Scent Theorysniff sniff sniff sniff
Shared by Permission of Jennifer Pennington of Lead With Fun LLC.Creative Commons 4.0 License. Do not change or sell, but share all you like. Must keep proper attributions to the author.
What is a Skin Raft?
cornflake like skin cell clusters that may also have:
bacteria, fungi, parasitessweat, enzymes, hormonespersonal hygiene products
So how does scent move?
Skin rafts are carried in currents of airPay attention to the movement of air
Macro effects
general trendsa prevailing wind helpful with a subject that has been stationary for a longtime
Micro effects
Your sector down to where you are standingscent can move in different directions within a few feetmovement can be different at dog’s nose level
Types of Air Movements
knowing different patterns of air movement will help you:
correctly analyze potential problems --So you can--
Set your dog up for success
Coning Plumes
movement of scent from subject downwind in the shape of a coneduring cloud covered days or nightstravels long distancesideal for dogs
Fumigating Scent
in the morning before sunupscents travel down valleys like watersubjects on a hill can be detected by dog down belowGet dogs out before sunrise
Lofting
after sun setsground is cooling but aloft air is warmusually valleys first then other areas later onWork dogs on the high ground in the evening
Fanning Plumes
at night in stable airscent holds at the same elevation leveldog may alert across a canyon at the same level, but cant find a personReport your alerts
Pooling Scent
collects in an areausually a low arealittle dispersal of scent by the windhard for dog to follow to the subject
Eddying Scent
circular air forms behind an objectprevents scent from traveling along prevailing windexample: eddies form at a line of trees next to an open field
Looping Plumes
clear sky or with high cloudsat midday, a high convection situationscent rises, cools, falls, heats up, rises, cools, falls, etc.Dog will alert by putting his head up, but will lose the scent.
Chimney Effect
air currents move straight up an objectalerts may occur nearby -but-makes it impossible for dog to find subjectcheck around tall objects in the area
Thermocline
cause by significant temperature and humidity differences in short distanceschanges in elevationdrastic changes in shade and sunny spotscreates a wall like barrier of scent
What affects scent movement?
windhumiditytime of daytemperatureweatherterrain
vegetationtime of yearobstaclesthermals
Use what you know in HOW you search
A search dog team will prefer to search into the wind
Zigzagging into the wind on small areas
parallel sweeps across the wind on larger areas often along ridges and downhill with normal daytime updrafts
See you in the woods!
WOOF!
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