Early Scent Introduction (ESI) is a training program of introducing new scents to a newborn puppy. ESI was designed to enhance a puppies ability to react to and identify, specific scents.
Dr. Gayle Watkins, a Golden Retriever breeder and co-founder of Avidog, spent 7 years researching and gaining knowledge on the benefits of ESI training. Dogs who had been given ESI training as puppies were compared to a control group of dogs who were not exposed to ESI training. The results of the 7 year test were remarkable! The dogs who were given ESI training received far more scenting titles, they also received these titles much earlier than the control group, and their abilities were far more complex.
Since the findings of this study, ESI has become a widely loved training program amongst breeders, dog enthusiasts, and the American Kennel Club.
Why Is ESI Important
ESI helps puppies gain awareness with their nose and also boosts their confidence.
If you are in the market for a service dog or therapy dog, make sure you find a
breeder that performs ESI training, as it is important for dogs of this status to have a
good grip on their scent capabilities.
For example, if you are in need of a diabetic therapy dog, you will want to find a breeder that performs ESI with their puppies. This will give more ease when training your puppy to identify the scent of low blood sugar and give you piece of mind knowing your puppies scent capabilities are stronger than their peers that did not undergo ESI training.
The Training
Just like ENS training (early neurological stimulation), ESI is performed during day three of life until day sixteen. Each day you introduce a new pungent scent to the puppy. As you introduce the scent, you hold the puppy close to you. As the puppy smells the scent, you record their reaction.
When introducing the scent to the puppy, make sure the puppy is comfortable and let them react. If they move away from scent, that is a negative reaction. If the puppy moves toward the scent and wants to keep sniffing, that is a positive reaction. A neutral reaction would be when the puppy keeps a neutral position and does not move away or toward the scent.
Write down your findings in a record keeper.
Here at Woods and Waters Labradors, we have used many different scents for ESI. Currently, we are using sheep wool, leather, ginger, bay, lemon, different essential oils, vanilla, honey, leaves, chicken feathers, cotton, orange, and mint. Anything with a scent will work for ESI. Just be sure that scents you are using are safe and non-toxic.
Conclusion
As a breeder who cares about the ability and outcome of their puppies, we highly
recommend all breeders use ESI training in their program to improve their puppies
scent capabilities.
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