Curly Sniff

Time Tuesday 16:00–18:30

Held at Valhalla

Access Participation open for Red Group Max. entries: 12

Trial Managers Birthe Tygesen & Buggi Buch Widell

Judges Birthe Tygesen & Buggi Buch Widell

Birthe and Buggi invite you to take part in Curly Sniff, an unofficial Nose Work test where you and your dog can put your scent-work skills to the test.
If you find at least 75% of the hides, with no more than six faults, you receive a special Curly Sniff ribbon, awarded after the fourth search.

Participation Requirements

Dogs are expected to be trained on lavender hydrosol before the test, without pairing, and handlers should be familiar with basic Nose Work principles.

All hides will use lavender hydrosol. The test is based on the Danish Kennel Club (DKK) Nose Work regulations, with some adjustments – for example, more hides and a more forgiving fault limit. Hide placements will be comparable to NW1 level.

Test Format

There will be four search areas, completed one after the other.
Within a set time limit, you must locate an unknown number of hides in each area.
Before each search, participants will be informed of:

• the maximum search time
• whether leads are required

All exercises are carried out in accordance with current official regulations in Denmark (DKK Rules and Guidelines – Nose Work).

Entry

The trial is unofficial. Entries must be made via Nemtilmeld.
More information about entry can be found under the “Registration” tab in the menu above.

After the entry deadline, you will be invited to a closed Messenger group where all practical information will be shared and where you can ask questions.
Around midday on Tuesday, August 25, a video walkthrough of the day’s search areas will be uploaded in English, with time for questions afterwards.
Birthe and Buggi will also be present on site if further guidance is needed.

Trial Managers

Birthe Tygesen

I have trained dogs since 1980, working with German Shepherds, Labradors, and now Curly Coated Retrievers. Today I share my life with Kiwi, aged 11, and Tea, aged 3, and I compete in Nose Work with both.
I am fascinated by the training process and in recent years have focused especially on scent work. In 2017, when Nose Work was still new in Denmark, I completed the DRK Nose Work instructor programme. My passion led me to further education, graduating as a Nose Work instructor in 2024 after the eight-month programme with Minddog, followed by an additional nine-month programme with Lorup Hundecenter, lead by Sanne Andersen in 2025.
I now teach Nose Work at all levels, both privately and through the Danish Retriever Club (DRK).

Buggi Buch Widell

I bought my first dog, a Curly Coated Retriever, in 2022, and since then we have explored many areas of dog sport together, including showing, obedience, and working type tests. It was Nose Work, however, that truly changed the way we work as a team.
Through scent work I learned how to read my dog, give her space to succeed, support her when needed, and challenge her so she continues to develop. Over the past three and a half years, she has earned the NW1 and NW2 titles, and when we are both ready, we plan to attempt NW3.
What matters most to me is that we enjoy the journey, keep learning, and grow stronger together.

What is Nose Work?

Nose Work is an exciting and inspiring dog sport that suits dogs of all types, ages, and experience levels. At its core, it gives dogs an outlet for one of their most natural behaviours: using their nose to search for specific, trained scents.
The activity is inspired by professional detection work (such as narcotics or explosives), but adapted to be accessible and enjoyable for everyday dogs. Teaching a dog to search strengthens the bond between dog and handler, provides both physical and mental stimulation, and allows dogs to channel their energy in a positive way.
Nose Work works equally well as enriching family-dog training and as a competitive sport.

The main goals of Nose Work training are:

• To engage every dog in the “game” of Nose Work, regardless of background.
• To teach handlers how to read their dog and build strong teamwork.
• To have fun together.
• To allow dogs to search with minimal disturbance.
• To let dogs work in a pressure-free, obedience-free environment — simply being dogs.

Dogs always work individually.

What does it involve?

In Nose Work, the dog is brought to a new location and asked to perform a search — making it a highly flexible activity that can be practised almost anywhere. Searches take place in realistic environments rather than artificial setups.
Training focuses on finding 1–3 selected scents across four different search types:

Which scents are used?

In Denmark, Danish Kennel Club (DKK) Nose Work typically uses:

• Lavender
• Eucalyptus
• Anise

In DKK competitions, these scents are presented as essential oils, while training often uses hydrosols. Scent systems vary internationally, but once a dog understands the search work itself, learning a new odour is usually straightforward.
Birthe personally prefers using hydrosols because they are safer for both dogs and people, easier to handle, and far less likely to contaminate environments. Hydrosols are by-products of distilling herbs and flowers for essential oils and have no known side effects.

How is Nose Work trained?

Training is built on the dog’s natural instincts – we learn from the dog.

In Nose Work everything is taught from the beginning, so teams with very different experience levels can all participate and develop together. Independence, confidence, and joy in “the hunt for the scent” are strongly prioritised.

With thanks to Sanne Andersen for permission to use parts of her original text.