Glossary of Terms
Ageing – The amount of time between placing a hide and when dogs begin searching. During this time odour disperses into the surrounding air, generally making it easier to find. Generally, try to age for at least 5 minutes. We should train for short and long ageing so our dogs are accustomed to different scent profiles.
Aggressive Alert – When a dog scratches or bites at source, resulting in a fault in a trial for disturbing the hide.
Alert – The response the dog offers when he has located the source of target odour. The handler says alert (and may raise her arm) to let the judge know the dog has found source.
Blind – A type of search where the handler doesn’t know the location of the target odour.
Bracketing – The dog moves left and right, back and forth, searching for the scent cone.
Cold – A box or object without target odour (vs hot is a box that contains target odour).
Contaminated: When scent is in an area or on an object that should be free of it, we call it contaminated.
CWAGS (Canine Work and Games) – An organization that offers titles in scent, obedience, rally obedience and games http://www.c-wags.org/
Commitment to Odour – When the dog has value for odour, forms a positive association with odour, and odour becomes rewarding.
Distraction – An intentionally distracting toy or food placed in the search area. Naturally occurring distractions may also be present, such as the presence of people in the search area, noises, novel odours, etc.
Elements – There are four elements in nosework: Containers, Interiors (indoors), Exteriors (outdoors), and Vehicles (anything with wheels but usually cars).
False Alert – The dog gives an indication and the handler calls an alert but target odour is not present.
Finish - Once all the hides in a search are found, the handler must say “finish” to stop the clock.
Fringe Alert – A fringe alert occurs when the dog indicates close to the source of target odour, but not at source.
Hide – The target odour inside a ventilated container that is hidden in the search are for the dog to find.
Hot – The container or object containing the hidden target odour is called “hot”. Once a container is hot, it is always hot. If you are working with objects such as chairs or tables in an environment, you need to wipe the surface with isopropyl alcohol or hydrogen peroxide afterwards to eliminate the odour.
Indication – The behaviour (or chain of behaviors) the dog displays to show that she’s made a decision about the exact location of the target odour, e.g. nose freeze, down, sit, look back.
Multiple Hides – A search where more than one hide is placed in the area.
Obedience to Odour – When a dog is obedient to odour, they will always follow their nose when target odour is present. A dog who is "odour obedient" is highly motivated to follow target odour to its source.
Source – The highest concentration of odour in the environment.
Sporting Detection Dogs Association (SDDA) - A Canadian organization that offers opportunities for dogs and handlers across the country to enjoy the benefits of nosework and compete in sanctioned trials. https://www.sdda.ca/
Target Odour – The essential oil used to train the dog. Different organizations use different target odours. Commonly used odours are wintergreen, pine, clove, birch, anise, cypress.
Aggressive Alert – When a dog scratches or bites at source, resulting in a fault in a trial for disturbing the hide.
Alert – The response the dog offers when he has located the source of target odour. The handler says alert (and may raise her arm) to let the judge know the dog has found source.
Blind – A type of search where the handler doesn’t know the location of the target odour.
Bracketing – The dog moves left and right, back and forth, searching for the scent cone.
Cold – A box or object without target odour (vs hot is a box that contains target odour).
Contaminated: When scent is in an area or on an object that should be free of it, we call it contaminated.
CWAGS (Canine Work and Games) – An organization that offers titles in scent, obedience, rally obedience and games http://www.c-wags.org/
Commitment to Odour – When the dog has value for odour, forms a positive association with odour, and odour becomes rewarding.
Distraction – An intentionally distracting toy or food placed in the search area. Naturally occurring distractions may also be present, such as the presence of people in the search area, noises, novel odours, etc.
Elements – There are four elements in nosework: Containers, Interiors (indoors), Exteriors (outdoors), and Vehicles (anything with wheels but usually cars).
False Alert – The dog gives an indication and the handler calls an alert but target odour is not present.
Finish - Once all the hides in a search are found, the handler must say “finish” to stop the clock.
Fringe Alert – A fringe alert occurs when the dog indicates close to the source of target odour, but not at source.
Hide – The target odour inside a ventilated container that is hidden in the search are for the dog to find.
Hot – The container or object containing the hidden target odour is called “hot”. Once a container is hot, it is always hot. If you are working with objects such as chairs or tables in an environment, you need to wipe the surface with isopropyl alcohol or hydrogen peroxide afterwards to eliminate the odour.
Indication – The behaviour (or chain of behaviors) the dog displays to show that she’s made a decision about the exact location of the target odour, e.g. nose freeze, down, sit, look back.
Multiple Hides – A search where more than one hide is placed in the area.
Obedience to Odour – When a dog is obedient to odour, they will always follow their nose when target odour is present. A dog who is "odour obedient" is highly motivated to follow target odour to its source.
Source – The highest concentration of odour in the environment.
Sporting Detection Dogs Association (SDDA) - A Canadian organization that offers opportunities for dogs and handlers across the country to enjoy the benefits of nosework and compete in sanctioned trials. https://www.sdda.ca/
Target Odour – The essential oil used to train the dog. Different organizations use different target odours. Commonly used odours are wintergreen, pine, clove, birch, anise, cypress.
