NOSE WORK – CLASS 2 OF 5 – 11.21.2010

Yep, you read it correctly, class 2 of 5.  The first class was on November 14th, but we missed it to go to the Roger Waters (Pink Floyd mastermind) concert.  Sorry, Orso, you got bumped to go watch The Wall come down! 

This was Orso’s first Nose Work class and it was pretty cool – definitely different.  Dee Hoult of Applause Your Paws  is teaching it and it’s a totally different format from anything we’ve done with Orso so far.  We enrolled in this class because we want to teach Orso how to use his nose to find things.  This will help him in the tracking portion of his utility obedience work.  In today’s class, Orso learned how to identify – using scent instead of sight – whether there is food hidden in a series of boxes.  It’s a small class and each dog takes turns working with the boxes.  It was a lot of fun, a nice change of pace from our usual obedience classes.  By the end of the class, the boxes were closed with the food inside and Orso was already learning to signal to me that there was something inside the box.  I was there alone with him, so no photos, but I did manage to get a few video clips of Orso in action.  They are long – a few minutes each – but interesting.  The first one is almost 5 minutes long and it is the entire footage of Orso’s first experience with Nose Work.  The second one is only a couple of minutes long and is Orso’s 2nd go at searching.  The 3rd and 4th tries were filmed but it was already too dark, so I am not uploading the footage.  Enjoy!

Below is a description of the class from Dee’s website:

“Nose Work – 5 weeks, one hour a week – K9 Nose Work is an amazing new sport where you just get to do the fun part –‐ watch your dog excel at finding things with his or her nose.  Join us for this fun class!  This is an intro class, where we help you and your dog get the foundation skills to excel at this sport –‐ either in real competition or in your own backyard.  Once we get enough dogs who are ready for the next level, we’ll offer more advanced classes in Miami.  The cool part about Nose Work is that you and your dog can do it anywhere — on walks, in the yard, in the house, and there is not a lot of gear, as there is with agility, and it doesn’t take a lot of space, like tracking does.  Nose Work is a blast!  It’s great for older dogs, puppies that have finished kindergarten, dogs with joint problems that can no longer run agility, and even reactive dogs.  It’s not just for particular breeds, either.  No matter how big or small or smush—faced, your dog can do Nose Work!  The dogs work one at a time, and your dog can be out in the car or crated during the times when s/he’s not working.  That means you’ll need to bring a crate.  All dogs will be kept away from the working area when it’s not their turn.  That’s why K9 Nose Work is an ideal sport even for dogs that have issues.”