We got soooo close to titling, but there was an unusual distraction in the vehicle element that tripped us up (along with most of the dogs). Out of 33 entrants - only 3 titled today. Here's our blow by blow:
Interior Element
Gimme did a very nice job. 1:40.53 for two hides in the first room and 16.56 seconds for one hide in the second room. Our total for the element was 1:57.09 and we were awarded a Pronounced rating. The judge's written comments were, "Blew past threshold hide! Great search!"
After we'd completed the element, she talked to me and said how much she loved Gimme's enthusiasm. She also asked why I let her go off lead from the doorway and didn't try to keep her near the door for a possible threshold hide (which was the case). I explained that Gimme was already a bit frustrated by all the waiting (three stops and waiting for several minutes each, before getting to search [they move you from station to station - to keep things moving and the dogs separated]) and that its a problem for her so I didn't want to risk getting her too frustrated to work.
She then said her initial thought when she saw me cut her loose, followed by Gimme blasting into the room was, "what is she thinking?" But after watching Gimme search and how jazzed she was for the second interior after getting the freedom to do it her way in the first room, she said it was clear that I know my dog best. She also complimented my handling - all off lead and how I moved about the room, always where I could see, but not crowding or pushing or drawing her away. She called it lovely teamwork. I can live with those kinds of comments, eh.
BTW it turns out there was an open bag of Fritos in one of the desks and many dogs were distracted by it, causing multiple false alerts. Gimme never seemed to notice it and she loves chips of all kinds. I was surprised by that, since the rules say that they will only challenge with distractions in the container search. However, lesson learned, they also use the area as they find it and don't make any special effort to remove distractions.
Another BTW, in the debrief afterwards, the certifying official said that the majority of dogs who miss a threshold hide on the way in, do not get back to it and qualify. That hasn't been the case for us - Gimme is good about going back to check out the area. Still note to self - do more threshold work.
Vehicle Element
We were not so lucky in the vehicle search - which is normally very strong for us. Gimme found the first hide very quickly, but then got really hung up on the tires down the right side of the jeep. She was fixated with both right side tires, even licking the top of one. She also searched up and down that side and the front, paid a lot of attention to the front of the running board (where the second hide actually was), but never settled or indicated. So we timed out.
The judge's written comments were, "Dog went right into source and gave a very good alert on 1st hide. Dog very distracted on odor on tires of Blue Toyota. Dog walked away from 2nd hide on Blue Toyota after putting nose on it several times. Good leash work and handling."
In the debrief, it was discussed that most dogs had the same problem. From where the judge and gallery sat, he said you could see the dogs get on those tires and then their eyes would practically roll back in their heads and they'd just lose all focus. Apparently one of the male dogs did that teeth chattering thing and several of them licked the tires like Gimme did. There is supposition that the owner may have driven through some roadkill or other unusually powerful smell.
In hindsight... I think I could have done a couple things different. When they called 30 seconds, I could have taken Gimme out of the search area for a few seconds to clear her head and then taken her back. The other thing is that I could have repeated the search cue "wherezit" or "show me" and that might have broken through the fog for her. In any case, I'll be looking for an opportunity to collect some roadkill, coyote dung, deer poop and etc... for our stash of distractions. I'll also see about getting some dirty litter from my friends with small kids and caged pets (gerbils and rabbits). You just never know what you'll find in my freezer.
Exterior Element
This search area was half of a jungle gym (wood piles and plastic/steel poles) on wood chips. It wasn't a very large area, but a lot of things to get your line stuck on. By the time I got to the start line, Gimme was raring to go, so I let her. She shot straight forward, one sniff of a piling, stood up to her full height against it, sniff two and paw whack. No way I believed it was that simple and almost didn't call it, but decided to and she was right. One hide in 5.19 seconds! (first place went to a dog in 4.09 seconds)
The judge's written comment was, "Woooo Hooo!" We got another Pronounced and a pretty 2nd place ribbon. I admitted to the judge that I almost didn't call it and she said I would have had a LOT of company, since at least two-thirds of the dogs went straight to it and most of their handlers ignored their initial alerts.
Container Element
25 containers of all sorts including three nosework boxes, paint cans (unused with holes in the top), luggage, gym bags, plastic and wood containers - really everything, set up on a gym floor. Gimme did a great job finding both hides in 1:22.02, including time to try to fake me out on one of the food distractions.
The judge's written comments were, "Dog gave aggressive indications on a box next to hide, then gave aggressive alert to the hide." After all was said and done, I went back in to find out what and where the food distractions were and in particular what was in the paint tin (scrambled eggs). Several people said they were completely unable to discern why I ignored her indication on the distraction and yet knew to accept her alert on the real deal.
After I explained what I waited on - sniffing, sticking, pawing and looking (versus sniffing, sticking and pawing)... I got a lot of comments about how well I knew her and how nicely we work together, along with how driven, enthusiastic and confident Gimme is. It occurs to me that the people who asked didn't have access to her score sheet, where the Final Response description I'd given was - 1-multiple nose touch, 2-pawing, 3-impatient look at handler. That's m'girl...
So now I have to get busy and find another trial to enter. I just know she'll get it next time around. Even though we didn't title today - I still feel verrrrrry good about how the day went.
This is nosework stuff is fun when you work with a canine genius who also happens to be Empress of the Cosmos...
3 comments:
Darn! The level of difficulty goes way up between NW1 and 2, it seems, though. Looking at that trial's results versus mine... Those times shoot way up!
Way to go with the Fritos! I can't wait to start introducing food on purpose... I just know it's gonna give us so much trouble, haha.
You should be really proud that you were a) pronounced twice; and, b) can explain and read Gimme so well! Having so many types of alerts be present takes quite a bit of a practiced eye, so much that I really don't trust it most of the time. Instead, I'm insanely obsessive about getting Elli's trained response - I did very little pairing to get there and it paid off hugely at our trial. I really had to trust it when she was "behavior changing" all over the boxes (due to sweeping odor caused by a refrigeration device thingy near the start line) and a weird cloud of odor circulating at the opposite end of the table during interior. I very nearly called Alert on that one but I really had to trust that she'd give that trained indication when she found source. And she did. :)
I think it goes up quite a bit, but not as much as you'd think. I've heard it said that at NW1 - success is 95% the dog's responsibility; at NW2 its 50/50 dog and handler; and at NW3 its 90% handler. So the aspect of distraction is harder for the dog, but everything else is a jump just for the handler.
I didn't think the times were that much higher - especially when you consider that the dogs are sourcing twice as many hides most of the time. Consider that over 4 elements, Gimme had to find 9 hides. At NW1, it'll always be only 4 hides total.
I was pleased that she completely ignored the Fritos. I don't think the food distraction is THAT hard for the dogs... but it does take a little time to get the message across. Some people get lucky and their dogs go on to ignore food distractions... the rest of us have to learn to read our dogs and tell the difference.
I was happy to get 2 Pronounced - we got 3 Pronounced for her NW1.
I think the biggest thing on seeing your dog's behavior is just practice. Joyce admits she doesn't see it as well as she needs to. Sometimes I think my years in conformation has taught me to notice subtle differences in how a dog is moving.
I try to have our runs videotaped as often as possible. Then you can really study it frame by frame. Once you see something there, most of the time you can start seeing it in real time. However, having said that... I still can't catch Gimme's subtle nose-tilt in real time, though I do catch the drive-by-sniffs now.
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