Role of Dopamine in Scent Work Training

Dopamine is commonly called the feel-good hormone — but that's not accurate. It's better understood as an anticipatory hormone, and if you're doing detection work, that distinction matters.

In this clip from Kevin Sheldahl's Foundations of Scent Work Training seminar, Kevin breaks down the role dopamine plays in your dog's search drive. A rise in anticipation equals a rise in dopamine, and that directly drives foraging behavior — the sniffing and searching you need your dog doing on a detection task.

This clip comes from Foundations of Scent Work with Kevin Sheldahl.