Nosework (4/3)

Class tonight was great as usual.  The first hide was a threshold hide and Joyce wanted us to keep them on leash and keep them in the vicinity until they found it.  Tonight Gimme was very interested in the food kept right there too.  So Joyce went and just stood blocking her access, but that also put her really close to where the hide was - adding social pressure.  Gimme certainly isn't concerned by her presence, but adding it to the restriction of being kept in the area when she wanted to explore just seemed to annoy her.  It took her a long time to find it.  She did better on the next two hides when I wasn't restricting her, even though she was still on lead. 

The Empress of the Cosmos

does not like being interfered with.

Imagine that! 

This video is from the last session, with another threshold hide.  This time we let her go for it off lead and she found it in 16 seconds.  And that included a 6 second delay while she sniffed a bone on the floor behind the plastic container.

Her next hide was great.  I had it videoed, but sadly messed up and ruined it before I got it saved.  One of the first things Gimme did was go over and step on a message board that was leaning on a plastic milk jug, crashing it to the floor.  After a momentary startle, she was right back at it, checking it out - trying to see if it would make noise again.  Everyone was commenting about Little Miss Fearless.

For that hide, there was a line of chairs down the center of the room and the tin was on a back leg.  Because of the way scent was traveling tonight, the dogs were catching the scent from the front of the chairs.  All the other dogs found it, but then had to puzzle through how to get to the actual odor.  Not Gimme - she just kept pushing until things moved enough and she got to it.  I about half expected her to send those chairs flying.

This video is of our buddy Grafton.  He's a really sweet Boxer mix that was in pet classes the same time Gimme was.  He's always been a very soft, shy guy - though he loves his Auntie Carla, cuz she's The Cheese Lady.  He has really come out of his shell and gained a lot of confidence from nosework.  Grafton and Gimme have some play dates scheduled and I'm looking forward to expanding her circle of friends.

This weekend (Sunday) is the Odor Recognition Test (ORT).  I fully expect that Gimme will do a stellar job.  I've just discovered that there are no Dalmatians listed on the titles list for nosework.  So, with a little luck and a fabulous nose, Gimme could be the first one.  Do feel free to cross any body parts you can spare.