Quote:
Originally Posted by kjc  Oh Yay! I'll be looking forward to following her progress! This is way too cool! Go Jillie!
I was reading up a bit on the NACSW website about the handler being able to help the dog (?) (This is all new to me so just asking, lol) Does this mean you can assist Jillie in reaching areas not accessible to her due to her height? :
* Height and accessibility of hides: Should be no more than approximately four (4) feet high. The source will be accessible to the dog (but may require the handler’s help to get close to the hide in some cases).
A note about height: The height parameter is a general guideline provided for training purposes. No trial location will ever be the same. If a kitchen counter were 3 inches taller than the specified guideline, it would still be used for a hide location as long as the dog would be able to gain access to it with the handler’s help. |
That's referring to the handler perhaps moving a chair or obstacle or opening a drawer that might be keeping the dog away from the odor. In competition, we would have to ask the judge before doing so. I've never run across a situation like that in competition, but I have in practice and classes.
An interesting footnote, though, for little dogs: The rules state that a handler can ask the judge if they can pick up the dog if they think the odor is out of the dog's reach. They'll know where it is by the odor, but they're too short to let the handler know exactly where it is.
Most of the bigwigs in the sport think that's unfair. Little dogs also have advantages in getting to tight spots and low spots that big dogs can't as easily, so why should they get a benefit on the other end of the spectrum?
But since it's in the rules, I routinely ask the judge if I can pick them up. They usually tell me no, but they allowed me to pick up Jillie one time on Sunday. She was signalling she found the odor, but I couldn't pinpoint it. And you have to be able to tell the judge within 4" where it is. So I picked her up and let her sniff the air about 3 feet off the ground. Then I put her back on the ground and asked her to show me where it was.
I regretted doing it. Before I picked her up, Jillie was signalling low on a table, but that was as high as she could reach. After I picked her up, she seemed a little confused. I called ALERT when Jillie sniffed the low area, and the judge said YES. However, if the judge had ask me to pinpoint it, I might have guessed higher and would have been wrong.