Is your dog tired of chasing that yucky old tennis ball?Are you tired of throwing it?Well, for dogs and their owners bored with the same old games, there is an alternative.
It is called ''nosework'' - a dog game that has swept the United States and is about to do the same in New Zealand.
Starting at Luggate.
At least, that is the expectation of Leone Ward, of Luggate, who has dog-training credentials stretching back 30 years.
Ms Ward is into her fourth week running nosework classes for small groups.
It is simple in theory - hide a distinctively smelly substance, such as cloves, somewhere, and have your dog find it.
Think sniffer dogs, think airports, perhaps do not think cannabis.
Putting the theory into practice does require a surprising amount of dog training knowledge, hence the classes.
But Ms Ward says it is a fun thing for all involved.
The dogs can be big or small, old or young, fit or not very fit, and the same goes for their owners.
''Some dogs are more inclined to have their nose down sniffing things, but all breeds can do it,'' Ms Ward says.
Dog owners can add nosework to their regular walks by hiding a scented item along the way and having their dog sniff it out.
She says the activity builds the confidence of shy or fearful dogs and gives dogs generally a way of satisfying their mental and physical needs.
It works well, she says, for dogs that have ''dog reactivity problems'' because it is an individual pursuit.
Ms Ward and dog trainers in other parts of the country are setting up a national organisation to bring nosework to New Zealand.
She was one of two trainers from the South Island who attended a recent national seminar.
The group of trainers have settled on two of the three scents nosework will employ - sweet birch and cloves - but have yet to decide on their third scent.
Ms Ward said anise is used in the United States but would not be suitable here because it is used to attract possums to poisoned bait.
Ms Ward said she was the only one running classes in Otago, although she understood someone was interested in starting up in Dunedin.
Clever with canines
Leone Ward, of Luggate:
• 30 years' experience training people and dogs
• 15 years involved in urban and wilderness search and rescue
• Studied in NZ, UK and US Worked NZ Guide Dog Services
• 10 years as head trainer for New Zealand Epilepsy Assist Dogs
• 15 years in business as ''Dogszone''Studied canine behaviour at Massey University
• SPCA and Outreach Therapy Pets volunteer
• Author of Easy Clicker Training For Dogs.
