About That Match

With the help of friends, I've been able to convert and then edit the video from our match.  I edited it into four separate videos, one for each search: vehicle, container, exterior and interior.

For starters, I don't "miss" her indications entirely, rather I need her to persist.  The goal is that she has the courage of her convictions and insists that I pay up right then and there.  We have to call "alert" to stop the clock and once we call it, there is no going back.  If I call it and was premature - then we've just NQ'd for the whole trial, because we have to pass all four searches on the same day to qualify.  So since I don't know where the hide is, I'm more cautious.  Is she sure it's there or is she catching fringe scent (scent that drifts and pools because of air currents - like what happened at the ORT) and still sorting it out?  It was my premature "alert" call that failed that second ORT for us.

I did notice as the day went on, that she was getting more persistent in the early indications.  The one on the chair during the interior search (last of the day) was really the best first indicator as far as persistence.  On the vehicle search (first of the day) she didn't do any detailing the first time she paid attention to the place where the scent was - even the judge agreed. 

I think that because in class I always know where the hides are and Joyce is always pushing us to get in there and feed at source IMMEDIATELY, Gimme is at this place where she thinks if I don't rush in to reward her - that it must not be right and she should look some more.  That is why I think its so important to encourage a strong indication and I really don't understand why they are so against that in nosework.  I should ask on the yahoo group why that is... there doesn't seem to be a bias against teaching a strong indication early in tracking training.  I sure don't want to push Gimme to the point where she gets insecure about her talent, but I think she needs more challenge than she is getting. 

I've always thought her tail wagged faster when she was in odor, but that didn't seem as clear in these searches.  It was very obvious in the video we did in her first field trip to Home Depot.  If any of you see something that is indicative of when she really has it vs. when she is just spending time on an area - then do tell me.  It won't hurt my pride if you find some tell that I've missed.

Vehicle - She paid attention to the correct spot the first time for 2 seconds, the second time she did a drive by sniff, the third time she stuck her head further in... She also spent the same amount of time (2 seconds) on the rear bumper of the blue car, the bicycle, and the front bumper of the blue car.  BTW notice the judge tilts her head and upper body when Gimme was sniffing in the grass, soooo wanting us to get back into the search area - kinda like opening your mouth when you spoon feed a baby.  This judge, Cindy, runs a delightful Bulldog who is getting ready to compete for NW3 - amazing...  Also you may notice that right after I get her out of the grass, she still seems to be distracted in that direction - its not as clear in the video's audio, but there was a bunch of geese somewhere in that direction honking and making noise.

Container - She's always really good on containers... and after she gave up on the lunchroom had this one in eleven seconds.  She either pushes them with her nose or skis across the room on them - which is why we failed the ORT the first time, since she didn't do either and only did a drive-by indication.  BTW Gimme was THE FIRST dog of the day - you'll note they closed the door to the lunchroom after her search, the lady that closed the door is Joyce, our instructor.  Another cool thing to know is - often dogs get "help" finding odor by the scent of all the previous dogs having gone through and so in classes we rotate who goes first in each set of hides.  Thus, it was nice to see that Gimme was so competent -- that's my girl, the nose that knows.
 

Exterior - Her first indication was three seconds, second was a drive-by (nose tilt) and final was again quick, but more pointed.  You'll notice the last time she put her shoulders under there to indicate it, instead of just sticking her head under to sniff at it.  She did two other prolonged notices of a specific area of two seconds each.  I was very pleased that Gimme worked so well, especially since people unintentionally came out of the building walking right into the beginning of our search, making noise and talking.  The talking you hear on the video after the initial part isn't as bad as it sounds, since they were standing right next to Dave who was taking the video.

Interior - She paid attention for four seconds the first time but didn't persist and based on what she did, I would not have been able to tell the judge where under the chair the hide was (center back edge).  Her indication for "real" wasn't as long... but it was more "pointed".  Do note that Gimme did not forget about the lunchroom, even though it was three hours later, the door was shut and they put a divider in her way...  Also, if you watch carefully, right after she smooched the camera, there was a blurry spot that follows her around the room - having left a nose print on the lens. <g>