Nosework (5/2) & Match

Gimme continues to do superbly in class - she really is good at this and totally loves doing it.  When I was getting so excited about us doing one of our hides with just just the odor, i.e. not paired with food, our instructor asked why I was so excited about it since Gimme had already done one last week.  Here we had a milestone moment and I missed it entirely.  So, we did our first unpaired hide a week ahead of our classmates - not that I'm competitive or anything.

Today we drove 2:10 to Gresham, Oregon, for a nosework match that would simulate a Nosework Test.  I wanted to do this to get Gimme ready for the upcoming ORT.  The dogs have to pass an ORT for each level before they can enter a trial - much like they do in tracking.  I started the day off exhausted, even though I went to bed early.  Meaggi got up and very restless about 3:00 a.m. and I just never got any restful sleep after that.  So now am very tired and running solely on excitement.

First I have to tell you it was very cold... mostly because the wind was unbelievable.  I checked on line and it reached 29mph today.  So while the temps were actually at 43/44 degrees, with wind chill it was more like 32-34 degrees.  Half our our elements were outside and I worked a lot of classes so I could really watch what was going on and learn from the experience.  I'm still cold.

Joyce told me during class to make sure I knew where all her hides were during the match and to ask the judge to pair them with food before we started.  During the walk through when I asked how to work getting the judge to pair the food so that Gimme wouldn't see it happen, she said "awww don't worry about it, Gimme doesn't need it.  And indeed, that proved to be true.

Our first hide was the interior element.  The building is a training building, has a groomer's area and bath stations where people can come wash their dogs.  Plus they had a lot of food, treats, toys and training stuff everywhere for sale.  Gimme found all that stuff very distracting and so she ran out of time before she found her odor.  However, when we got away from all the distracting stuff, she did find it and very quickly.  I'll be buying her a bag of kibl and breaking it out into paper bags to set out when we are practicing.  I'll have to do the same thing with other distractions between now and her test.   Later on when I worked the class and watched the level II dogs work in this same area - they had similar problems and had it been an actual trial only two of them would have passed.

Our second hide was the vehicle element.  When we searched a vehicle in class, it was only one vehicle and indoors with no real distractions.  For this element, Gimme had to find the odor on one of three vehicles with those 29mph winds.  She was distracted a lot, but did find it and within the allotted time (3 minutes).  Woohoo!

Our third hide was an exterior area element - again with the 29mph winds.  Gimme eliminated herself by peeing on the grass, but Joyce let us continue searching for the experience.  She was able to find the odor in a real tough spot.  Later on I saw a lot of the level II dogs have real difficulty with that same hide location (they have two odors to find).  I'd had Gimme out twice to pee before that, but I think she was too distracted by the presence of other dogs.  So lesson learned that if need be I'll have to walk out of the property and down the street so she can take care of business.

Our fourth and final hide was an interior container element.  Gimme sniffed one box and then drove off to the side toward something that caught her attention.  I thought we weren't going to do well.  On her way to the "thing" she caught a whiff of the odor and turned on a thin dime.  She sniffed two boxes quickly and the third one was it - she was all around that box and very persistent.  I called "alert" and we had it. 

Gimme got that hide in 9 seconds!  The fastest container find of the day - both levels!!!  Of course I can't help but point out (Joyce bragged on her first) that Gimme was the youngest dog there and with the least training, having only been on odor for four classes.  Everyone was suitably impressed, as they should be.

I learned a lot.  First I LOOOOOOVVVE my new Biothane line.  I bought myself three of them for Christmas (6, 25 and 40 foot lengths).  I used the 25 foot one for the match.  Its a bit long for what we need, but its so easy to handle and so comfortable to grip that it wasn't a problem, once I worked out how to coil it so I could let it out and take it up readily.  It was well worth the cost and I'm sure Gimme and me deserve it.  One of the judges even complimented me on my line handling and handling in general, going on to say that she sees a lot of level II and level III people that don't handle their dogs and/or their lines as well as I was doing.  So that was very nice.

As I said, we'll have to work with more distractions so that Gimme learns that "shopping" doesn't pay.  I can't pull her off the stuff, because its conceivable that the odor could be tucked in among the distracting things or attached to the shelving.  She just needs to experience more distractions so she can be successful at ignoring the enticement and finding the source.

I saw a lot of people pulling their dogs off the odor.  The level I people did it a lot and I was just sure the level II people wouldn't have that problem.  Not so.  This seemed to happen for three reasons: 

• Often the handler wasn't reading their dog and didn't know when the dog was truly working the odor, so they'd move away too soon and the dog would go with them.  The opposite problem of crowding the dog when they are working has the same effect, since the dog is pushed off the odor.
• Sometimes the dog would give a very quick indication and when the handler didnt' recognize and support it, then the dog would move on.
• There were also instances of sloppy line handling.  Some handlers had very long lines and didn't use the available length, so the dogs were getting unintended corrections.  Others had just 6 foot leashes and that's just not enough when a dog is moving fast.

I plan to do a lot more on line searches in class.  Today I did them all on line, though I could have done one off, and the other three were required to be on line.  So it makes sense to practice my line handling.

We can pause for up to ten seconds before crossing the start line so the dog has a chance to catch the scent, so Joyce encourages us to do that.  Gimme wants to go, but has learned to not pull too hard there.  But, when I give her the "where-zit" cue, she just flies.  That's great if she has caught the scent and certainly I can't help but love her enthusiasm.  However, it will create problems if she didn't catch the scent and the hide is near the threshold - since we could easily be past it and she might not get back there on her own.  I'll have to remember if she doesn't find the odor elsewhere to encourage her back near the threshold in case she missed it.  They give us a thirty second warning - so that'll be my cue to get her back near the threshold if she isn't actively working a spot. 

The other thing we'll need to work on is her indications.  Right now she just acts persistent.  Before she gets to higher levels she will need a more formal indication.  So I'll be asking Joyce more about that.

Overall it was a great learning experience for both of us.  I was very pleased with how Gimme did in her first strange location.  I'll have to take her on some nosework field trips.  I'm happy to have this sport for her to work in while she continues growing up and getting through her reactivity issues  - it'll help me to have this to do so I don't push her too much.  And naturally, she'll certainly enjoy herself - she loves to use her nose.