Scent dog competition held at Holly Lake Campsites
Dogs are well known for their keen sense of smell. With that in mind, dozens of dogs participated in a scent dog competition the weekend of April 4 at Holly Lake Campsites. The event was hosted by the Mount Vernon Miniature Schnauzer Club and drew all types of breeds, from all over the Mid-Atlantic.
Club member and Rehoboth resident Cindy Sanders organized the event at the campground. It’s worked out great because it’s not open for the season yet and the group has the run of the place, she said.
Walking and talking, Sanders explained the basics of the competition, which was certified by the American Kennel Club.
From a young age, dogs are trained to find four scents – birch, anis, clove and cypress. At 6 months old, the dogs can enter competitions.
There are a number of challenges a dog can participate in – interior searches, exterior searches, buried in containers, detective – and levels – novice, advanced, excellent and master. Interior searches included cabins, while exterior searches were set up all over the campground. Buried containers are filled with either sand or water. Depending on the level, the dog has more cabins to search or containers to explore.
The dogs are tasked with finding a specific number of hides in a specific amount of time. A hide, in this case, is small pieces of putty with one of those distinct smells on it, not a dried-out piece of animal skin.
Often the search area includes distractors, which can be toys or food. Even if a dog is successful at finding all the hides, they can be penalized if they get too distracted.
Once the search has begun, the dogs sniff about the area or containers until they think they’ve found one of the hides. When it does, the dog paws at the object, at which point the owner says, “Alert,” and the judge lets them know if the dog is correct. If yes, they continue. If not, they stop. If a dog is successful at finding all the hides, the handler says, “Finish,” when the dog has found the last one to stop the clock. Some handlers keep their dog on its leash, while others let their dog do its own thing. Depending on the level, the hides are at a maximum height, ranging from 3 feet to 5 feet.
“It’s a game for the dogs,” said Sanders. “The dogs lead us.”
Chris Flood has been working for the Cape Gazette since early 2014. He currently covers Rehoboth Beach and Henlopen Acres, but has also covered Dewey Beach and the state government. He covers environmental stories, business stories and random stories on subjects he finds interesting, and he also writes a column called Choppin’ Wood that runs every other week. Additionally, Flood moonlights as the company’s circulation manager, which primarily means fixing boxes that are jammed with coins during daylight hours, but sometimes means delivering papers in the middle of the night. He’s a graduate of the University of Maine and the Landing School of Boat Building & Design.
