Nose Work and Scent Games: Getting Started

Dogs experience the world nose-first. While humans rely on sight, a dog’s primary sense is smell, and that nose is staggeringly powerful. The average dog has around 220 million scent receptors compared to roughly 5 million in a human. Giving a dog the chance to use that nose in a structured way isn’t just a fun party trick. It’s one of the most effective forms of mental enrichment available.

Nose work and scent games are structured activities that channel a dog’s natural sniffing instincts into problem-solving tasks. The dog searches for hidden food, a specific scent, or a favourite toy, and gets rewarded for finding it. The games range from tossing a treat on the floor and saying “find it” all the way up to formal scent detection classes with target odours like birch or anise.

The best part? You don’t need any special equipment to start. A handful of kibble, a few cardboard boxes, and a willing dog are enough. This guide covers everything you need to begin: why scent work matters, how to teach the basics step by step, six games to try at home, and how to progress once your dog catches on.

Nose work uses your dog’s natural scenting ability in structured games that provide deep mental stimulation. Start with a simple “find it” game using treats, then progress to box searches, scent trails, and hiding challenges. Three to four short searches (5 minutes each) is enough to tire most dogs out. Scent work suits every breed, age, and fitness level, and research shows it reduces anxiety, builds confidence, and improves overall behaviour.

Why Nose Work Matters for Dogs

Sniffing isn’t a waste of time, though it’s often treated that way. How many times has a dog been yanked away from a lamppost mid-sniff? For dogs, sniffing is the equivalent of reading. It’s how they process their environment, gather information, and make sense of the world around them.

Research into canine welfare has shown that scent-based activities produce measurable calming effects. Dogs that spend time sniffing show lower heart rates and greater heart rate variability, both indicators of a relaxed parasympathetic nervous system. Sniffing also activates the brain’s seeking system, which releases dopamine, the neurotransmitter associated with motivation and reward.

A 2019 study by Duranton and Horowitz found that dogs who participated in scent work showed a more optimistic cognitive bias than dogs taught heel work. In practical terms, scent-trained dogs were better at approaching new situations with curiosity rather than anxiety.

For Australian dog owners, these benefits translate directly to everyday life. A dog that does regular scent work tends to be calmer on walks, less reactive to triggers, more confident in new environments, and easier to settle at home. And unlike a long run or a game of fetch, nose work suits dogs of every age, breed, and fitness level. A 12-year-old Cavalier with dodgy knees can do scent work just as happily as a two-year-old Kelpie with energy to burn.

Before You Start: What You Need

The equipment list for beginner scent games is short: treats your dog loves, and that’s about it. Diced chicken, cheese, Zeal freeze-dried liver, or any small, smelly treat will work. The smellier the treat, the easier the dog will find the task at first, which builds confidence quickly.

You’ll also want a few cardboard boxes (shoeboxes, delivery boxes, anything clean and dry), and ideally a small room or defined area where you can control the search space. A bathroom, laundry, or short hallway works perfectly for the first few sessions.

One thing that trips people up: talking too much during scent games. Once the dog is searching, stay quiet. Let the nose do the work. Pointing, hovering, and repeating the cue over and over again actually slows the dog down because the dog starts watching your body language for hints instead of trusting the nose. Set the game up, give one cue, then step back and observe.

How to Teach the “Find It” Cue

This is the foundation of all nose work. Every game in this guide builds on a dog’s understanding that “find it” means “use your nose to search for something good.”

1. Start dead simple. Hold a treat where your dog can see it, say “find it,” and toss it a metre away on the floor. The dog walks over and eats the treat. Repeat 5–6 times.
2. Add a short distance. Toss the treat a few metres away, or around a corner, so the dog has to move a little further to get the reward.
3. Remove the visual. With the dog behind a door or held by someone, place a treat on the floor in a slightly hidden spot (behind a chair leg, next to a wall). Open the door, say “find it,” and let the dog search.
4. Build the challenge slowly. Place treats in harder spots: under a cushion, on a low shelf, inside a shoe. The dog should be succeeding at least 80% of the time. If frustration creeps in, make the next search easier.

Most dogs pick up the “find it” concept within a single session. A Groodle named Banjo learned it in under three minutes and was searching an entire living room by the end of the week. The speed at which dogs take to this is a reminder of how natural and satisfying scenting is for them.

6 Scent Games to Try at Home

The Cup Game (Shell Game)

This classic game teaches a dog to indicate which container holds the treat, building the connection between sniffing and signalling.

1. Start with one cup. Place a treat under an overturned plastic cup while your dog watches. Let the dog nose or paw at the cup, then lift it and let the dog eat the treat. Praise generously.
2. Add a second cup. Place a treat under one cup, leave the other empty. Don’t shuffle them yet. Let the dog choose. If the dog picks the wrong cup, lift it to show nothing is there, then guide the dog to the correct one.
3. Add a third cup and start shuffling. Once the dog is consistently choosing the right cup with two, add a third and begin moving the cups slowly after placing the treat.

For small dogs, paper cups work fine. For bigger breeds, use flower pots or plastic containers. The point isn’t speed or difficulty. It’s about the dog learning that sniffing leads to a payoff.

The Box Search

This is a staple of formal nose work classes, and the home version is almost identical.

1. Set out 4–6 empty cardboard boxes in a room, open-side up. Drop a treat into one box.
2. Bring the dog in and say “find it.” Let the dog sniff each box. When the dog reaches the correct box and noses into it, praise and let the dog eat the treat.
3. Gradually increase boxes and difficulty. Add more boxes, close some lids, or turn boxes upside down with a hole cut in the side. You can also place the treat under a box rather than inside it.

The box search teaches a dog to work methodically through an area rather than randomly wandering. It’s also a low-energy activity that suits dogs recovering from surgery, older dogs with joint issues, or pups that need to learn patience and focus.

The Scatter Search

Scatter a handful of kibble across a patch of lawn, a doormat, or a section of carpet. Say “find it” and let the dog go. This is the simplest form of foraging enrichment, and it works brilliantly as a warm-up before a more challenging scent game.

On grass, the kibble drops between blades and becomes invisible, forcing the dog to rely entirely on the nose. On a textured doormat or rug, the food gets lodged in fibres. Either way, the dog works harder than eating from a bowl, and the sniffing itself has a calming effect.

The Scent Trail

This game introduces the idea of following a continuous scent line, rather than searching an area.

1. While your dog is out of sight, drag a smelly treat (a piece of hot dog or a chunk of cheese) along the ground in a straight line across your yard or hallway, leaving a scent trail.
2. Place a high-value treat at the end. This is the jackpot reward for completing the trail.
3. Bring the dog to the starting point, point at the ground, and say “find it.” Watch the dog’s nose drop and follow the trail.

Start with short, straight trails (2–3 metres). As the dog builds skill, add turns, increase length, and lay trails across different surfaces. Some owners eventually run scent trails through their entire backyard, turning dinner time into a 15-minute tracking exercise.

Snuffle Mat Foraging

A snuffle mat is a fabric mat with long strips that mimic grass. Kibble or small treats are pushed deep into the fabric, and the dog has to sniff and root through the strips to find each piece.

Commercial snuffle mats from brands like LickiMat or various sellers on Amazon AU typically cost between $15 and $40 AUD. You can also make one for free using a rubber sink mat and strips of old fleece blanket. Snuffle mats are particularly good for flat-nosed breeds like French Bulldogs and Pugs, who can struggle with some harder puzzle toys but have no trouble foraging through fabric.

Use the snuffle mat as a meal replacement. Instead of a bowl, pour the dog’s entire breakfast into the mat. A meal that normally takes 30 seconds out of a bowl can stretch to 10–15 minutes through a snuffle mat.

Hide and Seek with a Toy

Once your dog has a solid “find it” cue with food, you can switch to hiding a favourite toy. Show the dog the toy, let the dog sniff it, then have someone hold the dog while you hide the toy in another room.

Release the dog with “find it!” and let the search begin. When the dog finds the toy, reward with a quick game of tug or fetch as the payoff. This version works especially well for dogs that are more toy-driven than food-driven, which is common in working breeds like Kelpies, Border Collies, and Australian Cattle Dogs.

How Long Should Scent Work Sessions Last?

Shorter than most people think. Three to four searches of about 5 minutes each is a solid session for most adult dogs. That might only be 15–20 minutes total, but the mental output is significant.

After a good scent work session, you’ll typically see the dog yawn, stretch, drink water, and settle into a nap. Those are signs of genuine mental fatigue, not boredom. Pushing beyond that point leads to sloppy searching and frustration, which defeats the purpose.

For puppies, keep sessions even shorter: 2–3 searches with easy hides. For senior dogs, pace the searches and give longer breaks in between. The beauty of nose work is that intensity is self-regulating. A tired dog will naturally slow down and disengage, and that’s the cue to stop.

Which Dogs Benefit Most?

Every dog benefits from scent work. But some dogs get an especially big lift.

Anxious or fearful dogs gain confidence from scent work because the activity is entirely self-directed. The dog chooses where to go and how fast to work. There’s no pressure, no correction, and the reward comes directly from the dog’s own effort. Over time, nervous dogs start approaching new situations with more optimism.

Reactive dogs benefit because scent work activates the thinking part of the brain and lowers arousal. A dog that’s struggling to stay calm on a walk can be redirected into a “find it” game, switching the brain from reactive mode to search mode. Many now use scent work as a core part of reactivity management plans.

Dogs with limited mobility (recovering from surgery, arthritic seniors, breeds prone to joint problems) can do nose work without physical strain. The dog doesn’t need to run, jump, or even stand for long periods. A box search can be done lying down.

High-energy breeds that never seem to tire from physical exercise often settle beautifully after scent work. A Border Collie that runs 10 kilometres and still bounces off the walls might crash after 20 minutes of focused searching, because mental exertion drains energy in ways that physical activity alone can’t.

Progressing to Formal Scent Work

If your dog takes to home scent games (and most do), there are structured ways to progress.

Formal are available in most Australian capital cities and many regional areas. In these classes, dogs learn to search for specific target odours (commonly birch, anise, or clove essential oils) rather than food. The dog is trained to “alert” when it finds the scent, typically by sitting, pausing, or nudging the source.

In Australia, organisations like Scent Work Australia and various dog sport clubs affiliated with Dogs Australia (formerly the ANKC) run trials where dogs can earn titles at different levels. It’s a low-pressure sport with no physical barriers. Dogs of any breed, age, or background can participate, including mixed breeds and rescue dogs.

You don’t need to compete to benefit. Many owners take a scent work class or two simply to improve their at-home games and learn to read their dog’s body language more accurately. Watching a dog work a scent problem, seeing the moment the nose locks onto a trail, and understanding what the tail, ears, and pace are saying is a skill that deepens the entire relationship.

Safety Tips for Scent Games

Scent work is one of the safest enrichment activities available, but a few things are worth keeping in mind.

If you progress to using essential oils as target scents, the dog should never come into direct contact with the oil. Place a drop on a cotton bud, seal it inside a ventilated container (a small metal tin with holes punched in the lid works well), and let the dog detect the scent through the container. Some essential oils are toxic to dogs if ingested, so keep all scent sources well out of reach when not in use.

For food-based games, use your dog’s regular meal allowance or count treats toward the dog’s daily calories. Dogs doing 3–4 scent sessions a day with high-value treats can easily end up eating too much if the enrichment food is on top of regular meals.

In outdoor scent games, especially in regional or rural Australia, supervise closely. Snake season (spring and summer), in Queensland, and 1080 baits in farming areas are all hazards for a dog with a nose to the ground.

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When to Get Professional Help

If your dog shows persistent fear, extreme reactivity, or refuses to engage with any enrichment despite easy starting points, there may be an underlying anxiety or behavioural issue that needs professional attention. Speak with your vet first to rule out pain or medical causes, then look for a qualified reward-based behaviourist. The Australian Veterinary Association recommends positive reinforcement as the preferred approach for all training and behaviour modification.

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Frequently Asked Questions