Intro to Nose Work - Classes #4-6
Read about the first part of our adventure here!
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/blo...asses-1-3.html
Class 4
Everyone is doing really well, except the poor Belgian German Shepard-looking dog. She still seems to get confused by the process, and her owner is clearly distressed that she will not be an Odor star. I have decided I hate her owner, who constantly interrupts class to talk about how awesome her dog (and by extension, she) is.
Thor definitely understands the game now, though he feels no pressure to be speedy. At the same time, he no longer has any trouble poking his head into the boxes and helping himself to his reward. He seems much more confident and focused, which is what it's really all about. Yay, Thor!
We do another blind test, which does not go well. I had run out of salmon, and switch to chicken another class member gives me. Unfortunately, as soon as Thor smells the chicken, he goes into obedience mode, and it's very difficult to get him focused on the boxes. The instructor finally tells me to get him to sniff one specific box and then reward him so he doesn't get discouraged. Of course, as soon as I try to lead him to this box, he can't stay far enough away from it. Finally, we manage to approximate something close to the box, and the instructor comes in to repair the damage.
The instructor tells me after the fact that Thor had shown a strong Tell - his head turned sharply as he passed The Box - but then he Sat, and I was confused as to whether he was being obedient, or marking the box, or what. Still, it's all good.
Class 5
I arrive anxious to show off Thor's new carrier, which is just as awesome as all the other ones in the class, if not more. Unfortunately, Thor does not find it as awesome as I do. He was fine going into the crate to eat, etc, but I hadn't realized that having mesh on the sides means he has much greater visibility than he did in the Celltei bag. And he most certainly does NOT like what he sees, what with all the enormous dogs parading back and forth, and people with food passing by. Thor barks the ENTIRE time he is in his crate, ie for 110 minutes. The instructor tells me not to worry, that he sounds frustrated (good), not scared (bad). I hear plaintive wailing, but then, I'm the mommy. Not surprisingly, he is exhausted afterwards.
The instructor uses this class to start raising the food box off the ground - apparently, height is a very challenging factor for most dogs. The more talented dogs also now have to find the food with the flaps of the box fully closed. We also start using non-cardboard containers, like coolers. Thor is a bit intimidated by these new developments, but ultimately, greed triumphs over fear.
Class 6
Aw, we're at the last class already! I'm sad. Today, I bring Thor's awesome new crate, plus a blanket to throw over it so he can't see anything. This works pretty well.
The instructor continues to experiment with height, closed boxes, different containers, and a larger search area. Thor is still dead last in terms of time, but he's clearly on task, and determined to find his food. It's fun to watch him.
We do another blind test, which we both completely fail. Thor does not firmly id any particular box, and finally, the instructor lures him to the right box and rewards him. Oh well. There will always be next time!
When's next time? We don't know. It sounds most of my classmates will be taking trips over the summer (lucky!), and the instructor wants to keep the class together. So Thor will have to wait until Fall for his intermediate class.
Stay tuned for more adventure!
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/blo...asses-1-3.html
Class 4
Everyone is doing really well, except the poor Belgian German Shepard-looking dog. She still seems to get confused by the process, and her owner is clearly distressed that she will not be an Odor star. I have decided I hate her owner, who constantly interrupts class to talk about how awesome her dog (and by extension, she) is.
Thor definitely understands the game now, though he feels no pressure to be speedy. At the same time, he no longer has any trouble poking his head into the boxes and helping himself to his reward. He seems much more confident and focused, which is what it's really all about. Yay, Thor!
We do another blind test, which does not go well. I had run out of salmon, and switch to chicken another class member gives me. Unfortunately, as soon as Thor smells the chicken, he goes into obedience mode, and it's very difficult to get him focused on the boxes. The instructor finally tells me to get him to sniff one specific box and then reward him so he doesn't get discouraged. Of course, as soon as I try to lead him to this box, he can't stay far enough away from it. Finally, we manage to approximate something close to the box, and the instructor comes in to repair the damage.
The instructor tells me after the fact that Thor had shown a strong Tell - his head turned sharply as he passed The Box - but then he Sat, and I was confused as to whether he was being obedient, or marking the box, or what. Still, it's all good.
Class 5
I arrive anxious to show off Thor's new carrier, which is just as awesome as all the other ones in the class, if not more. Unfortunately, Thor does not find it as awesome as I do. He was fine going into the crate to eat, etc, but I hadn't realized that having mesh on the sides means he has much greater visibility than he did in the Celltei bag. And he most certainly does NOT like what he sees, what with all the enormous dogs parading back and forth, and people with food passing by. Thor barks the ENTIRE time he is in his crate, ie for 110 minutes. The instructor tells me not to worry, that he sounds frustrated (good), not scared (bad). I hear plaintive wailing, but then, I'm the mommy. Not surprisingly, he is exhausted afterwards.
The instructor uses this class to start raising the food box off the ground - apparently, height is a very challenging factor for most dogs. The more talented dogs also now have to find the food with the flaps of the box fully closed. We also start using non-cardboard containers, like coolers. Thor is a bit intimidated by these new developments, but ultimately, greed triumphs over fear.
Class 6
Aw, we're at the last class already! I'm sad. Today, I bring Thor's awesome new crate, plus a blanket to throw over it so he can't see anything. This works pretty well.
The instructor continues to experiment with height, closed boxes, different containers, and a larger search area. Thor is still dead last in terms of time, but he's clearly on task, and determined to find his food. It's fun to watch him.
We do another blind test, which we both completely fail. Thor does not firmly id any particular box, and finally, the instructor lures him to the right box and rewards him. Oh well. There will always be next time!
When's next time? We don't know. It sounds most of my classmates will be taking trips over the summer (lucky!), and the instructor wants to keep the class together. So Thor will have to wait until Fall for his intermediate class.
Stay tuned for more adventure!
Comments 2
Total Comments 2
Comments
About time you broke out of your blog slump! I've been jonesing for an update on Thor's exploits! Thanks for the EXCELLENT account of your classes. I've copied both posts and forwarded them to every Nose Work instructor in Alaska, so we know what the competition is up to. There are a lot of similarities in the classes, but you guys are doing some things that sound smart that we're not doing. Our instructor never tried to fire the dogs up at the beginning. She just had us turn them loose. I like the idea of getting them excited because, as you note, Yorkies are sort of on their own pace. Eddie and Thor sound like they're real similar in their searching techniques, slow and steady. You also dove into the blind tests faster than we did. In fact, we still haven't done a completely blind test. Sometimes it's up on a small table out of a Yorkie's sight or under a chair out of a bigger dog's sight, but they can always find it once they catch the scent. They had us bring in crates to the first class, too, but all of us decided not to use them. We're in a remote area, so it's just as easy to leave them in our cars because it's not too hot. And when I left him in a crate the first week and he started yapping a bit, I got the evil eye from a couple people like they thought it was distracting their dog. I like how your instructor thinks that's a good thing. I don't know what it is about women and classes for dogs, but almost every class we've ever taken has been predominantly or entirely with women handlers. Same is true for Nose Work, though one hubby did come along to help as in your example. Wish I'd have known that when I was single and lonely. Great place for a guy to meet chicks. So what was your impression of the class? Did YOU like it? My wife subbed for me one week, and she called me in the middle of the class and said "I can't believe you enjoy this. It's BORING." But I like it. It is a little boring, I suppose, but it feels more like I'm playing with Eddie instead of trying to teach him something. I think he likes doing it. In obedience classes, he often used to pull at his leash toward the exit when he was tired. He hasn't done that in Nose Work. He's never refused to search. I started out with his normal treats, but the instructor had me switch to little bits of turkey hotdogs. My instructor says the sport is really starting to take off nationally, and there's more and more people getting into it. I like the idea of being on the ground floor. Feels like we have a head start. The guy who helped start the national association, Ron Gaunt, is coming back up to Alaska in October to do an advanced seminar and to offer some kind of certification. I think the dogs need to be certified in the different scents before they can compete. He's going to check them out on birch when he's here, so that will allow us to have competitions up here. Can't wait till fall to hear how Thor does. Be sure to practice at home! | |
Posted 06-29-2010 at 02:12 AM by alaskayorkie Updated 06-29-2010 at 02:14 AM by alaskayorkie |
Thanks for your comment! I enjoyed the class a lot, and will definitely be signing up for the next intermediate one. You spend a lot of time waiting for your dog's turn to come up, so it is kind of boring in that way. On the other hand, I agree that it's fun to watch all the dogs search, and it is more like they are playing. I can't wait to start birch! | |
Posted 06-29-2010 at 09:03 AM by QuickSilver |