one! Make your breadcrumb trail winding and long! When you first start, keep each treat pretty close to the next and let your dog watch you set it up. Over time spread the treats out farther and farther and keep them in another room so they can’t watch you set it up. The grand prize at the end can be their dinner, a lick mat, a toy for playtime, or anything your dog loves!
Sausage Fairy
If you’ve been with us for any length of time, you know about the Sausage Fairy game. It’s a favorite of ours for a reason! It’s an amazing way to take scent work outdoors and provide your pup with a very natural feeling hunting game. The Sausage Fairy game combines the fun of the Sausage Tree game, where you push treats into the bark of a tree for your dog to sniff, scratch, and eat, with the magic of the tooth fairy. Before you take your dog out, go fill up some trees with their favorite smelly treat and let them stumble across them. It’s like magic! In our backyard, we have a little fenced area that has a few logs in it. We played this game twice and ever since then Manzo makes sure to check each log AT LEAST once whenever he can, just in case his favorite fairy has visited.
Hide ‘n’ Seek
Whether your dog has a good stay cue or if someone else can help you out. This is a super fun game. Inside you can hide in a different room, behind a door, or under a blanket. Call them to come and let their nose search you out! If your dog is getting too good at this game, I like to leave some music playing on my phone and leave that in another room before hiding. You can also play this in the woods too! Just search out a big tree, a rock, or even a big snow pile!
Box Game
We all have boxes lying around all the time these days. Before you bring them to the dump, why not use them to brighten your dog’s day? Set them up around your living room, saving one out to put some food in. Hide that box in amongst the others, lead your dog up to the area, and tell them to find it! When you are first introducing this game, let them watch while you hide it but over time, start to bring them in blind. This is great for dogs who are looking for a confidence boost. Having them interact with objects like this in fun and safe ways will help them feel more and more empowered each time you play!
Scent work is one of the most accessible and rewarding activities you can do with your dog. Whether you’re scattering food, setting up a trail for their nose, playing hide-and-seek, or setting up a magical Sausage Fairy experience, these simple games tap into your dog’s natural instincts and provide endless fun for your whole family. We know how hard it can be to select an activity and do it. So click through to receive your dog’s sniffing assignment for the day. Open up our Wheel of Games and click to spin. Once you receive your assignment the fun can begin. You’ll receive extra credit if you email us with a photo of your dog having fun. Happy sniffing!
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