Scent Work Starter Kit Ultimate Pack

Each Kit Includes:

2 x Magnetic Scent Vessels
2 x Brick Wall Scent Vessels
20 x Pre-Cut Cotton Tips
Tweezers
5ml Glass Vial of Scent
Our list of tips for odour storage and application



Tips for Odour Storage and Application

- Store your scent kits where your dog cannot access them, preferably in a cool dark place.
- If you have multiple odours, store them separately and use different vessels for each to avoid cross contamination (using different colours can help).
- Don’t touch infused cotton tips with your bare hands as you risk spreading the odour to anything else you touch.
- Never drip oil directly onto the cotton tip as this will make the scent way too strong (stronger is not better).
- To infuse the cotton tips, place a cotton ball into a small glass jar. Then place no more than 2 drops of oil onto the cotton ball. Remember stronger is not better, so don’t be tempted to use more. You can then place the cotton tips into the jar with the cotton ball. By closing the lid of the jar and giving it a good shake, this will infuse the oil into the cotton buds, which can safely stay in the glass jar until use.
- Never put a used cotton tip back into a jar of infused cotton tips as this causes contamination.
- When travelling with an infused cotton tip, consider using something like our Cotton Tip Travel Set to avoid contaminating your scent vessels.

Brick Wall Scent Vessel 3.5cm x 1.5cm
Magnetic Scent Vessel 1.5cm x 2.5cm
5ml Oil per odour

Magnetic scent vessels, brick wall scent vessels, tweezers, & box inlay are made from PLA, a strong plastic produced from renewable resources

Pre-Cut cotton tips contain paper stems

All scents are 100% pure and undiluted:
Birch (Betula Lenta)
Clove (Eugenia Caryophyllata)
Cypress (Cupressus Sempervirens)
Anise (Pimpinella Anisum)

Orders are generally shipped within 1-3 business days from Melbourne, Australia.
(Excludes Preorders)

Can I wash my vessel?

We don’t recommend washing your vessels as most people in scent work train with the saying “once it’s hot, it’s always hot” meaning that once a vessel is hot (ie, oil/odour has touched the vessel) it cannot go back to being truly clean (thanks to how powerful dog’s noses are). Whilst you can use a very light spray of isopropyl alcohol (available at Bunnings) to clean away physical dirt (and let air dry), we recommend using different coloured vessels for each of your odours and having a designated “hot vessel” (once its hot, it can’t go back to being a decoy vessel).


What is a hot vessel?

A hot vessel is a vessel that either currently or previously has contained odour. A dog’s nose is so powerful that even once an infused cotton tip has been removed from a vessel, they can still smell residual odour that can never truly be removed. If you get one of our three packs, we recommend designating 1-2 hot vessels, and leaving the remainders as “decoy vessels” that can be used to teach your dog to search with their nose and not their eyes.


How do I use a brick wall vessel?

A brick wall in scent work is a wall of bricks stacked with the holes facing outwards so that odours can be placed inside. These are used in training to increase a dog’s sniff rate during searches and are great for proofing alert behaviour. Our brick wall vessels are designed to fit nicely in the holes of a brick so that the cotton tips don’t touch the brick directly and cause contamination. These vessels can also be used to help reduce contamination in other search areas like containers or indoor searches.


Where should I store my oils?

To prolong the life of your oils, they should be kept in a cool, dark place. We also recommend keeping them where your dog cannot access them. If you have multiple odours, you should store them separately to avoid cross contamination.


Do oils ever expire?

Essential oils do degrade and expire over time. The potency of the scents can also fade due to many factors including if they are not being stored in a cool, dark place, using amber or dark glass bottles and keeping them sealed / minimising the time the bottle is uncapped to reduce exposure to oxygen. This is why we produce 5ml bottles; to make sure your oils are the freshest the can be.


How do I infuse cotton tips with odour?

Never drip oil directly onto the cotton tips as this will make the scent way too strong (stronger is not better). To infuse tips, place 20-30 pre-cut paper-stemmed cotton tips into an amber glass jar, then place a cotton ball on top. Place no more than 2 drops of oil onto the cotton ball, close the lid, and give the jar a good shake. The tips can then safely stay in the jar until use. Make sure you don’t touch infused cotton tips with your bare hands as you risk spreading the odour to anything else you touch. Also never put a cotton tip back into a jar of infused cotton tips once used as this will contaminate your fresh jar of tips.


Should I make my cotton tips stronger when I first start training?

Believe it or not, stronger is actually not better, no matter what stage of training you are at when using oils. Stronger oils creates a bigger scent cone which actually makes it harder for a dog to pinpoint the source. While it may be tempting to add an extra drop or two when infusing your cotton tips, this will be detrimental to your training.