Recommended Reading

****I don't have affiliate links to any of these books, so buy anywhere you choose.*****

When I first started learning about sport detection back in 2011, there was almost no public information available for training. Thankfully, that's not the case any more! Here are just a few of the books I have in my collection. 

MUST HAVE:

Fred Helfers has two books available. The Nosework Dog Performance Journal is a small, spiral bound book meant to be taken to training sessions and trials.  Fred's website is https://www.fredhelfers.com/

https://www.dogwise.com/the-nosework-dog-performance-journal/

Fred's other book, The Nosework Handler: From Foundation to Finesse has step-by-step instructions for improving your handling in each element. 

https://www.dogwise.com/the-nose-work-handler-foundation-to-finesse/

For the dedicated competitor:

Tom Osterkamp's Detector Dogs and Scent Movement is a deep dive into how odor moves outdoors. The book is primarily aimed at SAR teams, but I found the reading fascinating and very informative.

https://www.amazon.com/Detector-Dogs-Scent-Movement-Vegetation-ebook/dp/B086TRFG6W?ref_=ast_author_mpb

For training a passive indication:

Sara Seymour's Scent Work Step By Step is the best book I've found for breaking down the "how to" of training a nose freeze on source. Although Sara is British and the book is written for British competitors, the steps are easily adapted to NACSW or AKC trials. Sara's website is https://www.compasscanine.co.uk/

https://www.amazon.com/Scentwork-practical-workbook-scentsational-journey/dp/B08Y49S8Q7/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1697233814&refinements=p_27%3ASara+Seymour&s=books&sr=1-1&text=Sara+Seymour

Paul Bunker is a professional detection dog trainer and handler. His book Imprint Your Detection Dog In 15 Days is another good step-by-step guide to training a final indication. This book comes with links to videos showing how to train some of the exercises. Paul's website is https://chiron-k9.com/

https://www.amazon.com/Imprint-Your-Detection-step-step/dp/0578896516

Just for fun:

Want to train your dog to find your lost keys or glasses? Lili Kvam shows you how in A Dog's Fabulous Sense of Smell. She also explains in detail how to train your dog to follow a human trail, retrieve, and perform scent discrimination.

https://www.dogwise.com/a-dogs-fabulous-sense-of-smell-step-by-step-treat-search-tracking/