This month I am reviewing Janice DeMello's "Around the Clock method of Scent Discrimination" which was produced in 1992. Now, I happen to think that this method is little short of brilliant. This video provides all that you need to teach your dog articles. It succeeds in removing the mystery from one of the most intimidating and mysterious exercises in utility. The clarity of the presentation is outstanding. DeMello provides a system designed to minimize stress (both on the part of the dog and the handler) throughout the process of learning scent discrimination. The video outlines an easy, commonsense approach to teaching articles. Anyone contemplating alternatives to the traditional tie-down board should consider adding this tape to their video library.

The Around the Clock method takes seven weeks, after which the dog should have a clear idea of what scent discrimination is all about. The video commences with a lengthy introduction explaining some of the concepts used. The most important of these concepts is that of the clock itself. By systematically placing the scented articles on different positions on the clock throughout the learning process, the dog theoretically learns to work both the inside and the outside of the pile.

Before discussing the individual weeks in detail, Ms. DeMello presents what she terms the "show, scent and tell guidance system", which is designed to combat problems that might crop up during the learning process. She explains, for example, what to do if the dog picks up the wrong article at any time, if the dog fails to pick up an article, or if the dog puts down the scented article on his way back to you and returns to check the pile once again. Armed with this information, we are finally ready to start the course itself.
At the end of the video, Ms. DeMello reviews certain key points that she wishes to emphasize. Nearly every possible problem in the teaching of scent discrimination is thus covered, along with suggested solutions.

This video should be watched once before the course of training commences. I have absolutely no complaints about this video as a teaching tool; it is extraordinarily valuable. This woman is funny--Saturday Night live funny, David Letterman funny. If some of that humor could have been injected in the tape, viewing it would be less of a chore. But it probably couldn't have been done without losing some of the thoroughness of the video. I'd rather spend money to be informed than to be entertained.