In Level I of my K9 Nose Work Classes, the dogs only work in the training room as well as in one or two interior rooms of their owner’s houses. I ask that the handlers limit the areas in which a dog is asked to search during the Level I classes because a dog is born knowing how to hunt, they love to hunt and they would be more than happy to pull away from what “we” want them to hunt for and to check out something that initially “they” might find more interesting than their toy in a box or a few pieces of Al Fresca Garlic Sausage, no matter how stinky that reward food may be! We all know how interesting chipmunk pee is to most dogs!! But, obviously, we don’t want a dog learning the option of “pulling off our hunt” during training. And so, in the beginning, I ask my students to train in low distraction, known areas so that we can more easily condition our dog’s “neural pathways” to “Hunt on Our Terms” and in the way we want them to hunt. And, to me, that means a dog that is engaged, focused on the task, does not get distracted and maintains a proactive, problem-solving attitude. Therefore, in our Level I classes, I limit the areas where I ask our dogs to play The Game until the ability to “Hunt on Our Terms” is more durable and can withstand new and more complex scent conditions. Once the dog has a nice foundation in independent hunting and can stay on task, I then introduce all the different Elements that a dog team may encounter in a NACSW Trial in Level II of my K9 Nose Work Classes. While still on primary, this series of classes also gets a dog and handler knowledgeable enough to move out of the class and go out into the “real world,” using the training received as an enrichment activity for both the handler and the dog. The various topics I cover in this six-week session include introducing the dogs while still on primary to New Interior areas, Exterior Areas, Wall Hides, Vehicles, and Barriers. Additionally, since the dogs will be working outdoors, I give a brief lecture on, and a training geared toward understanding, Scent and Scent Distribution so that in case things go south when working outdoors, the handlers have some idea as to the environmental impacts that might be creating scenting challenges for their dogs. With that as background, the following video shows the six dog teams working New Interiors in the 5th Class of my Level II Session. These dogs had never trained in either of these rooms (and both rooms had a high level of distracting scents in them), but they had enough “searching under their collars” that, with few exceptions, each dog stayed nicely on task! Having a dog “Hunt on Our Terms” never gets old and I love watching dogs work like this. And, I am proud to say, that these same dogs have now moved on to searching only for target odor and their intensity to do the work and independent hunting has not changed even though the primary has been removed from the scent picture. Enjoy!
Posted on: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 15:45:31 +0000
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