The Two Nosework Methods
The two most common methods are Simple Direct Association (SDA) and Deferred Final Response (DFR).
Simple Direct Association: The dog must be motivated by a toy. The key to this training is getting the dog to associate the scent with the toy. For example, the trainer will put the scent on a nero ball, and then will hide the ball, have the dog find it, and then play a game of tug when the dog finds the ball. Or, hide the odor and put some treats right beside it. The dog will then begin to associate the odor with the treats.
Deferred Final Response: The trainer pretends to hide the reward with the dog watching, and then releases the dog to search the room. When the dog comes across the odor, the trainer "pays on sniff" and will drop the ball above the dog or bring a handful of treats right underneath the dog's snout from behind.
I use DFR because SDA simply won't work on my dog. My dog retrieves hides, so from the beginning I had to keep them hidden underneath boxes. Using SDA wouldn't work on this dog because as soon as he would finish the treats, he would retrieve the hide in anticipation of getting more (since he gets rewarded for retrieving in other contexts). So, I am using DFR. And it works well. I'm only a week in and I already have my dog alerting to birch. Use whatever method you think works for your dog. But I recommend using DFR because the results come so quickly and the dog even begins alerting (focus alert) on their own.
Simple Direct Association: The dog must be motivated by a toy. The key to this training is getting the dog to associate the scent with the toy. For example, the trainer will put the scent on a nero ball, and then will hide the ball, have the dog find it, and then play a game of tug when the dog finds the ball. Or, hide the odor and put some treats right beside it. The dog will then begin to associate the odor with the treats.
Deferred Final Response: The trainer pretends to hide the reward with the dog watching, and then releases the dog to search the room. When the dog comes across the odor, the trainer "pays on sniff" and will drop the ball above the dog or bring a handful of treats right underneath the dog's snout from behind.
I use DFR because SDA simply won't work on my dog. My dog retrieves hides, so from the beginning I had to keep them hidden underneath boxes. Using SDA wouldn't work on this dog because as soon as he would finish the treats, he would retrieve the hide in anticipation of getting more (since he gets rewarded for retrieving in other contexts). So, I am using DFR. And it works well. I'm only a week in and I already have my dog alerting to birch. Use whatever method you think works for your dog. But I recommend using DFR because the results come so quickly and the dog even begins alerting (focus alert) on their own.
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