PHOTO GALLERY: Dogs sniff out treats to learn tracking

August 9, 2012 | 9:03 p.m. CDT

The Columbia Canine Sports Center trains dogs to track scents in a nose work class. According to Virginia Huxley, an owner of the center, this training starts with teaching dogs to find treats from a few boxes, and the dogs will then begin to learn how to find hidden scents.

Dori, a 3-year-old Pembroke Welsh Corgi, finds the treat that was hidden in a box during a K9 Nose Work class Monday at the Columbia Canine Sports Center. According to Virginia Huxley, an owner of the center, this training starts with teaching dogs to find treats from a few boxes, and the dogs will then begin to learn how to find hidden scents. | Yi Gan

Judy Harris, left, gives extra treats to Moose, a 2-year-old black Labrador Retriever, when he finds the hidden food in a box on Monday. According to Harris, giving the dogs extra treats when they find one in the boxes helps them learn to search for the right boxes. | Yi Gan

Judy Harris, an instructor for the K9 Nose Work class, teaches dog owners how to train their dogs to understand the “game." | Yi Gan

Virginia Huxley puts some scented cotton swabs into a glass container. The swabs are used to train dogs to detect scents. These swabs, with birch, anise and clove scents will be used in K9 Nose Work classes. | Yi Gan