more nose work stuff

[Ravenbird]

A weekend with a NSCSW judge workshop. Lots of fun & learning.

Asha had a blast - she loves using her nose.

Video - come in like you are searching odor and OMG the room is blank. She searches like a champ but never shows that she's in odor (finding & trying to pin down a source). Bad handling skills starting out I stepped over the leash, whoops.

Compare to a few minutes later, off leash, Asha does her signature fun run, then zeros quickly on a hide, but is about 2 feet away (it's in the center of the table underneath, odor had pooled at the edges of the table lip). I encouraged her to find source and she did! 2nd hide was really cool, she caught the odor on the wall and did a super head turn and had it in 2 seconds. Unfortunately I was in the way of the video, but she put her nose right on it, the whipped her head around and told me so.

 

[Rits]

Very lovely search! Anything new learned for you and Asha specifically?

 

[Ravenbird]

Anything new learned for you and Asha specifically?

We did a few exercises that were pretty tough mental challenges. No video, but there was a scatter of matching boxes on the floor and the hide was suspended from a string just above head height above the boxes. Boxes were all blank. Because boxes are a visual, the dogs go to check out each one, find nothing and keep on and on about the boxes. Eventually Asha caught the odor going up a nearby wall and got the suspended hide. With nose down amongst the boxes it was very hard to catch. The suspended hide was about 5 inches higher than her head so even when she had her head up trotting around, she didn't see it. Definitely had to source it by smell and think outside the box display!!!

I already knew but confirmed these dogs never forget what you teach them! Since our last scent work trial in August - over 7 months ago - I may have practiced 3 or 4 odor hides. That blank room was the first exercise for us and look how enthusiastic she is! The next video was the 2nd exercise and since there were only 3 dogs so they went quickly - we probably did at least 10 - 12 exercises for the day! She never slowed down. She had a beginners workshop on Saturday where we didn't have a working spot (obviously) but I was a helper so I got to watch a lot. They had maybe 10 dogs for that.

I did learn to read Asha in a large blank room - very obvious hunt/search mode without ever getting into odor. I've never done a blank room - I don't think that happens in trial until pretty advanced - AKC Masters? The other two dogs were completely different: One just looked around quietly and stuck close to his handler, the other ran wildly around and wanted to visit all the spectators. Asha was the only one who really covered the room. As you know, there is not a wrong way to do this, as long as you can read your dog. It was timed at 1 minute and the purpose was to see what our dogs looked like with no odor in the room at all - it was done first thing before the real hides began.

Typo in my original post - that is supposed to be NACSW. Watching the beginners on Saturday I learned that teachers in this organization are promoting staying on food only, not introducing odor for 6 months. I think I started pairing odor with food after a few days... And when I was learning, when the dog found food in the open box, you'd praise and drop more food in one piece at a time, make a party: "look what you found, oh my! look, even more food is happening! you're so smart to find that box!" Now they just let the dog self-reward and move on. I don't understand it and watching the beginner dogs find food in a box and self reward with handlers on the end of the leash just being quiet is pretty disturbing to me. No dog learned to look up at the handler and make a connection. No dog was told that YES! That was FUN! How does this even make a team? I'm confused. I actually didn't know this was a trend until after Sunday so I never asked the teacher about it. J asked her original teacher (NACSW) that she had with Reckless 7 years ago about what I'd seen and she said "Yes, that's what we're doing now". WTH?

All in all, we had a great time and it was SO nice to just get to run the dog on hides without thinking about where to put them or how to make a challenge or any of the details, just go search. I do hope some of the beginners stick with it, and there were at least 2 that I saw that have very natural talents in the hunt & search.

 

[Ravenbird]

Oh, and yes, she barked at the lady opening & closing the entrance door when we went out. On the way in Asha was in working mode, so she didn't care, so interesting she had to boof at her on the way out. (no longer working, so nothing better to think about? lol) I gave the lady a treat so the next time we went out she handed Asha a treat, and after that she was fine. She glanced at the spectators when we first came in, but ignored them as she worked.

 

[Rits]

staying on food only, not introducing odor for 6 months.

Thats so bizarre... we introduced odor like day one at the class I took. And it was cocktail. Paired the cocktail with reward already put inside the box the first time, following week drop the food in the box soon as they stick their nose in the only box, building lots and lots of value for odor so then the dog seeks out the odor! Gradually increasing to two boxes and so on. Even going back to just one box with the odor to continue to build value for it!

Oh, and yes, she barked at the lady opening & closing the entrance door when we went out. On the way in Asha was in working mode, so she didn't care, so interesting she had to boof at her on the way out. (no longer working, so nothing better to think about? lol) I gave the lady a treat so the next time we went out she handed Asha a treat, and after that she was fine. She glanced at the spectators when we first came in, but ignored them as she worked.

Sounds like Asha is getting better and better all around! So fun and relaxing to just go in and let her do what she was trained to do! Breaks are often so needed.

 

[JanS]

Very nice!

 

[Cranekc35]

A weekend with a NSCSW judge workshop. Lots of fun & learning.

Asha had a blast - she loves using her nose.

Video - come in like you are searching odor and OMG the room is blank. She searches like a champ but never shows that she's in odor (finding & trying to pin down a source). Bad handling skills starting out I stepped over the leash, whoops.

Compare to a few minutes later, off leash, Asha does her signature fun run, then zeros quickly on a hide, but is about 2 feet away (it's in the center of the table underneath, odor had pooled at the edges of the table lip). I encouraged her to find source and she did! 2nd hide was really cool, she caught the odor on the wall and did a super head turn and had it in 2 seconds. Unfortunately I was in the way of the video, but she put her nose right on it, the whipped her head around and told me so.

Wow! Asha is really good at this!

 

[Ravenbird]

Thats so bizarre... we introduced odor like day one at the class I took. And it was cocktail. Paired the cocktail with reward already put inside the box the first time, following week drop the food in the box soon as they stick their nose in the only box, building lots and lots of value for odor so then the dog seeks out the odor! Gradually increasing to two boxes and so on. Even going back to just one box with the odor to continue to build value for it!

It IS bizarre! I'm just not getting it. I'll fill in more later when I have time to explain more.

Sounds like Asha is getting better and better all around! So fun and relaxing to just go in and let her do what she was trained to do! Breaks are often so needed.

She is better & better! This is such a natural thing for her, we won't ever stop completely, but it is so hard to do all the things and NW keeps getting the back seat.

 

[Kswoodssue]

She LOVES it! You can see it. Super impressive.

 

[EricA]

Compare to a few minutes later, off leash, Asha does her signature fun run, then zeros quickly on a hide, but is about 2 feet away (it's in the center of the table underneath, odor had pooled at the edges of the table lip). I encouraged her to find source and she did! 2nd hide was really cool, she caught the odor on the wall and did a super head turn and had it in 2 seconds. Unfortunately I was in the way of the video, but she put her nose right on it, the whipped her head around and told me so.

THAT was some outstanding work right there! (both of you)