Nose work trial :)
 

Eddie went to his first mock nose work trial yesterday, and did GREAT! He was the smallest of 28 dogs competing, and he came home with two ribbons -- a first place and a fourth place -- in four events! I was quite proud of him.

Nose work is a new dog sport, where dogs learn to identify different scents -- they start out with the essential oil birch. In a trial, they have to do four stages: A vehicle search where the odor is hidden in one of three vehicles parked side by side; an interior search; an exterior search; and a container (or box) search.

They're given roughly 3 minutes to complete each task, and Eddie completed each one under the time limit! If it were a real trial with real judges, he would have received his Level 1 certification! It's my understanding that no Yorkies in the country have received Level 1 certification yet!

His best event was the interior search. He entered a small room and correctly found the odor in 11 seconds. It was hidden in a heater vent, and he went right to it and pawed at it. His next best was the container search. 20 or so boxes in a room lined up in 3 rows. He started out checking the first row, then split off and raced to the third and pawed at the correct box in 15 seconds.

Here are a few pics of the searches and a shot of his winnings!

Wow -- that is sooo amazing! Go Eddie, making a good name for Yorkies everywhere!

I wish I could find a place close-by that does nosework. Looks simple enough yet a lot of fun.

Eddie is awesome. :) Love the ribbons.

Wow, that's so impressive....Congrats! Way to go Eddie!

Yeah, it's VERY simple, and all dogs can do it. It's not as though you have to teach them how to smell -- they're already experts. Only tricky part is right in the beginning when you have to teach them how to identify the specific odor. That's why classes are good in the beginning.

I don't do it so much for the competition as just a fun activity for Eddie. We do it on walks every day, and it helps to keep his focus on me. It's been so good for him. Plus, when I come home from work and he wants to play, play, play while I want to relax, relax, relax, I can just hide a few scents around the house and let him entertain himself!

Congrats Eddie and Mike!!! I am impressed!! When will he be in a real trial? I can't wait for the post that announces him as the only yorkie in the country to reach level 1!! WTG guys:)

There might be a real trial next May. The sport is so new, we have no certified judges in Alaska. So in order to hold a real trial, we'd have to fly up a couple certified judges, pay for their lodging and expenses, etc. It would make a trial too expensive for the relatively small number of dogs competing.

They hold trials in other stages, but then it would be expensive for me to travel. I'm content with just waiting. We're just in it for fun.

How impressive!! I'm so happy for Eddie and his newly honed skill :) It's funny because some dogs need to be trained to enjoy looking for scents while others already enjoy it on their own and so nosework is easy to incorporate for them as a sport. We only have one trainer here who is trying to get certified in nose work in our area and so hopefully one day Teddy will be as good as your little Eddie!!

Good point! I went to a seminar put on by the guy who originated the sport, and he said puppies are AWESOME at it. He said he can teach a puppy how to do it faster than he can teach most adults.

But Eddie learned pretty quick. He started off finding treats in open boxes. Once he learned that game (several weeks), we added the odor to the same box with the treat. Several weeks later, we were able to remove the treat and just leave the odor. As soon as he finds it, you reward with a treat (or toy).

The hardest part about it was the instructor wouldn't let us say GOOD DOG when they found it. The find and treat reward was all the reward they need.

LOL, a few more pictures rolled in. He didn't find an odor on the hay bale, but I thought it would be a funny picture.

And this just in: Only 3 of the 28 dogs passed all four stages. Eddie ranked 3rd overall!

Congratulations Eddie. You do such cool things with him.

That's so awesome! And people think little dogs can't do what "real" dogs can do. Eddie your amazing!!

Eddie, you are Awesome !!! Good job Lucky, have a treat.

How exciting!!! I just recently heard about nose work and had looked into it. The only class they had offered through summer is the intermediate. I am hopeful that once fall comes around they will have a beginners level.

Way to go Eddie!
They said my little Cali could not be a Hearing Dog because she was small and she showed them how good she could be. Good for Eddie!!!!

Now THAT'S awesome! I would have loved to see the look on their faces when little Cali proved them wrong.