Great Nosework Match

Saturday was our nosework match and it was a great experience and very successful.  It was set up just like a nosework trial would be and after our runs in the morning, I stayed to work for the NW2 folks in the afternoon. 

Gimme ran true to form and squirted off to check out a distraction on the vehicle search.  I gently reeled her back in and then she went to work.  She did pay a bit of attention to one wheel well and then was off to go around the vehicles again.  I kinda thought that might be where the odor was and she did come back to it.  Our time was about 1:45.

Then we went straight to a container search inside the building.  Gimme was very interested in the room we would be exiting through (which was also serving as a lunchroom for the workers), sniffing repeatedly at the door and wanting to go there.  I had to reel her back twice before she got to work, finding the hide in 24.29 seconds.  Again she found the box, kind of checked it out and then goes on, coming back to it later (this will be a consistent behavior in all her searches).  With less distraction she would have been much faster, obviously, but it was still a good time.

Late morning she had her exterior and interior searches.  She did a good job on the exterior search and found odor in about a minute and a half.  The interior search was again close to 1:45 on time.  Both times she found and then bypassed the odor to come back to it later.  Keep in mind, these were all blind hides for me, so I don't want to react prematurely to a weak indication.

I opted to have my runs taped and will get the tapes later this week.  I want to study them and see if I can learn to read her better.  Joyce asked me to forward them to her and she'll upload them to her laptop and we'll use them for discussion in class.  I do sometimes notice in class that Gimme's tail wags a bit faster when she is in odor and finds source, but I confess it is hard for me to "see" in real time.  I'll be getting the files for her runs on Thursday, so will probably get them edited and uploaded that evening.

Watching the NW2 dogs was very interesting.  Some unusual and some great things.  There are a number of people who are distracting their dogs with their efforts to be helpful - one person totally micro-managed her dog and he didn't find hardly any of the hides.  A lot of people have problems reading their dogs - I resemble that remark.  Afterward, we set up for NW3 and got to watch Joyce run her 15 year old dog and then Cindy ran her Bulldog.  That was quite interesting.  At that level you also have to call clear when you are sure you've found all the hides - so that's interesting. 

Sunday I spent the whole day with my parents - went over the night before, right from the match.  We had two big goals.  First was to get their truck and drive to my house and break down and load up all the aged cedar I'd gotten from my neighbor who is replacing his fence.  It'll be wonderful stuff to start fires with (my parents' heat with a wood stove).  Getting the panels cut up was taking forever until Damien (a young man from across the street) came over to help.  He only had 20 minutes to devote to us, but showed me that just breaking them apart was much faster than trying to cut them.  We got 3/4 of the wood loaded in the truck (taking twice as long as I'd estimated) and then drove the hour back to my parents' and sorted it as we unloaded.  Some of it will need to be pre-cut before they can use it, which I'll get there and do.  We staged the ready to burn stuff near the house.  Much of this wood has nails and staples still in it, so any cutting of it requires someone be alert to that - something I don't want my father to be doing. 

After that we got the riding mower in the truck.  The advice from Home Depot proved to be correct and we were able to move the mower more easily with the gearbox disengaged.  I decided to use the tractor to push the mower up the ramp into the truck; it hung up right at the top of the ramp.  At that point, we backed the tractor off and then Mom and I lifted the ramp boards off the ground enough for Dad to get the tractor bucket under the ends - which he then lifted up and the mower rolled right into the truck bed.  Haven't quite figured out how we'll get the mower out of the truck once it is fixed, but I am sure the tractor will be a featured player. 

Last night was our last rally class for awhile - until Fall.  Gimme graduated again and for our judged run through had the highest score of the class, a 95.  I think that is far too generous. 

Today we were going to go to the fort, but the rain arrived just as I would have been going out there.  During the "winter" I don't mind walking in the rain, but when its "spring" I just have a strong objection to it.  Can't explain it, it just is what it is.

So we went to Home Depot to do a search.  Gimme did pretty darn good.  I set up the first odor just outside the door, then two down the electrical aisle.  Gimme kept finding the odor on the way in, but was distracted by the automatic doors opening/closing over and over.  When we moved inside, I found someone had moved a pallet full of some lawn stuff with a strong chemical smell right to the beginning of the aisle.  That was close to where our hide was.  Gimme caught the odor, but just couldn't find it.  So we went down the aisle and found the other hide - despite there being three men standing around it.  On the way back up the aisle, Gimme was able to get to the source on that hide, despite the nasty chemical smell.  Bless her little spotted nose.  On the way outside, she got in the odor and was again distracted by the automatic door.  I let her smell around and when she got back into it, as soon as the door opened, I stood in it, keeping it open until she was able to get to source. 

We came directly home from that and she's been sound asleep ever since.  Seriously, as fun as it is for the doggies - scent work is hard work. 

Next Sunday is our next ORT attempt, so keep your fingers and paws crossed for us.