Nosework Supplies
In my group classes I use all pre-made hides. I give all students a jar with pre-made hides for the odor their dog is working so students can train during the week at home. Some students also choose to make their own kit so they can have more hides to train with or have questions about what types of equipment they may need in their nosework journey. I prepared this guide to have all of the information in one place. It is also important to remember what works for one day may not work for another and what collars, leashes, etc you use may vary depending on your dog.
Collars/Harnesses
I reccomend for many teams to have a specific collar or harness specifically for nosework. I personally use a flat collar on my personal dogs but every dog is different and different tools may work better for them. I personally feel I can guide and move my dog around a search area better on a collar rather than a harness. I recommend if you use a collar to get one with a different type of buckle than you use on your normal collar.
For collars the Air Light collar K9 Tactical Gear sells is a very nice collar for nosework. It has a plastic cobra buckle which makes a different click sound than most other dog collars buckles which is an auditory cue to my dogs that we are searching for odor when it’s put on. It is also sturdy enough to hold up well if your dog does accidentally pull in their search. The Air Light collar works best on large breed dogs due to the width of the collar.
For harnesses I recommend a Y-front type of harness because they don’t restrict the motion of the dog. Here is a good video demonstrating how harness types can effect motion. Hurtta and Ruffwear both make nice y-front harnesses.
Long Lines
Once your dog is searching well for odor I recommend switching to a lightweight long line. A 10ft long line tends to work best for most people. Leather or biothane are best because they tend to burn your hands less than nylon leashes. Getting a long line that is narrow and lightweight is best. I recommend getting a long line without a handle so you don’t get tangled in the handle of the long line. I make and sell biothane long lines to students and can do custom lengths if requested. I love the leather lines from K9 Nosework Source.
Timer
For the upper levels of nosework where you are clearing rooms (AKC Excellent and above and NACSW NW3 and above) I recommend handlers have a timer of some kind. The ones I’ve found to work well are equestrian event timers that have a countdown feature. I use the optimum time brand event watch. The 14R model I really like because it has a vibrate feature with no audible beeps which makes it a silent way to tell time. It vibrates at every minute, then at the last 30 seconds then every second from 15 seconds to zero. Each time it is slightly different length making it so you can tell time without looking at it.
Odor Imprinting Items
For imprinting odor I use toilet flanges with the bottom still in them and shower drain caps. In class I use the black ABS material but the white PVC material works as well. These clean up well in the dish washer.
Clickers
Another item that we use in group classes is a clicker to mark when your dog finds a hide and shows us their alert. We also use a clicker in the imprinting phase and when we teach a alert behavior. The clicker I found to be a nice loud clicker is this one from Petco. To make your clicker easier to use you can put your clicker on a retractable badge holder so you can grab it when you need it then let it go.
Treat Pouch/Training Vest
A favorite of many of my students, top competitors and myself is the Hurrta training vest. It allows you to keep treats, extra leashes, long lines etc on your body.
Another more affordable option is to use a fanny/waist pack to hold your training treats. Most training pouches flop around your body a lot and a waist pack stays in one spot much better. Many of my students use a waist pack and have been very happy with them.
Scent Kit
Even though students have enough tins for 3 hides per odor when they start group classes many students also choose to build their own scent kit. This is places where I have purchased to create a small to go sized kit that can hold 11 hides per odor.
Case: This case from Harbor Freight is inexpensive but is comparable to a Pelican case and is small enough to be easy to travel with.
Jars: For nosework you want to store your odor in glass jars with a metal lid with a teflon seal to prevent any odor from leaking out. Essential oils are very strong and are extremely hard to prevent from leaking unless stored in jars.
Scent Vessels
I use several types of scent vessels to hold qtips in group classes. You always want your qtips in some type of container when you train so you don’t have any issues with residual odor. I’ve attached links for my favorite scent vessels that I use in my classes. I tend to use smaller scent vessels as they are very easy to hide but if your dog tries to eat hides having larger tins would be best. Using different types of scent vessels is good because each releases odor differently. If you want to make a scent vessel magnetic use a neodymium (rare earth) magnet.
Magnetic Metal Straws: These metal straws are my favorite and can be hidden in many different places very discreetly even in plain sight. I use a different color metal for each odor.
Micro Tins: These tins are the smallest tins I’ve found and they have a super strong magnet inside of them.
Centrifuge Tubes: Centrifuge tubes are a common scent vessel and are inexpensive and easy to find.
Qtips
I recommend buying pre scented qtips. It is much easier than scenting your own q-tips and when scent vessels are cared for properly and stored in an airtight jar the q-tips can last for several years. What q-tips you use will vary depending on what venue you want to compete in. NACSW uses very light odor compared to other venues and AKC uses very strong odor.
Other Venue Strengths (AKC, UKC, CPE)