Nosework Revisited: Learning to Keep My Dog Safe

This post is in the “I was wrong” category because the embedded video includes practices that were unsafe for the dog. I didn’t know better at the time. I know better now, and I believe in being transparent about the learning process.

I looked at an old video of mine on YouTube with new eyes, and even though I love it, I feel it’s irresponsible to leave it publicly accessible without annotations. My practices were unsafe. I can’t find the original anymore, so I can’t upload an annotated version.

The old video features Cricket at 15 years old when I first introduced her to searching for food in boxes. I can’t bear to delete it, so I am changing it to Unlisted and featuring it in this post. Hopefully, my mistake can help others and their dogs.

Learning about Nosework

I went to a two-day seminar in 2011 with the founding members of NACSW and took my sniffy dog Zani. I loved the seminar and was thrilled to see what our dogs could do. I started setting up box searches at home for all my dogs. That’s when I made the video in this post.

A year or two later, I took a weeks-long course on nosework from some well-known instructors, and worked with non-food odor, adding another layer to my education. I didn’t pursue training with odor much beyond that course, other than teaching Clara to find a lost item with my hand scent on it. But my interest, and especially my dogs’ interest, remained, so I did nosework games at home.

Recently, I signed up for Kate Woods’ Scent Skills 101 online course. I wanted something fun to do with Lewis. My energy for training has decreased over the last couple of years, and I do well with some structure, like a lot of us. I knew I would love the course because I love anything Kate does, but I was blown away. First, the way they structure the course is a big-picture view of scentwork and centers on concepts (see the course page), but with exercises and very concrete, specific advice on each one. It’s appropriate for someone who is preparing to compete as well as for someone like me, who plans activities at home and wants to branch out from the ones we already do.

Second, Kate’s focus on safety, both physical and psychological, for the dogs, is front and center. Kate works with a lot of dogs with physical limitations, illnesses, and, of course, fears. They describe how to create safe setups. They remind us in every lesson to “Take care of your dog’s feelings!” and go over the various needs individual dogs might have.

Non-Slip Surfaces

Kate’s instructions include, in every lesson, the use of a non-slip surface. In my home, I have mostly hardwood floors and some tile. For years now, I have done any strenuous, active training on a yoga mat or in the yard. The latter is a good choice for a lot of the year, but not right now.

For the scentwork exercises, I brought in another yoga mat and sometimes added a carpet runner as a station for Lewis. I get the mats and runner out and put them back for each session. This is because carpets, throw rugs, and dog mats are statistically a huge risk of causing falls for people my age. On the other hand, secure footing for dogs in their activities is a must.

I can see the benefits of the non-slip surface in Lewis’ posture and movement.

Show and Tell Becomes Stop in My Tracks

I got it in my mind to show Kate the old video below. They have a coated American Hairless Terrier and my dog Cricket was a rat terrier, two breeds that are closer than cousins. As far as I’m concerned, Rory inherited Cricket’s title of Cutest Dog in the World.

So, I recently found my video on YouTube and watched it, anticipating my delight in seeing feisty little Cricket. I filmed the video shortly after returning from the nosework seminar, and at the time was delighted that even my 15-year-old dog could do this thing. (She was already showing early signs of dementia, although I didn’t know it at the time.) But my delight upon revisiting it was mixed with deep concern and chagrin. I thought about what I was seeing, in view of what I have learned in the years since, especially from Lori Stevens, who helped me with appropriate exercise and care after Zani’s injury, and now in Kate’s class.

The activity I set up for Cricket was not safe for her. The floor was slick concrete (my den was a converted garage). The boxes were too tall. From the beginning, she stepped into the boxes with her front feet, which improved the footing for those feet in one way, but left her back legs behind to slide and splay on the concrete. In the video, I refer to her walking into the boxes as a superstitious behavior. But I think she did it at first because of the high walls of the boxes and continued because at least two of her feet were on a better surface. You can watch her back legs throughout the video and see how often they are slipping and sliding. She was on daily carprofen for arthritis.

At the end of the last session shown in the video, Cricket was panting. I acknowledge in the voiceover that this was a hard workout for a senior. But it shouldn’t have been. I wish I had stopped before she got to that point. This was way too much for her. Not to mention that panting can also be a sign of pain or stress.

By following the steps I learned at the seminar, which was compressed for time, I went way too fast with the process. I changed in one session from all boxes having food to only one, then in the next session, scattering the boxes. I have learned better since then, not only from my teacher years ago, who emphasized that the goal was to build behavior, not to “challenge” the dogs, but also in Kate’s course, where they emphasize many easy wins for similar reasons.

I still love seeing Cricket. She was a tiny, bold bulldozer pushing into those boxes for food. And the hell with criteria; I wish I had given her a treat when she got in a box, sat, and looked up at me.

This video is now unlisted. Although the link is accessible, I’d prefer that you link to this post instead, so all viewers will get the context.

Dog Body Language

Dog body language is one of my passions. In the Puppy Socialization book I co-wrote with Marge Rogers, it is a theme throughout the book, and we have an entire chapter full of examples. It is one of the largest categories in this blog, and I also have a curated page dedicated to it. I also have a section in my book on dog dementia about identifying pain in dogs. It will be expanded in the second edition with some new resources.

But even with all that, I seem to classify signs of pain differently in my mind. I have not learned enough about the subtle behaviors linked to pain, even though several times in my life with dogs I have been in the position of trying to figure out whether a dog was hurting, afraid, or both.

I think we don’t see it discussed as much partly because people whose first value is to be kind to their dogs are reasonably averse to posting videos of their dogs in pain on websites or social media. Even if they are seeking information, they risk nasty comments in response to their attempt to help their dogs.

I posted a video of Clara’s progression with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, in which she was in so much pain that it’s hard for me to watch. I did this in the hope that it could bring about awareness of this deadly disease.

So, I’m keeping Cricket’s video up on YouTube, but unlisted. People don’t always read introductions, and I don’t want my bad practices seen as some sort of model, some sort of win, even though that was my feeling back then.

Live and learn.

Copyright 2026 Eileen Anderson