~JOYRIDE K9 *REMOTE* K9NW EDUCATION~

Blog Post

“K9 Nose Work®: An Activity Where Our Tervuren Excel!”

(First published in the American Belgian Tervuren Club’s national magazine “TNT” – Tervuren News Tales, July 2016 – updated 6/11/2018)

“K9 Nose Work®: An Activity Where Our Tervuren Excel!”
~ Kimberly Buchanan CNWI

1-Kimberly Buchanan & Oscar, Top Interior Title, inaugural trial, Long Beach, CA (8-9-2008)

Nose work games like K9 Nose Work® seem to be cropping up around every corner lately. It’s a relatively easy activity for a wide variety of dogs and their people. But where did it start and why has it become so popular?

Working dogs have been used in a number of roles for our benefit since ancient times, including acting as messengers during wartime. Certainly their keen noses had to have helped them navigate the way. In more modern days we use their talents to find lost children, track down criminals and to sniff out drugs and explosives. We now see dogs use their noses as medical alert and Cancer detectors, sniffing out illegally imported produce, cell phones in the prisons and to help in conservation efforts with endangered species. The possibilities are endless!

2-John Zappe & Arrow at the inaugural trial, Long Beach, CA (8-9-2008)

The concept of teaching our dogs to find things by scent for fun is not new. Dog trainers have been playing canine nose games for many years and of course, our Belgians are ready and willing participants!

In 2006, Ron Gaunt, Amy Herot and Jill Marie O’Brien had an idea. After evaluating many shelter dogs as potential detection candidates, they saw how much raw talent many of our companions showed. Even those not suitable for professional work had the capacity and skills to find things. They also knew how much fun their own detection dogs enjoyed training to find narcotics and explosives so they decided to design a “detection style” class for rescue dogs and teach them to find objects as an enrichment activity. So in June of 2006 “Fun Nose Work” classes began at the spcaLA in Long Beach, CA. As it turned out, the class participants were mostly Agility dogs and some retired Guide Dogs who needed a little boost cultivating their independent hunting skills. The class began by building drive and teaching the dogs to retrieve objects like their favorite tennis ball. Hunting for food came into the picture early since it was relatively easy to teach. For one retired Guide Dog, finding her owner in a closet and being rewarded with food sealed the deal.

3-Kimberly Buchanan & Oscar at the first sanctioned trial, Van Nuys, CA (1-25-2009)

Around May 2007, the first “target odor” of Birch scented cotton swabs was introduced. This is a pure essential oil with a signature scent. Why Birch? Because Amy couldn’t find Anise in any of the local stores and having promised the class they would begin with a target scent she had to make a choice! Birch was relatively inexpensive and easy to acquire. So Birch it was! Anise and Clove were added fairly soon for variety and search challenges.

Soon the classes grew and expanded to other locations, instructors were added and things began to become more formal. On August 9, 2008, the inaugural “Fun Nose Work Competition” happened at the spcaLA in Long Beach. A “Practice Match” happened on December 7, 2008 and the first “sanctioned” trial through the “National Canine Scent Work Association” (NCSWA) was held in Van Nuys, CA on January 25th, 2009. There were a total of 24 competitors, 6 of whom earned the title of NW1 on that day, including my Tervuren Oscar! At this trial we were allowed to run two dogs so Emmy also trialed on that day but unfortunately no title due to a potty indiscretion! Oops! On June 7th, 2009 there was an NW1/NW2 trial held in La Canada, CA with 24 teams at the NW1 level with 17 new titles. Two more Tervuren earned their NW1, including Arrow (John Zappe) and my girl, Emmy. Six of us competed at the NW2 title and 3 of us came away with our titles that day, including Oscar!

4-First (6) NW1 titleholders! Desiree Snelleman/Stinger, Kimberly Buchanan/Oscar, Peggy Haslach/Chi, Suzanne Birdsall/Dancer, Ramona Audette/Anton, Barbara Schwerdt/Landis (1-25-2009)

Along the way the NCSWA became the NACSW™ (National Association of Canine Scent Work) and K9 Nose Work® became a way of life for many of us. It is a trademarked method of training as well as a formal sport and activity. The activity of K9 Nose Work® was never designed with a focus towards competition. That mainly grew out of a desire from those of us who were participating. Sure there are other ways to train scent work. However, the training methodology of K9NW is still firmly rooted in the belief that our dogs are our teachers and that ANY dog can enjoy themselves, no matter their history, with no previous skills necessary. We set up puzzles and challenges so they can show us the solutions in their own unique way at their own pace and we adapt the training for the dog. As it turned out, the activity has resulted in more focus and confidence in the dogs who participate even if competitions are unlikely. If we listen to our canine pals, we can become more educated about scent and air currents and a wide variety of search styles.

Through the years there have been many achievements among our Belgian Tervuren. As it stands, currently there are 75 NW1 titles, 42 NW2 titles, 30 NW3 titles (14 dogs) and 7 NW3 Elites among Tervuren! To top that off, Dana Zinn and her Tervuren Kudos came in first place at the 2014 National Invitational! (If you’re an NACSW™ member you can look up where your Tervuren is in the list of title holders.)

5-Dana Zinn & Kudos at the 2014 National Invitational, Santa Rosa, CA (5-11-2014)

The growth of K9 Nose Work® has resulted in specialized training for instructors as well as K9NW Camps around the country. We currently have 345 Certified Nose Work Instructors (CNWI), 38 Associate Nose Work Instructors (ANWI) and 71 prospective instructors. We have CNWI and instructors in training in the U.S.A., Canada, Japan, Australia & Germany. NACSW™ is also building a shelter, rescue and special needs program using the concepts and philosophy of the K9 Nose Work® program.

There are over 18,000 registered dogs with almost 13,000 members at this time. We have grown from 7 trials in 2009 to 423 trials in 2017. The very first National Invitational occurred in June 2013 in Rialto, CA with only 13 of us participating. The 2017 National Invitational was held in Springfield, MA on November 3-5, 2017 with the top 46 teams in country competing in a 3-day event. In lieu of additional National Invitationals there will be regional competitions called the “Summit League” which will be 2-day competitions around the country. NACSW will evaluate these events and make a determination how/where/when additional National events might occur.

I feel fortunate to have been with the classes and intimately involved with organization since nearly the beginning. In my classes and travels I am continually learning and growing my education from the dogs. My own Belgian Tervuren have been at the forefront of K9 Nose Work® and have earned many firsts in the sport but more importantly I’ve gotten to know them for their olfactory talents and appreciate how brilliant they are! 🙂

(Photo credits: 1, 2, 3-Nicolette Aubourg; 4-Scott Peterson; 5-Colleen M. Griffith; 6-Olga Maderych)

6-Kimberly & Emmy, the first NW3 Elite titleholder, Livermore, CA (12-9-2011)

 (Kimberly is one of the first 7 Certified Instructors and Senior Faculty through the NACSW, a founding member of K9NW, a Trial Judge and Certifying Official. When not traveling for NACSW or teaching students locally and around the US, Kim trains her Belgian Tervuren in K9NW, Agility and French Ring. Her dog Oscar was one of the first to achieve the NW1 & NW2 titles. She and her dog Emmy were the very first team to earn the NW3 and NW3 Elite titles. Emmy now has her ELT2 title and is still loving the game at 14 yrs. Zen is almost at his ELT2. She is now training her 4th K9NW dog, Story and 5th/6th K9NW dogs Cartoon & Tricks. Kim runs her business Joyride K9 Dog Training and she and Amy Herot sell K9NW products and provide the official odors for all NACSW trials through Amy’s company, All Good Dogs, LLC. Kimberly also teaches through her online courses at her Joyride K9 Education site. )

By Kimberly Buchanan

Kimberly Buchanan CNWI

Leave a Reply

Related Posts