August 19, 2014
If I order the Nosework Scent Kit and run out of prepared swabs how do I prepare new ones?
Full Question:
Hi. When I order your Nosework Scent Kit and I run out of the pre-prepared swabs, how do I prepare new ones? I've heard to put a drop of the scent directly on each swab or put a drop on a cotton ball and put the cotton ball and new swabs in a container for 24 hours. Which method do you think is best? Thanks. 
Ed's Answer:
This comes down to where your dog is at in training. A trained dog with experience may only need swabs that have been scented with a cotton ball and one drop of scent.
A new dog probably needs more odor and a stronger scented swab.
When you say “A DROP” I would use a very very small drop. Like a drop from an insulin needle – not a drop from a dropper.
Your goal needs to be to train your dog to recognize odor and follow it to a FIND. If you use super strong scents in training and then go to a trial and they use lightly scented swabs your dog may have problems. So test your dog – every now and then throw a heavily scented swab with a big drop but train with lightly scented items.
When I worked as a K9 handler we would try to expose our dogs to LARGE qualities of drugs every now and then just so the dogs got used to a lot of odor and they would know what to do.
So use your head and think outside the box and you will have a better trained dog that’s ready for whatever it faces.
Good luck.
Regards,
Ed Frawley
A new dog probably needs more odor and a stronger scented swab.
When you say “A DROP” I would use a very very small drop. Like a drop from an insulin needle – not a drop from a dropper.
Your goal needs to be to train your dog to recognize odor and follow it to a FIND. If you use super strong scents in training and then go to a trial and they use lightly scented swabs your dog may have problems. So test your dog – every now and then throw a heavily scented swab with a big drop but train with lightly scented items.
When I worked as a K9 handler we would try to expose our dogs to LARGE qualities of drugs every now and then just so the dogs got used to a lot of odor and they would know what to do.
So use your head and think outside the box and you will have a better trained dog that’s ready for whatever it faces.
Good luck.
Regards,
Ed Frawley
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