Catching up ...

So behind again ... sigh. Oh well. Here is some video from noseworks class number 6. Unfortunately I don't think we are going to do the next session as I already know that I would miss two classes out of the six. We'll continue to do some work at home and with friends though.



Other stuff that has been going on -

we did an obedience show n go on Sunday last week, Steeler had two novice runs that went pretty well. The only exception being when I lost his focus during the first run. In watching the video and talking to E about the runs - I think Steeler does not find our targeting game as much fun as I thought he did. We talked about some other ways to reward between exercises as well. Obedience class is going pretty well. Last Monday there were puppies around outside the ring while we were working on heeling. Steeler isn't too sure what he thinks about puppies and used to bark at them. Outside the ring this week was a newfie puppy (already weighs more than Steeler!) and a 8 or 10 week old Aussie puppy in the owners lap. Steeler was able to heel towards the puppies and then turn around and heel in the other direction without a backward glance! YAY! I think we got probably within 5 feet or so of the puppies - I wasn't really paying attention to the dogs - I was focused on Steeler and what we were doing because I trust E to not send us over what Steeler can handle. Steeler and I can do great things when I can focus on him and the job at hand rather than trying to scan the environment for problems. And I am learning - that focusing on Steeler and our activities - Steeler doesn't even see the other distractions that I used to obsess over. Here's one of his runs. We still have a few things to work on, like getting into the ring with the long line not so tangled.



On Wednesday Steeler had a great agility class - but I forgot the camera! And now I can't remember at all what we worked on. I know it was short sequences again .... but I can't for the life of me remember what specific skill we were working on! I think my brain is full.

Today we went to the barn for an agility match. Steeler had three runs. The first two at 20 inches and the third at 24. Laurie was there with our old classmate Solo the Briard, and her husband was nice enough to video for me! (Thanks Dave!!) Steeler's first run was ok. Not great but not horrible. He got distracted after the teeter by something that must have smelled really good! I probably didn't react quickly enough to Steeler deserting me. But I did get him back and working.



I think I must have worked out what ever nerves I had during the first run because his next two runs were much better I thought.



For his third run I had Lisa and Trixie hang out in the ring. I really need (in my mind) to work on things that I think are distracting. So since Steeler likes Trixi and I don't worry about what MIGHT happen with her I decided to start with pretending that they were hanging out near the ring. Lisa is great because she does exactly what you ask her to! So we will work up to having Trix moving and work on maintaining focus! He is clearly not bothered in the slightest by Trixie just hanging out which makes me very happy! :-) Steeler has made so much progress in the last 9 months since we started class with Catie! I was so happy with the spotty boy today!

Noseworks - class number 5

Yesterday was a busy day for Steeler and I - first in the morning we attended a Seminar - more about that later. Then we drove up to MasterPeace for our 5th Noseworks class.  This week the dogs were introduced to their first odor - Birch.  The odor is introduced by scenting a few q-tips with sweet birch essential oil, and the Q-tips are placed under the food in the box.  We started with a simple box drill in a straight line on leash.  Then we separated out the boxes around the room and let the dogs search off leash.  Odor recognition is the first skill that the dog has to demonstrate if you want to participate in a National Association of Canine Scent Work (NACSW) trial.  The odor recognition test (or ORT) consists of a box drill type exercise with no distractions.  There must be between 12 and 20 boxes at least 48 inches apart.  Click here for more information.

Saturday afternoon Nose Works

This is our third week of class.  This week we worked on teaching the dogs to search the corners and walls of a room.  The first time the food was in the box right as the dog entered the area.  The idea was to let the dog catch the scent and then cue them to search.  The second an third time the box was in the corner.  The next exercise was to help teach the dogs that they aren't always going to be looking on the ground for the scent/food.  We ended with a simple box drill so the dogs could end on an easy successful note.