Balto/Air Scent

Air Scent

The Air Scent exercise editor

Air Scent is a discipline where the dog locates live subjects by detecting airborne human scent. Balto's Air Scent exercise log captures the setup details, working times for up to two subjects, and the results of the exercise.

Starting an Air Scent Exercise

If you haven't already started a Mission, follow these steps.

1. From the Welcome page, press and hold the begin training button to start a new mission
2. Configure the mission details (date, location, DR number) and tap Start a new task
3. On the Exercise Configuration screen, select Air Scent as the training type
4. Tap Set Task Details to begin the exercise

Otherwise, you'll be skipping steps 1 and 2.

The Air Scent exercise has three sections that scroll vertically: Setup (Config), Event Log (Logger), and Review.

Event Log Section

This section captures the start time and find times during the exercise.

K9 Start

Press and hold the large Set K9 Start Time and Start Working Timers button to begin the exercise. This:

• Records the time the dog began working
• Starts the working time counters for both subjects
• Displays the K9 Start time below the button

The press-and-hold action prevents accidental starts. A visual progress indicator shows the hold duration, and haptic feedback confirms the start.

Subject 1

Select the outcome from the dropdown:

• Negative Area — No subject was found in the area (default if no subject was placed)
• Subject Found — The dog located the subject
• Subject Not Found — The dog did not locate the placed subject

When Subject Found is selected, tap the time display below to record the time of the find. The working time counter shows the elapsed time from K9 Start to the find.

Subject 2

If a second subject is part of the exercise, select the outcome from the dropdown:

• No second subject — Only one subject in this exercise
• Subject Found — The dog located the second subject
• Subject Not Found — The dog did not locate the second subject

When Subject Found is selected, tap the time display to record the time of the find.

Setup Section

This section captures the configuration of the exercise.

Activity

Select the type of activity:

• Known — Handler knows the subject location(s)
• Blind — Handler does not know the subject location(s)
• Runaway — Subject(s) run away from the dog/handler before searching
• Ranging — Dog works at a distance from the handler
• Other — Any other activity type
• Area/HRD — Combined air scent and HRD exercise

Area Size/Length

Enter the approximate size of the search area. Use the spinning wheel control to quickly adjust the value, or tap the text field to enter a specific value.

Select the appropriate units from the dropdown:

• acres (max 200)
• meters (max 1000) — for linear search areas
• sq. feet (max 10,000)
• sq. meters (max 10,000)
• miles (max 20) — for linear search areas

Subject 1

Enter the name of the first subject (or training assistant) in the subject name field.

Check the Moving checkbox if the subject is walking or moving during the exercise rather than stationary.

In the Time placed field, enter the time when the subject was placed at their location in HH:MM format, or tap the Now button to use the current time.

Subject 2

If a second subject is part of the exercise, fill in the same fields for Subject 2. If only one subject is being used, leave Subject 2 blank.

Review Section

This section captures the performance rating and notes.

Subject 1 Rating

Select a rating from N/A through 0-10 to assess the dog's performance for Subject 1.

Subject 1 TFR

Select TFR Unprompted (dog gave the trained final response on their own) or TFR Prompted (dog responded after handler cue).

Subject 1 False Alert

Check if the dog gave a false alert for Subject 1.

Subject 2 Rating, TFR, and False Alert

If a second subject was part of the exercise, fill in the same fields for Subject 2.

Notes

Free-form text area for activity notes and remediation plan.

Finishing the Exercise

When you're done recording the exercise:

1. Scroll to the bottom of the screen
2. Tap Finish & save exercise
3. The exercise will be saved and you'll return to the mission

If the working timer is still running when you tap Finish or the back button, a dialog will block the action and auto-dismiss after 5 seconds. Stop the timer first before finishing.

Tips

• Use realistic Time Placed values so the working time calculations reflect actual scent age
• The Moving checkbox is important — a moving subject creates a different scent picture than a stationary one
• For training, recording the exact find time helps track improvement over multiple sessions
• The press-and-hold start button prevents accidental timer starts when handling your phone
• To prevent accidental cancelling of the timer, you will need to specifically stop the time before finishing or cancelling the exercise