Field Guide · Glossary
Scent discrimination
Skills and cuesA dog's ability to pick out one specific target smell from among all the other smells present.
How it works
It is the ability that makes detection work possible: a dog is not finding the only smell in the room, they are finding the one that has been made relevant among hundreds. Training it involves pairing one scent with reinforcement until the dog will work past everything else to locate it. The reason a dog can find a single cotton swab in a kitchen is that the swab has been made worth finding, not that the kitchen is otherwise odorless.
What it looks like
A dog trained on a single target scent is presented with a row of tins, one holding the target and the others holding food. The dog passes the food and indicates on the target, because the target is the one that has ever been paid.
Commonly confused with
- Nosework
- Nosework is the activity: searching an area for a hidden scent on cue. Scent discrimination is the underlying ability that makes the activity possible.
Related terms