K9 Nosework Anyone?

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
DAWG, JACKIE !! YOUR DOGS ARE SOOOOOOOOO GORGEOUS!! As often as you are on DTA, and as much of a pillar of DTA that you are,
i've rarely had a good chance to see your dogs up close like this! SO ADORABLE!!! LOVE IT!! MORE MORE!
 

jackienmutts

Honored Member
It's hard to remember back, but I'm going to guess - maybe about 6 mos or so after adoption, that she started acting a bit unsure out on walks, like hmmm, to bark or not to bark, that is the question? And I'd notice, she'd bark, then look at Sherman to see what he was doing - and of course, he was like walking a stuffed animal. :love: I had never had a reactive dog like her - my old girl Heidi used to bark sometimes on walks, but she was great around other dogs, could go to dog parks, etc. She just sometimes felt the need to mouth off. :rolleyes: Her old trainer used to joke that next to "alpha bi*ch" (cleaned up for those who don't like the word) in the world's dog training manual would be a picture of Heidi. :ROFLMAO: I wish I knew as much then as I know now - I could have probably spotted much much more. Oh, how much we learn when we take a crash course, huh?
 

jackienmutts

Honored Member
I'll go post my most fav pic of Makena and Alf on the photo section - I have one I LOVE and have as my desktop. I don't know why I don't post more pics, I take LOADS and LOVE seeing everyone else's. I guess I run out of time and always think ... tomorrow.....:)
 

southerngirl

Honored Member
I do nosework with Missy at home. I have her find toys and I cheat when I play manhunt with my brothers I have Missy find them:sneaky:. It's lot's of fun and she really likes it. I'm going to look into Nose work around were I live I doubt I'll be able to do it this year, but maybe next it sounds like fun and would be great for Missy who could probably never do a sport with a lot of dogs around with her off leash.
 

jackienmutts

Honored Member
We had our NW2 (level 2 of Nosework) trial yesterday. We had a great day, altho didn't come home with a title. A little disappointing, but def not disappointed in my girl. She did a great job and I'm very proud of her. She did a great job on Containers (1 hide), Vehicles (1 hide), Interior (2 rooms, 3 hides) ... and our trouble was with the Exterior (2 hides). She alerted a few inches from source on one, which was sadly incorrect :oops: - but found the other one.:) So - we basically missed our title by a few inches.:confused: I can't complain, she worked hard, did a fabulous job - and we'll go back to work on fine-tuning our sourcing (altho on any given day, she'd have gotten the very one she missed). Altho yes, disappointed that we didn't get a title, I'm really happy with the job she (we) did - and feeling actually pretty good about the day. We had fun, met some really fabulous people (as always), and of course, always learn things. So we may not have that elusive ribbon, but we'll get it next time (I hope) and keep having fun in the meantime.

The one she missed on the exterior was under a picnic table/bench in a sidewalk crack (the bench being over top of the crack). She alerted a few inches above, sort of on the leg, and in my mind I was doubtful she was correct - but I backed up and asked her to check again, she got back to work, and again, alerted at the same place. Hmmm. So I started to walk away, she moved a little way, moved her head a little, sniffed around, and went back to the same place, alerted again, and looked at me like "how many times do I have tell you, it's right here" - so I had to call it (thinking, knowing them, they could have rubbed oil on the leg, for all I knew ... altho I was still a bit doubtful). I was disappointed, but not surprised when the judge said no. The judge had me bring her a foot or two over so she could "find it herself" from a different angle and be rewarded - nope, she went right back to where she was, and alerted at the same place again. Again, I moved her - again, she went right back to where she was, and alerted in the same place. Sheesh, whatcha gonna do?? So - I rewarded her where I was told to (even tho Makena said no, that's not where it was -- I told Makena ya can't argue with the judge in a trial, we all laughed. :rolleyes::LOL:). She went on to find the second hide very quickly - it didn't count, but I was glad she was allowed to search, and she did a fabulous job, sourcing it very quickly, it was in a locker.

The Interior hides were in two classrooms, one was a threshhold hide, in the baseboard right as you walked in - she got that fairly easily. Whew! In the second room, one was in a file cabinet, the other in .. am blanking, but I think another baseboard on the opposite side of the room. Lots of desks, etc - but she worked the room very well. :D

She worked the containers really well - there was only one hide, but with distractors of course (some kind of cheesy bread or something in one, and I forgot what the other food distractor was in another one), and a smelly tug toy in another container. There were 20 containers, most of the containers are luggage type (suit cases, tote bags, backpacks, etc), and a few plastic boxes. She worked those quickly and accurately. :D

Vehicles were the last element, and she was so hot she almost didn't want to work anymore - it was in the wheel well of a truck, and when we came around and she stuck her head up in it, pulled it out, looked at me, stuck that head in again and looked at me again, it was almost like she said "yep, call it, we're done" . I did call it - and I had never been so happy to hear a judge say YES! :D Makena looked so happy, as was I.

Overall, I was really happy with the job she did, and we'll just keep fine-tuning so hopefully we'll be able to bring home that title next time. It was ~90 degrees and she was feeling the heat, too - but worked thru it, and did a great job. Her times weren't real fast, but she's a methodical worker, not a speedy gonsalez, so I looked at times posted last night, and she was pretty much right in the middle, not real fast, but not slow - just middle (if she didn't have to do her perimeter checks, she'd take off a little time :LOL: - but I give that to her). So, I'm going to give her a few days off, no nosework til class on Wed, she's def earned a little R & R (and so have I) -- then back to work. I'm really proud of my girl and us as a team!!! :love:

 

jackienmutts

Honored Member
We had a blast, and I couldn't have been more proud of her. :love: She worked so hard, esp in all that dreadful heat. I feel sad for people who can't still enjoy their day and/or their dogs when things don't go quite right at competitive trials. That's the one thing I love so much about Nosework - everyone is cheering for everyone else, and if things don't quite go your way, you're still cheering for everyone else around you, hoping their day does! So we missed one hide, literally by a few inches, but she was spot-on for all the rest (and so close to the one she missed, not like she had no clue) -- which to me, means we're working well together and know what we're doing. So - we're going to work on cracks more now :ROFLMAO: and hopefully we'll bring home that darn ribbon next time! :LOL::cool:
 

KatieMarie

Active Member
I started SAR classes with Kricket and she was doing amazing. Three classes and she tracked a "lost" person over a 1.5 mile trail. The group took a break and became very disorganized, so needless to say, we can no longer attend.

I would love to do Nosework classes with her, but can't find any remotely close to me.
 

jackienmutts

Honored Member
I checked on the NACSW (Natl Assoc of Canine Scent Work) site - here are the Cert'd Nosework Instructors in Florida - not sure if any are close to you, but figured it might be a start.

Associate and Certified Nose Work Instructors in: FL





Clearwater
Name: Ann Waterbury, CNWI
Certification Date: Mar 1, 2012
City, State: Clearwater, FL
Status: Current
Business Name: New Dawn Animal Behavior Center
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 7274151567
Website: www.newdawnabc.com
Cities where group classes are held: Clearwater





Gainesville
Name: Melanie Phillpot, CPDT-KA, CNWI, CNWI
Certification Date: Apr 1, 2012
City, State: Gainesville, FL
Status: Current
Business Name: Eager Pup, LLC Positive Training For You And Your Pet Dog
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 352-871-5698
Website: EagerPup.Com
Cities where group classes are held: Gainesville, Melrose and neighboring communities





Polk City
Name: Mindy Longcor, CNWI
Certification Date: Mar 1, 2012
City, State: Polk City, FL
Status: Current
Business Name: Sport K9, LLC
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 863-602-9709
Website: www.sportk-9supplies.com
Cities where group classes are held: Tampa area, Orlando area, and Polk County
 

RowdyDogs

Member
I know this is a really old thread, but I thought I'd bump it back up since I'm getting involved in nosework. Is anyone on here still doing it?

I have a GSD that was in training for SAR, but he wasn't progressing well enough to stay on the team. He's excellent at the scent work parts, but unfortunately he missed out on a lot of early socialization and so has a tendency to shut down under pressure--which isn't ideal in a life-or-death situation. ;) So now I have my new SAR dog, but I'm doing nosework with the GSD so he still has a job. :) We're just barely getting started, but he's actually really far along because of the SAR training. He understood that now he's looking for those specific scents rather than people very quickly.

I've also started doing it just for fun with two of my old retired herding dogs, and they're taking a little longer to figure out the game (we've never done any scent work before), but they love doing it. It's a lot of fun!
 

jackienmutts

Honored Member
Hi RowdyDogs, I'm still doing Nosework, have been for almost 3 yrs now. I do it competitively with my girl (the lighter GS lying down on the right), and just for fun with my boy (the darker one on the left). We've got our NW1 and are working on toward our NW2 title (we've trialed, but missed it). Next weekend, I'm volunteering for 3 days (Fri-Sat-Sun) at Nosework trials being held in my area. It's always so fun to volunteer cuz you learn SO much just watching the dog/handler teams. It's so fun knowing someone else on the forum is also involved in Nosework, it will be fun having someone to talk to! :cool:

Too bad your boy wasn't able to complete SAR, but Nosework is so much fun - he'll love it! It's fun for both of you, and your older guys will love it too, once they get into it. You may find he really develops his confidence thru Nosework - it's helped so many dogs in ways one would never imagine. Most of all, just have fun, and you know the first rule .... trust your dog!! :D
 

648117

Honored Member
I don't think there are any Nosework classes where I live, it seems pretty new in NZ, but it is definitly something I would like to do when Holly is older and we have done all we can in agility and obedience.
I'm also thinking about teaching Lewis some nosework at home to boost his confidence (he has issues), I tried to start him on scent cloths (Holly is learning this for obedience) but he didn't really have the confidence. I just put out one cloth with a treat under it but he could not figure out to look under it even after I showed him the treat multiple times. Nosework uses boxes, right? maybe that would be easier for Lewis if I start him with just a shoe box lid so it's easy.
 

jackienmutts

Honored Member
Excellent!! So glad you're going to do Nosework with Rory. Do be sure you're going to do it with a certified instructor - I'm also on another forum, and someone took a class from someone who's not certified, said it was "Nosework", it was more of a class run by a trainer who was into police detection dogs and the "alpha/dominance theory baggage" that comes with that, her dog shut down, and it was a disaster. She's now in a "real" Nosework class, from a certified instructor, and both she and her dog are loving it! It will really help Rory learn to focus, and give him a job! You'll LOVE it, keep me posted!!

Here are some Nosework statistics that were just sent out tonight from the NACSW, I thought they were pretty interesting, the sport is really growing:

Just a few statistics for those of you who like numbers! It's fun to periodically review how quickly we are growing. I can't believe how far we have come since the NACSW just held their first trial in 2009! Please feel free to share/repost

  • 4966 registered dogs living in 48 different states & Canadian provinces
Over 1000 of these dogs are mixed breed dogs. The top 3 breeds in number registered with us include: German Shepherd Dog, Labrador Retriever, and Golden Retriever. We have 188 different breeds of dogs registered.​

  • 3126 members so far for 2012-2013 membership year living in 48 states & Canadian provinces
(Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, DC, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachussetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Misouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hamphsire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming and Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Ontario)​

  • 3436 dogs have passed an ORT
  • ORT/Trial Days by level and year

2009
2010
2011
2012
NW1
3
4
28
41
NW2
3
1
11
25
NW3
1
1
4
14
ORT
15
32
47
71

  • ORTs have now been held in 26 states & 1 Canadian province including:
AK, AL, AZ, BC, CA, CO, FL, GA, IL, MA, MD, ME, MI, MO, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OK, OR, PA, SC, VA, WA, WI, WV​

  • Trials have now been held or are scheduled to be held in 17 states including:
AK, AL, CA, CO, FL, IL, MA, MD, MO, NJ, NY, OR, PA, SC, VA, WA, WI​

  • 1255 NW1 titles earned to date (709 earned in 2012)
  • 387 NW2 titles earned to date (256 earned in 2012)
  • 39 NW3 titles earned to date (34 earned in 2012)
  • 5 NW3 Elite titles earned to date
Happy sniffing!
--
Wendy Krehbiel
NACSW National ORT & Trial Director
 

jackienmutts

Honored Member
We're trialing again this Sat - trying for our NW2 title. We've been training really hard, but my girl gets the next 2 days off so she's well-rested and ready search hard on Sat!! Send us lots of good thoughts!! :)
 
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