Nose Work / Scent Work
Widely available
Dogs search for hidden target odors and alert their handler when they find them.
51 sports · 9 categories
Sports
An evolving field guide to the dog sports you can pursue in the United States.
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01 9 sportsScent and Search Sports
Dogs use their nose to find hidden targets, follow scent trails, or locate quarry.
01 9 sports
Scent and Search Sports
Dogs use their nose to find hidden targets, follow scent trails, or locate quarry.
Barn Hunt
Widely availableDogs navigate hay or straw bale courses to locate safely contained rats hidden in tubes.
Tracking
Moderate availabilityDogs follow a human scent trail across terrain and changing ground conditions.
Shed Dog / Shed Hunt
GrowingDogs search for and retrieve naturally shed antlers.
NASDA Scent Games
GrowingDogs follow scent and locate quarry or target scent in working-style search environments.
Mantrailing
GrowingA dog-led scent sport where the team follows one specific person's odor from a scent article — cutting corners, working scent pools, and solving real-world scent puzzles.
Earthdog
Niche but establishedSmall hunting dogs work underground-style quarry scenarios that test instinct and control.
Truffle Hunting
Niche but establishedDogs locate ripe truffles — mycorrhizal fungi growing underground — in forests and orchards. Lives at the intersection of competition, recreation, and small-scale foraging.
Happy Ratters
Niche but establishedAn indoor, urban-alley rat-hunting sport — boxes, barrels, tunnels, bridges, and burrows on a clean floor. Open to any breed or mix six months and older.
02 6 sportsSpeed, Chase and Racing Sports
Dogs chase lures, sprint, or race in relay-style formats built around speed and prey drive.
02 6 sports
Speed, Chase and Racing Sports
Dogs chase lures, sprint, or race in relay-style formats built around speed and prey drive.
Fast CAT
Widely availableA timed 100-yard dash where dogs chase a lure in a straight line.
Lure Coursing
EstablishedDogs chase a mechanically operated lure around a course designed to simulate pursuit.
CAT
Moderate availabilityA coursing ability test that evaluates a dog’s instinct and speed chasing a lure.
Oval Racing
Niche but establishedDogs race around an oval track chasing a lure, testing both speed and cornering ability.
Straight Racing
Niche but establishedDogs sprint in a straight line chasing a lure, reaching top speed over a short course.
Precision Coursing
NicheA lure sport built around measured pursuit and speed-based performance.
03 5 sportsAgility and Obedience Sports
Precision, communication, and partnership between handler and dog.
03 5 sports
Agility and Obedience Sports
Precision, communication, and partnership between handler and dog.
Agility
Widely availableDogs run an obstacle course of jumps, tunnels, contacts, and weave poles with their handler.
Obedience
Widely availableDogs perform precise exercises under handler direction, demonstrating control and teamwork.
Rally
Widely availableDog and handler move through a course of obedience signs, performing stations together.
Hoopers
GrowingA numbered-course sport where the dog runs flowing patterns of hoops, barrels, gates, and tunnels at speed while the handler directs from a small handling zone — no jumps, no contacts.
- Photo coming soon
Rodeo Dog
Niche but establishedA barrel-and-pattern handling sport — teams run set courses around barrels and tunnels, scaling from on-leash beginner runs to off-leash distance work with handler-restricted upper levels.
04 4 sportsWater Sports
Athletic and working sports conducted in and around the water.
04 4 sports
Water Sports
Athletic and working sports conducted in and around the water.
Dock Diving
Widely availableDogs leap from a dock into water for distance, height, speed retrieve, or related aquatic challenges.
Paddleboard SUP
GrowingDogs balance on stand-up paddleboards alongside their handler on lakes, rivers, and coastal waters.
Surf Dog
Regional / seasonalDogs ride waves on surfboards alongside or with their handler, judged on confidence, length of ride, and style.
Water Rescue
Niche but establishedDogs perform draft work, towing, and rescue scenarios in open water.
05 2 sportsHerding Sports
Dogs move livestock using instinct, training, and handler communication.
05 2 sports
Herding Sports
Dogs move livestock using instinct, training, and handler communication.
06 8 sportsProtection and Working Sports
Multi-phase sports testing tracking, obedience, and controlled protection work.
06 8 sports
Protection and Working Sports
Multi-phase sports testing tracking, obedience, and controlled protection work.
PSA
GrowingA scenario-based US protection sport where decoys move on the field during obedience, judge-designed surprise scenarios replace memorized patterns at higher levels, and every dog starts at the same entry certificate regardless of titles in other sports.
- Photo coming soon
K9 Street League
GrowingA US-developed scenario protection sport built around vehicle and street-style confrontations — paid certified decoys, prize money for handlers, and a club model that runs on professional production over volunteer trial culture.
IGP / Schutzhund
Niche but establishedA three-phase working sport testing tracking, obedience, and protection.
Mondioring
Niche but establishedAn international protection sport combining obedience, jumps, and protection exercises.
French Ring
Niche but establishedA protection sport emphasizing obedience, jumping, and controlled bite-work scenarios.
American Schutzhund
Niche but establishedA U.S.-developed variation of Schutzhund emphasizing tracking, obedience, and protection.
- Photo coming soon
APPDA
Niche but establishedA scenario-based civilian protection sport — carjackings, ATM robberies, public-space confrontations — that tests threat recognition, controlled engagement, and neutrality with everyone else.
- Photo coming soon
Working Dogs of America
Niche but establishedAn all-breed US working-dog registry with five titling divisions — obedience, tracking, protection, protection sport, and police dog — built as an American alternative to FCI Schutzhund.
07 2 sportsStrength, Power & Drive Sports
Dogs demonstrate raw pulling power, grip strength, and athletic drive.
07 2 sports
Strength, Power & Drive Sports
Dogs demonstrate raw pulling power, grip strength, and athletic drive.
08 9 sportsEndurance and Dog-Powered Sports
Dogs pull their human partner while running, biking, skiing, or scootering together.
08 9 sports
Endurance and Dog-Powered Sports
Dogs pull their human partner while running, biking, skiing, or scootering together.
Sled Dog Racing
EstablishedTeams of dogs pull sleds in distance or sprint races.
Canicross
GrowingA dog and human run together as a team, with the dog pulling in harness while attached to the runner’s waist.
Bikejoring
GrowingA dog pulls a bicycle in a fast-paced dog-powered trail sport.
Scooterjoring
GrowingDogs pull a scooter or dryland rig in off-snow mushing-style competition or training.
Urban Mushing
GrowingDryland sled-dog work — dogs pull a handler on wheeled equipment or while running, on dirt trails year-round. Two parallel ecosystems: open-class racing and breed-club draft titles.
Dog Hiking
GrowingStructured trail hiking with your dog, building endurance and trail skills together.
Backpacking with Dogs
GrowingDogs carry their own gear in specially designed packs while hiking multi-day trails.
Canine Obstacle Run
GrowingHandler and leashed dog run an obstacle course side by side — walls, tunnels, mud, water, carries — at 7 recurring US events linked into the NCORS points season.
Skijoring
Regional / seasonalA dog pulls a cross-country skier in a snow-based dog-powered sport.
09 6 sportsPerformance & Companion Sports
Dogs perform tricks, choreography, disc work, and ball herding in handler-focused formats.
09 6 sports
Performance & Companion Sports
Dogs perform tricks, choreography, disc work, and ball herding in handler-focused formats.
Trick Dog
Widely availableDogs perform trained tricks for titles and performance.
Flyball
Widely availableRelay race where teams of four dogs jump hurdles, trigger a box to release a ball, and race back.
Disc Dog
EstablishedDog and handler teams compete in disc-catching games — Toss & Fetch, Freestyle, Distance, and Accuracy formats.
Dog Parkour
GrowingDogs navigate urban and natural obstacles by jumping, climbing, balancing, and crawling.
Canine Freestyle
Niche but establishedChoreographed routines combining obedience and movement.
Rally FrEe
Niche but establishedA hybrid of Rally obedience and musical freestyle where dog and handler perform creative heelwork patterns and tricks.
