Highly useful, TY!
Nosework Thread
- Thread starter Rits
- Start date
With very little practice we're headed to the scent work trial I go to every year. It's at a new place - a school - that we've not seen, so it will seem like a new place, but our favorite familiar motel and places to eat make it fun. Last year we got only 4 Q's from 12 runs, and I don't expect it to be much different for us this year. Hopefully the air conditioning works and the exterior runs are short & sweet! 102 predicted for Friday and high 90's for Saturday and Sunday. Hope to have a decent report to post next week, but most of all I'm hoping Reckless gets that final Q for her detective title!
As always, a 3 day trial is exhausting but fun. Sadly Reckless didn't get her Detective, missed one hide each day. On Friday & Saturday, none of the 10 dogs Q'd. I suppose if it was easy everyone would do it.
So, 4 trials a day, now at Masters level, Friday 2 Qualifying runs, Saturday 0 Q's - mistakes equally divided between me and Asha, then Sunday 4 Q's in all 4 element runs, completing another Master Element (Buried)! Then as we were packing up and out, the trial secretary handed me a paper and a huge ribbon declaring we were High In Trial for Sundays Master class! So yeah, keep showing up, your turn happens when it happens, but love for your dog shows up each and every day. I'm definitely happy with 50% Q's at this level! More details later, I'm pooped!
So, 4 trials a day, now at Masters level, Friday 2 Qualifying runs, Saturday 0 Q's - mistakes equally divided between me and Asha, then Sunday 4 Q's in all 4 element runs, completing another Master Element (Buried)! Then as we were packing up and out, the trial secretary handed me a paper and a huge ribbon declaring we were High In Trial for Sundays Master class! So yeah, keep showing up, your turn happens when it happens, but love for your dog shows up each and every day. I'm definitely happy with 50% Q's at this level! More details later, I'm pooped!
Congrats!
Honestly I'm thinking Detective will be easier than Masters. LOL, probably not but the tests the judges put you through is so much on the handler end! One of those "hard, but I love/hate the challenge" things. Since completing my Excellent level, the Interior element has been the hardest for us. Zero Q's in our last 2 or 3 trials - I'd have to look it up, but at least 5 - 8 runs. Interior Masters is 3 Rooms, 0 - 3 hides in each room, 6 max for the total hides and time set by the judge 1 - 3 minutes per room. If you NQ room 1, you don't even get to see room 2 or 3. Sunday was the first time I made it to room 3. We can wear a stop watch, which I did, because if you run over time that's an NQ also. I found 2 hides in room one and moved to room 2, found 2 hides and moved to room 3, Asha is working like crazy, she found two hides and I keep looking at my watch and have 45 seconds left, and in my mind the 0 - 3 hides I know there can be one more so we keep searching. I don't want to burn Asha out by asking for more search when there isn't another, but also don't want to miss a 3rd hide when so close... the tension is real, I call finish and it is correct. Later on I realize (and have told myself in every single Master Interior!) that mantra of "0 - 3 per room/6 max", but that had evaporated in the thrill/stress of getting to room 3. If I was consciously thinking and calm and remembered this, I could have called finish after the second hide in room 3 because that was 6 total!!! Would have taken 20 - 30 seconds off my time! That's how exciting/intense the game can get.
It didn't matter anyway, I still got my Q, which was my goal, but the surprise was the 1st place. And yes, it was HOURS later when I realized if I'd remembered the math I could have called finish much earlier.
It didn't matter anyway, I still got my Q, which was my goal, but the surprise was the 1st place. And yes, it was HOURS later when I realized if I'd remembered the math I could have called finish much earlier.
The other wild brain teaser was in buried. 16 containers, any arrangement, 1 - 4 hides, 5 minutes. Well, the judge had them scattered in the room without any rhyme or reason. Sometimes they would be in a circle or a cross or a U shape, but these were all over the place, no rows, no pattern! By the time I got 3 hides I couldn't recall which ones Asha had already found! It was nuts! With a possible 4th I kept her working but when she'd spend an extra look at a container, my mind was like "did we already call that one????" We did find a 4th but again the game is on the handler at this point and really changes things. Now after a few days rest and thinking, I'm super proud of being half way through our total Master title!
We went to Albuquerque to a scent work trial - this trial only had 2 judges and held entries only for Novice, Advanced and Detective. No Excellent or Master trials. Since J & Reckless are chasing their 10th Q for Detective and Asha is eligible to enter Detective (has at least one completed element in Masters) we entered 1 Detective trail each day. Reckless entered 2 Detective trials each day. Detective has 5 - 10 hides, unknown to handler how many, time determined by judge, and includes interior and exterior elements all in one run. Asha did great on Saturdays trial and Reckless did well in her 2 trials, but neither found all the hides so NQ's. Sunday in trial 1, Reckless missed 2 hides and Asha found one hide right away, then false alerted on her second hide which buys an instant NQ. One to the last trial of the day for Reckless I went to the walk-through with J and this is the interior section of the search:
Talk about daunting! There was a small hallway to the exterior area. Anyway, they had 9 minutes, they found 5 hides and called finish at 8:05 and got their 10th Detective Q, finally earning that elusive title!!!!
Gotta be proud of this team. J is 85 and Reckless is 12.
Talk about daunting! There was a small hallway to the exterior area. Anyway, they had 9 minutes, they found 5 hides and called finish at 8:05 and got their 10th Detective Q, finally earning that elusive title!!!!
Gotta be proud of this team. J is 85 and Reckless is 12.
Way to go J and Reckless! That looks like a nice place for nosework, especially the harder levels. We ran Z and Dutchess through some practice runs yesterday. If Zastava Q's in all her runs this coming weekend, she will have earned her advanced title.
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jazzies mum
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That looks hard! Never underestimate us "more mature" individuals, we might just whip your butt! 
Congratulations J and Reckless.
Congratulations J and Reckless.
Rits
Hot Topics Subscriber
HUGE Congrats to your friend! Thats amazing and huge props to her for staying active at her age!
So AKC held a Nationals Master Scent Work trial - 3 days of teams hunting odor, if I understand it correctly. This is a sport that has nothing to do with breeds! Any breed can compete at the highest levels! Note - there is one error on this, #6 was handled by a different person because Catherine had two dogs entered, she handled #18. You cannot handle two dogs in this sport. Here's the top results today, 2 Dobes in top 20!
Awesome! This is great proof of working dogs with a job, especially dobes having a good nose in some cases. Love to see young up and comers winning.
This link supports my sense that more young people are finding their way into dogsport for fun, vs a top down structured show by confo traditional sense.
Its all good!
AKC Scent Work Master Nationals | Playeasy
Unleash the excitement at the AKC Scent Work Master Nationals, from October 18-20, 2026, at the picturesque 415 N State Hwy 265 in Branson, MO! This thrilling…
www.playeasy.com
I also just was reminded in my search for more info that there are two scent work organizations:
AKC requires registration as purebred*, but NACSW does not:
*You can get around that by PAL but its more paperwork and $$$
AKC requires registration as purebred*, but NACSW does not:
*You can get around that by PAL but its more paperwork and $$$
That link, Playeasy, does sound encouraging, but includes this info:Its all good!
AKC Scent Work Master Nationals | Playeasy
Unleash the excitement at the AKC Scent Work Master Nationals, from October 18-20, 2026, at the picturesque 415 N State Hwy 265 in Branson, MO! This thrilling…
Participation Details
Gender:Male & Female Event Level:Amateur Age Group:All AgesThe Masters Nat'l was not an amateur event at all, however any amateur can certainly learn the novice level and go up from there.
As you said, AKC lets anyone play if they are registered with them through PAL etc. which is a one-time registration fee and biggest drawback is required spay/neuter. NACSW has a drop down list to choose your breed and if it is mixed there is a choice of "other", so no extra hoops to jump through for non-registered. NACSW does have a yearly membership fee of $35 for you to be able to trial with them, kind of like having to belong to a National IGP club to go to a local IGP trial. They are the original creators of the sport I think, and have a bit more strictly run trials, but also fewer and further between trials. They began as something for dogs with behavior problems to do to help them gain confidence, and continuing on that at trials, they have rules about giving dogs space and areas for dogs that are not social etc. So a lot of NACSW members are horrified at the chaos at AKC trials.
Sometimes rightfully so. I'm not a NACSW member but J & Reckless are & have been for 10+ years, so I have observed. Also, as @Katyusharocket knows, there is also UKC nose work. All trials are based in similar fashion with levels increasing with expertise.Pros & Cons to everything, I suppose!
What I always find amazing is the incredible diversity of breeds at every level in this sport when I go to trials and which is evident by this page of top finishers! There doesn't seem to be a "weeding out"of breeds as the trials get tougher, even at the highest levels. I think the Dobermans are well represented, but obviously looking at this list of breeds, anyone with any dog - including the All American - can get to the top of the ladder.
I'd have to check similar finals by breed in other AKC sports like Obedience, Rally & Agility to see if the diversity is similar.
I am not sure how active they are in your area, but a friend of mine ran nosework in a CPE (Canine Performance Events) and she enjoyed the trial. That might be yet another organization you could look at. All breeds or mixes can register with them.
