How to Earn AKC Scent Work Titles
In Scent Work a dog searches containers, rooms, outdoor areas and buried boxes for a target odor and tells its handler where it is. Each search element has its own titles, and they add up to the level titles.
Track Your Progress
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What the SWN takes
- Element titles (Container, Interior, Exterior, Buried): 3 qualifying scores each, at every level
- SWN, SWA, SWE, SWM: earned automatically when the dog holds all four element titles of that level
- Elite element titles: 10 qualifying scores each; Elite level titles when all four are held
- Scent Work Detective (SWD): 10 Detective Qs, open to dogs with a Master element title
Step by step
- Teach the target odor (birch first at Novice) and a clear alert.
- Enter the Novice searches: Container, Interior, Exterior and Buried.
- A Q means every hide found and called within the time, with no faults.
- Three Qs in an element earn that element title; all four earn the SWN. Then move up.
The titles around it
SCN - Container Novice
Needs 3 qualifying scores.
SWN - Scent Work Novice (this page)
Needs 4 Novice element titles (Container, Interior, Exterior, Buried).
SWA - Scent Work Advanced
Needs 4 Advanced element titles.
SWE - Scent Work Excellent
Needs 4 Excellent element titles.
SWM - Scent Work Master
Needs 4 Master element titles.
SWD - Scent Work Detective
Needs 10 qualifying runs in the Detective class.
Requirements from the current AKC regulations. AKC records a title once it processes the results; check your dog's AKC record. Every AKC title, A to Z.
Common questions
Do I need extra runs for the SWN?
No. The SWN is recorded automatically once your dog holds all four Novice element titles - 12 qualifying scores in all. The same goes for SWA, SWE and SWM.
Do the Qs have to be under different judges?
No. Scent Work titles can be earned under any judges, even all under the same one.
Can mixed breeds do Scent Work?
Yes. Any dog at least six months old with an AKC registration, PAL, Canine Partners or FSS number can compete.