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| Photo: KM-Photography/Shutterstock |
We all know that dogs like to sniff. Is it possible that providing opportunities to find food in nosework can improve dogs’ wellbeing?
New scientific research by Dr. Charlotte Duranton (Ethodog) and Dr. Alexandra Horowitz (Barnard College) finds that dogs who participate in nose work have increased optimism compared to dogs that took part in heelwork instead.
Importantly, both activities involved perambulation, as well as food rewards as positive reinforcement. The difference is that in nosework the dog has the opportunity to use their nose and to exercise choice in what they are doing.
The study used a test of optimism – also known as cognitive bias – in which dogs were first trained that a bowl in one location would always contain food, whereas a bowl in another location never did. Then the test involved an empty bowl placed in an ambiguous location, equidistant from the other two places.
The idea is that the length of time taken to get to the bowl reflects the dog’s optimism that it would contain a piece of chicken.
20 adult dogs of various breeds took part in the study, including Australian Shepherds, Huskies, Cocker Spaniels, and other breeds/mixes.
Half of the dogs took part in a nosework activity with their owner, while the other half did heelwork.
The dogs took part in a group class with their owner (either nosework or heelwork), then the owner practised at home with them once a day for a week. Then there was a second class, followed by a second week of practice at home.
Immediately before and after the two weeks of the activity, each dog took part in the cognitive bias training and test.
Each activity was structured so there was some development from the beginning to the end. For example, in the first heelwork class the dog was initially rewarded with a treat for taking two paces with the owner, building up to ten paces. In the second week, changes of direction were included.
Similarly, in the first nosework class, dogs began by finding a hide (i.e. treat) in a box, then in one of three boxes. When they found it, additional treats were added to the box. In the second week, boxes were put on chairs and/or further apart to make it more challenging.
Prior to the activities, there were no differences between the two groups of dogs in the cognitive bias test.
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| Photo: Sergey Fatin/Shutterstock |
At the end of the two weeks, the latency for dogs in the nosework group to reach the bowl was significantly shorter. However, for dogs in the heelwork group, it was no different than in the previous test.
These results suggest that dogs in the nosework group were more optimistic.
Dogs in both groups had the chance to earn food rewards, so why the difference?
One reason could be that in nosework, dogs have a lot of choice in what they are doing, because they can move around the room and the boxes as they wish. In doing so, they are problem-solving, and successful problem-solving makes dogs happy too.
Another reason could be because of the opportunities to use their nose. Smell is the most important sense for dogs, and it is important to provide environmental enrichment that gives animals opportunities to use the most important sense and express normal behaviours.
The scientists explain there are some other possible explanations, although they do not think they are likely. For example, the dogs that did nosework were trained to search with their nose (but remember, the food bowl was empty in the cognitive bias task).
I think another difference between the conditions is the manner of reward delivery – one reward per set of steps in heelwork versus several rewards at once on finding the box containing food in nosework. This is consistent with how these are normally taught. It is possible dogs preferred receiving a 'jackpot' like in the nosework. However, other research shows dogs don't run faster for increased quantity of food, so this is not a likely explanation.
This is a fascinating study and it's great that scientists are looking at what kinds of activities are good for dogs' welfare.
This research shows it is important to give our pet dogs choices, opportunities to make their own decisions, and chances to use their nose. Doing so is good for their welfare, which is likely why the nosework training led to better results than heelwork.
If you are interested in trying nosework with your dog, you can find a list of Certified Nose Work Instructors here. See five fun things to do to make your dog happy today and six ways to entertain your dog indoors for more enrichment ideas.
What opportunities do you give your dog to use their nose and make choices?
Reference
Duranton, C., & Horowitz, A. (2018). Let me sniff! Nosework induces positive judgment bias in pet dogs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2018.12.009
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