Wikipedia says (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nosework): Nose work is a canine sport created to mimic professional detection dog tasks. One dog and one handler form a team. The dogs must find a hidden target odor, often ignoring distractions (such as food or toys), and alert the handler. After the dog finds the odor they are rewarded with food or a toy. Nosework is a fast growing sport in part because it accommodates canines with disabilities or behavior problems.

Nose Work is a fun search and scenting activity for all dogs and people. It’s an easy to learn activity and sport that helps build confidence and focus. It’s also a safe way to keep dogs fit and healthy and offer them both mental and physical exercise.

Nose Work training starts with getting your dog excited about using his nose to seek out a favorite toy or treat hidden inside a box.  Over time the game expands to several boxes, entire rooms, exterior areas, and vehicles. As your dog learns and grows more confident with his nose, target odors are introduced.

I’ve done nose work in a form of blood tracking which is pretty much the same thing except it uses blood instead of odor. The training starts with treats in a similar matter as other nose work exercises. I never competed in it, it was simply something I did as mental exercise for my dogs.

Our day care dogs get to use their noses too when ever possible. It is a bit tricky with many dogs, because they do it alone. So takes a bit time to go through all the dogs 😉 But they love it!