K9 Scent Training

Whether you’re searching for drugs or a missing person, K9 Scent Training will improve your K9 team’s capabilities in the field. Use proven techniques to train your dog for: Scent identification line-ups to indicate a scent connection between crime-scene evidence and a suspect. Tracking along a wide variety of track types, including the cold track, the broken-off track and tracks that run over or under cross-tracks. Detection work for searches in buildings, vehicles, open terrain and more. In this must-have guide for SAR teams and police K9 trainers and handlers, Dr. Resi Gerritsen and Ruud Haak present everything you need to know to build or improve a scent training program. Scent training involves high-stakes work, and in the case of a search for a missing person, the right training for your K9 can mean the difference between life and death. Beginning with the science behind odors and how dogs perceive them, Resi and Ruud show you how to harness that knowledge to eliminate training problems and maximize your dog’s potential. You’ll learn how to start scent training for young dogs using simple exercises before building up to more complex training. Finally, using techniques they’ve perfected over decades, Resi and Ruud share their specialized, step-by-step programs for advanced scent identification training and tracking. Get a free ebook through the Shelfie app with the purchase of a print copy.

This step-by-step guide will help you teach any dog the basics of groundtracking, air scenting, or how to simply have fun finding objects.

This book on the training of scenting dogs explains the composition of scent, how it works in the dog's nose, and what affects scent. It contains chapters on the sense of smell, anatomy and physiology, the human as scent source, the transmission of scent and factors that influence the working with scenting dogs.

Renowned K9 trainer and handler Jan Kaldenbach brings his considerable expertise to bear on the subject of scent detection in K9s in his classic work on scent detection, now back in print. Beginning with some notes on canine intelligence and observation, Kaldenbach also covers topics such as the perception of odors; the structure of the nose and how it works; the right dog and handler for scent detection work; and how dogs can find human beings. Each topic is accompanied by detailed diagrams and illustrations. He then includes detailed instruction on how to train a K9 in scent detection for tracking work, drug detection and human scent discrimination. Two approaches round out the book. The first is a description of Police Detector Dog Requirements in the Netherlands, to help police administrators develop specific targets for their K9 units. The second is a series of case files from Kaldenbach's own experience, providing insights into the benefits and problems of training and using K9s for scent detection work.

A “haunting meditation on trust, hope and love” by a woman who adopts and trains a Golden Retriever puppy to become a search-and-rescue dog (People). In the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing, Susannah Charleson’s attention was caught by a newspaper photograph of a canine handler, his exhausted face buried in the fur of his search-and-rescue dog. Susannah, a dog lover and pilot with search experience herself, was so moved by the image that she decided to volunteer with a local canine team, plunging herself into an astonishing new world. While the team worked long hours for nonexistent pay and often heart-wrenching results, Charleson discovered the joy of working in partnership with a canine friend and the satisfaction of using their combined skills to help her fellow human beings. Once she qualified to train a dog of her own, Charleson adopted Puzzle—a smart, spirited Golden Retriever puppy who exhibited unique aptitudes as a working dog, but was a bit less interested in the role of compliant house pet. Scent of the Missing is the story of Charleson’s adventures with Puzzle as they search for a lost teen; an Alzheimer’s patient wandering in the cold; and signs of the crew amid the debris of the space shuttle Columbia disaster—all while unraveling the mystery of the bond between humans and dogs. “A riveting view of both the human animal bond and the training of search and rescue dogs. All dog lovers and people interested in training service dogs should read this book.” —Temple Grandin, author of Animals Make Us Human

Tests involving a dog’s sense of smell are one of the fastest growing areas of competitions today. They are fun for dogs and people alike, the training is fun and easy, and no fancy equipment is necessary. Scent Games not only offers invaluable training advice for participating in these events but has challenging new games to keep you and your dog’s skills sharp. It is one book you must have for your collection. Debby Kay has been a pioneer in many areas of scent detection work. Her highly acclaimed Super Sniffer® program has been taught in over 20 countries around the world. What experts are saying about Super Sniffer Scent Games: From a master on scent detection, Scent Games is more than training, it is a wonderful way to develop the human-animal bond. The dogs have to think on their own. With this kind of training, you can go to whatever level you want to achieve. —Mark Hines, Kong® Lead Behavior and Training Specialist Give your dog a break from boring obedience commands, and let them use their instincts! Debby Kay now shows everyone how to develop your dog’s natural scenting abilities in a fun and practical format. She takes the mystery out of scent detection training. and brings it to the everyday pet owner. 5 barks! —Camilla Gray, author of Lipstick on a Leash and owner of Dairydell Canine All our dogs and handlers had a blast trying out the scent games with Debby Kay. Can’t wait to play some more. —Joan Dandy, owner of Dandy Dog Training

Train your dog to reliably follow a human scent trail Learn: - How to pick the right dog for tracking - What equipment you need - How to lay both simple and advanced tracks - The science of scent and your dog’s nose A well-trained tracking dog can be the deciding factor that determines success in both criminal investigations and search-and-rescue operations. When the stakes are high, demanding the highest level of performance from your K9, you need training methods relied upon by police forces and SAR teams around the world. Dr. Resi Gerritsen and Ruud Haak show you how to train your dog in clean-scent tracking, a proven method that trains dogs to follow a particular scent on a track, while ignoring cross-tracks and other odors. In K9 Professional Tracking, you’ll learn how to train a clean-scent tracking dog you can count on. You’ll also learn to fully understand what your K9 is and is not capable of in the field. With the right knowledge and techniques, you’ll be able to train tracking dogs to the highest professional standards.

Learn to communicate with your dog—using their language “Good reading for dog lovers and an immensely useful manual for dog owners.”—The Washington Post An Applied Animal Behaviorist and dog trainer with more than twenty years’ experience, Dr. Patricia McConnell reveals a revolutionary new perspective on our relationship with dogs—sharing insights on how “man’s best friend” might interpret our behavior, as well as essential advice on how to interact with our four-legged friends in ways that bring out the best in them. After all, humans and dogs are two entirely different species, each shaped by its individual evolutionary heritage. Quite simply, humans are primates and dogs are canids (as are wolves, coyotes, and foxes). Since we each speak a different native tongue, a lot gets lost in the translation. This marvelous guide demonstrates how even the slightest changes in our voices and in the ways we stand can help dogs understand what we want. Inside you will discover: • How you can get your dog to come when called by acting less like a primate and more like a dog • Why the advice to “get dominance” over your dog can cause problems • Why “rough and tumble primate play” can lead to trouble—and how to play with your dog in ways that are fun and keep him out of mischief • How dogs and humans share personality types—and why most dogs want to live with benevolent leaders rather than “alpha wanna-bes!” Fascinating, insightful, and compelling, The Other End of the Leash is a book that strives to help you connect with your dog in a completely new way—so as to enrich that most rewarding of relationships.