The Little Dog that Could

We had our nosework 'final' this evening. We did 2 mock nosework 'runs'. Of all the dogs in class, Mia came in with the fastest time in both runs despite being the tiniest. I got some nice compliments by the instructors on how well she works. She turns on really nicely and indicates very clearly already. 71.8 seconds for her first run- a vehicle search (we searched 3 vehicles), outdoor search, indoor/room search, and then container search. Woo hoo! (Her second one was around 2 minutes and 20 seconds total and it was harder hides).

Oh and this was after she busted into my treat bag and ate everything in it. It was packed full of all the treats and cheese and ham I was going to use for my Thursday agility classes as well. So pretty much Mia ate enough for three papillons and then some. And then she was still interested in food and searched like a champ.

Hopefully she doesn't puke tonight. But there's definitely something to be said for food drive, I guess.

So cool, I never even thought about doing nosework with a little munchkin. If I ever decide to take a break from agility maybe we'll give it a try! I love a dog that you can pretty much do anything with, sounds like Mia is the same way.

My nosework trainer was talking about how she's been told little dogs are a lot harder to work by all the seminars she's gone to.

She wants to send them a video of Mia working to prove them wrong.

The only issues we've had were when the hides are pretty high and she can't climb up to them. But she's getting to where she's indicating the taller ones better. The other dogs in class are all a lot bigger than her so they reach the scents better(belgian, lab, and terrier/hound).

Mia might like the nosework better than agility. I don't think it's nearly as fun (cause I don't do all that much) but the people are great and it's fun watching them get better. Mia is PERSISTENT too. She will not give up until she finds it. Mia thinks it's the best game ever. And it's nice because I can work her easily without that much effort on my part for it.

That is fabulous and I am very jealous of your nosework class!

It seems like they're still figuring it out. There's not many trials and instructors yet. But we should be having our first trial next fall so I'm planning on entering Mia. Hopefully I can really proof her until then.

I still don't know the ins and outs of the levels and what is required for each. Someone said AKC and UKC are thinking about starting their own versions of nosework too.

Ditto! I'm having major issues finding a nosework class around here...

It is fun! I can ask my instructor about the best way for people in other

The one sucky thing is how far you currently have to travel in order to trial. The trial next year that I hope do debut Mia in (if we pass our ORT first) is the first in our state. It does sound like the people in the sport are trying to work together to not conflict with each others' trials though. I hope it catches on more.

I looked into it briefly today because I thought it might be fun to do with the BC mix because right now she's too reactive to do agility. But it's a little too expensive here, the paces I've found start at $200 for 6 weeks.

That's too bad. But it's SUPER easy to teach at home. I don't think you'd need a class. I wasn't planning on staying in the class but I really like the people in it and the dogs (especially the belgian!) You just have to be able to practice in as many different areas as possible.

Awesome job, go Mia!

How long have you been training and have you progressed to just scents yet or is it only food at this point? Btw, congrats, Mia IS a rockstar.

That's awesome! I've been doing nosework with my Zoe for about two months now, and I love watching all the different dogs work and learn. I love the huge mix of sizes and temperaments.

I wish I had known about it sooner. I always thought my dog was too dog reactive for any classes or sports. When a local trainer told me about nosework I knew we had to check it out.

She is in LOVE with going to school! She gets so excited. When she was in PT a few years back after her TPLO, her PT told me she's the most food motivated dog she's ever met. That works well with nosework! She gets distracted at times, but we did a practice ORT last night and she did alright. Brilliant the first run, then got distracted on the second one. I was able to call the alert accurately, but she wasn't giving a long enough indication like usual.

She goes for her ORT in March and there is a trial in May. I don't expect her to title yet at that trial, but it will be great experience. She's a big time marker, so if anything that will be our downfall during the outdoor portion.

It's really hard to get these things up in Alaska - they have to fly judges from California - so there is only one ORT in the state per year, and last year was the first trial. This coming year, though, there will be a second trial in September, so I'm hoping for good things at that one as it will be almost a year into Zoe's nosework career.

I do think classes help get things down, but it can certainly be taught at home as well.

Go Mia Go!

It's been about 2 months and we are still pairing the scent with the food at this point.

It's definitely a good sport for reactive dogs since only one dog is out at a time. There's an ORT tomorrow but we're not ready for it. I'm surprised even Alaska has had more trials than we have in Oklahoma. Oklahoma is kind of a barren wasteland for dog sports. For now... We've got a pretty good group of people really trying to start up more trials and venues in the state.

When I first started I was kind of discouraged because I was told it would be hard with a dog as small as Mia. I'm very glad we went and did it anyways.

Mia sounds like such an awesome little dog every time you post about her activities! So glad she rocked her final!

For those without a class nearby, Andrew Ramsey has a DVD on the topic that several of my friends have used with success - it's not the "official" way to train the skill, but imo it seems to make more sense. LOL

Go Mia go! LOL she is such a little rockstar

Do you have any videos of her working? I've always wondered what it looks like for a small dog to alert to a scent that's much to high for them to reach. Congrats on your success!

My trainer has taken a couple but I don't have any. We're still working on a clear alert but Mia starts up on her back legs and eventually ends up scratching.

Apparently some judges/trials will let you pick up your dog during the search too. That's interesting to me.

The lower levels only have finds up a certain amount of feet (I can't remember the number).

From what I understand, it was a really huge undertaking a long time in the making. I'm very pleased with how devoted the people up here are to making things happen. It's certainly not cheap to get the judges up here, though, so we have to pay high enough fees to cover that, but it's worth it.

And by my standards, the four hour drive to the ORT and later to the trial is short/close.

Edit: I'm almost positive NW1 only has hides up to four feet high.