Dog Detectives

Dr. Brian Ledger, veterinarian and owner of Pampered Pets Veterinary Clinic, spends his workdays caring for animals, but when it comes to one of his newest hobbies, he is discovering that sometimes the dog knows best. 

Ledger is learning AKC Scent Work with his dog, Blue. The competition turns the skills of professional detection dogs into a sport in which dogs search for hidden scents while their owners learn to step aside, watch closely, and trust what their canine partners are telling them. 

“I’m brand new,” Ledger said during a recent practice session with several other local competitors. “I’m learning from the pros today.” 

In Scent Work, dogs search for cotton swabs scented with essential oils and hidden in boxes, rooms, outdoor spaces, or containers buried beneath sand or water. These hidden scent targets are called “hides.” Beginning dogs search for birch. As they advance, handlers add clove, anise, and cypress scents. 

The sport progresses through Novice, Advanced, Excellent, and Master levels. At the upper levels, handlers may not even know how many scents have been hidden. 

That is where Belinda and her dog, King, come in. King competes at the Master level and has even attempted Detective, the highest AKC Scent Work class. Detective searches can cover thousands of square feet, contain an unknown number of hides, and include distractions designed to test both dog and handler. 

During King’s first Detective attempt in Kansas, he found seven of eight hides. He was working the final scent when Belinda called him away from the area. “He would have got it, but his handler screwed him up,” she joked. It is a familiar lesson among Scent Work competitors: The dogs often understand the assignment before their humans do. 

King alerts Belinda by placing his nose near the source of the odor and holding it there. Other dogs might sit, paw, bark, or simply change their body language. The handler’s job is to recognize that signal and call “alert.” 

Blue is still developing her own communication with Ledger. During practice, Ledger watched her work through searches and occasionally questioned whether Blue had found the correct location. Like other beginners, Ledger is learning that success depends as much on training himself as training his dog. That partnership is part of the appeal. “You’ve got to learn to read your dog,” Ledger said. 

Competitors often video one another during practice and trials. Watching playbacks can reveal a dog signaling an odor while its handler was pointing another direction, blocking the search area or unknowingly pulling the dog away. “It’s training for both of you,” Ledger said. 

The sport is open to virtually any dog, including mixed breeds registered through the AKC Canine Partners program. The group has seen everything from dachshunds to a Puli, the distinctive Hungarian herding breed sometimes described as a “mop dog.” 

For Ledger, who also enjoys Agility Trials and plans to train another of his dogs in Scent Work, the activity offers something beyond ribbons and titles. Dogs naturally experience the world through their noses, and Scent Work gives them a job that challenges their minds. 

For the humans, the challenge may be harder. They have to learn when to trust the expert at the end of the leash. 

Learn more at akc.org/sports/akc-scent-work/.