Episode #111 - Scent Work for Dogs:

Enrichment That Supports the Whole Household

March 21, 2025

TLDL (Too Long, Didn’t Listen):

✅ Scent work is flexible – no matter the parameters in your house, no food on the floor, keeping the dogs separate for the activity, a need to keep a dog behind a gate or barrier, there is an option out there for you.

✅Set it and forget it is possible – and will take some effort to teach, but is worth it in the end. Having a pet that can entertain themselves is gold.

✅Find it is the duct tape of dog training – teaching this skill to your dog will help in a number of ways: letting you get a little pause to collect your thoughts, helping your dog to engage their nose, and it works as a gateway to longer duration activities.

Episode Overview:

In this episode of ‘Enrichment for the Real World’, hosts Allie Bender and Emily Strong discuss various scent work activities that can be implemented to benefit not just dogs but their owners as well. The focus is on games like ‘find it’, scatter feeding, and the ‘anywhere but here’ protocol that encourage dogs to use their noses and engage in enriching activities. The hosts also explain how these activities can be tailored to achieve specific outcomes, such as physical exercise or relaxation. Additionally, they discuss how scent work can build relationships between dogs and their owners and provide practical tips for implementing these activities.

Links & Resources from the Episode

#109 – Assessing Risk for the Safety Enrichment Category
Canine Olfaction: Scent, Sign, and Situation book chapter by Simon Gadbois & Catherine Reeves
Being a Dog: Following the Dog Into a World of Smell by Alexandra Horowitz
Let me sniff! Nosework induces positive judgment bias in pet dogs

Going Down a Rabbit Hole?

Dive deeper into the world of enrichment, behavior, and building harmony.

Indoor Adventure Time – Looking for more ideas to try with your pet indoors, don’t worry, Tiffany has your back.
February 2022 Training Challenge – Spice Up Your Scatter Feeding – We covered A LOT in this episode, but if you’re looking for step-by-step ways to change up your scatter feeding, check this blog out.
July 2023 Enrichment Challenge: Try a New Active Foraging Option – Emily and Allie talked about hiding more than pieces of food to get different results from this game with your dog. Need some more active ideas?

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Meet the Hosts

Allie Bender, CDBC, CPDT-KA, SBA

Allie Bender is a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant, Certified Professional Dog Trainer- Knowledge Assessed, and a Shelter Behavior Affiliate. She has been in the animal welfare industry since 2006 and professionally training since 2012. She is the founder and co-owner of Pet Harmony, co-author of Canine Enrichment for the Real World, and a national speaker.

While in the animal sheltering industry, Allie realized that her passion lied in helping pets with maladaptive behaviors. Specifically, she wanted to help prevent animals with rehabilitatable problems from being euthanized. She loves working with dogs and cats displaying stranger danger, resource guarding, and leash reactivity. Her favorite thing about working with pets and their people is seeing relationships grow and seeing harmonious households develop.

Emily Strong, CDBC, SBA

Emily Strong Emily Strong is a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant and Shelter Behavior Affiliate. is a has been in the animal welfare industry since 1990 and has been a behavior consultant since 2008. She is the co-owner of Pet Harmony, co-author of Canine Enrichment for the Real World, and a national speaker.

Emily started working with animals at a young age and struggled with the notion that you have to hurt, scare, or intimidate animals to help them. When she discovered the behavior sciences and learned that it wasn’t necessary to do so– that we can care for emotional, mental, and physical health simultaneously– she plunged headfirst into animal behavior. Emily loves helping current and prospective behavior professionals and working with pet parents through our in-depth services. She enjoys working with all species.

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