Mentally-Tired Dogs Make for Easy Roommates!

What if: 

• A few minutes of prescribed work could make your dog calmer? 

• Allowing your dog to use their hunting skills led to more peaceful rainy days and evenings?

• Following a certain type of route on your walks could make even shorter walks more tiring?

These are some of the many benefits of using scent work to exercise your dog’s brain.  When we ask dogs to hunt – to search using their nose – we are tapping into the most ancient part of the canine brain.  Dogs were designed to detect an odor, track it down … and eat!   Nosework, the sport of scent detection, gives us a framework to allow them that whole experience. 

Giving them an outlet for their natural behaviors leads to health and wellness benefits for the whole family; dogs who work their noses are easier to live with!  With just a handful of strategies, you can tire your dog out on those days when you otherwise don’t have time to exercise them. 

Scentwork can also be used to help nervous or fearful dogs cope with the world around them.  Our scentwork classes are designed to exercise the brains and bodies of those animals who may not be able to spend as much time outside. 

Scentwork classes are taught by Jess Elliott of NoseToToesK9 in conjunction with PumpkinPups.  The introductory class, Nosework Foundations, is based on Elliott’s pioneering Scentwork for Stress Relief™ program and is suitable for all dogs.  We offer a suite of classes after that, geared toward both competition and family-dog training alike!  Classes are offered several times per year – join the waitlist HERE to be the first to learn about new classes opening up in the Spring and beyond.