5 Day Trained Final Response Challenge
Day 2: DECISION

How many times have you watched a teammate run their dog and everyone can see that they dog has odor but they just won’t perform their trained final response? The dog sniffs, circles, sniffs again, repositions, looks to the hander, looks to teammates, sniffs again…it feels like an eternity. The handler starts to get frustrated; teammates get antsy because they want to run their dog. 

Why is this happening? When a dog lacks confidence in their decision at target odor, then they also lack speed in acting. 

Performing a trained final response is actually a two-step behavior. The first step is your dog deciding that what they are sniffing is the correct target odor. Discriminating between the numerous novel and tempting odors your dog encounters on a search requires confidence and dedication, both which only comes when you provide your dog a strong history of reinforcement at the correct target odor. 

In Day 2 we are going to build your dog’s confidence in their decision so that you don’t experience moments like the one we just described. We are going to teach you one of the most powerful tools we have for building your dog’s confidence in their decision - Reward on the Nose.

Tool For Building Confidence

Reward on the Nose is when the handler rewards the dog as soon as the dog sniffs the target odor. If using a marker, you mark at the instant the dog sniffs the target odor. Timing is critical so the opportunity for reinforcement isn't missed. You are not waiting for your dog to perform a particular behavior. You are not cueing any behavior. You are simply telling your dog “Yes, what you are sniffing is the correct odor we want you to find!”. Over, and over, and over again! 

By employing this tool in your training, you will build your dog’s confidence in their decision at target odor which will lead to them being faster and more efficient at performing the behavior you have asked for.

One Last Thing

Before we dive into the training, it is important to first revisit the topic of your reward. This is your dog’s paycheck. Their reason for doing the work. Remember the definition of a reward—something your dog finds reinforcing and receiving it makes them more likely to repeat the behavior that earned them the reward. Having a reward your dog finds reinforcing will exponentially improve your training success.

Setup Instructions

Using one durable prop, set out target odor in an open distraction-free area. We are focusing only on the trained final response, not the search, so you only need one prop. 

Some options you might consider:

  • Cinder block
  • Wooden bock
  • Metal colander
  • Ammo can
  • Plastic cones
  • Cardboard box

Puppies & Young Dogs

If you are working a puppy or young dog, start from a short distance (~ 5-25 feet) and send your puppy. The instant they sniff target odor, reward them. To build their confidence, especially with puppies, we highly recommend running this same setup multiple times.  

In the video of Indy (above) we demonstrate two techniques for doing this. The first, after you reward your puppy for a sniff, simply wait and allow your puppy to make the choice to sniff target odor again, then providing immediate reward. The second is to pull them back to the and resend them. You can go back to the original start point or move to a different position. As you see in this video, you can use a combination of the two to keep the puppy enthusiastic and engaged.

Experienced Dogs


If you are working an older or more experienced dog, you are wanting to take their confidence up a notch to include all target odor, in any setup. As demonstrated in the video of Oma, we used 3 different target odors, three different props, and three different locations. The goal is to present your dog with as many pictures of target odor as possible to generalize their confidence, so use every source you have in combination with all the different props you have.