Nose work with D'light - Part 2

While D'light, Catty and I do take a formal nose work class, I wanted to show how easy and fun nose work can be at home.  You will also see how each of our dogs "work" differently.  With nose work the dog can eventually works up to locating a targeted odor (Birch, Anise, Clove) and both D'light and Catty can locate these scents. Searching for odor is often done without boxes but it's searching interiors, exteriors, vehicles along with other cool and fun things.  However, at home we still do a lot of box work. It reinforces the basics and for D'light, it keeps his mind working and he's always successful.

 

So what do you need to start nose work at home? 

 

- Boxes

-High value (preferably stinky) treats

 

Really that's all you need! 

 

Then you chose your "food" box and start laying out all the other boxes.  Start the work in just one room so your dog can be successful quickly and learn the game.  When I'm laying out the boxes, I have the dogs put away.  We are dealing with "smarty pants" terriers and they quickly figure out that if they watch you when you place the food box, that's the first box they go after.   Rember this is NOSE work!

 

  

With D'light his motto is slow and steady wins the "find". He likes this work as there's no pressure from anyone or anything.  All he has to do is use his nose to find the reward. 

"Found it"

Having D'light participate in nose work, we've seen an increase in his curiosity, a decrease in his anxiety and he's willing to take more general risks!  All of these things have been challenging to him over the years.  So, when he takes a risk by sticking his head in a box - he gets a tasty reward. And this "self rewarding" has been a wonderful experience for him.  D'light has complete control over where he goes, what decisions he makes and he can take as much time as he needs.

 

You can see that D'light starts out somewhat tentative and then he gets into his grove as the searches go on.

 And it's getting a little harder for him with the flap down.  I'm particular about which boxes I use with D'light since my goal is to set him up for success. 

 

So, if you have a fearful, nervous, under confident dog - tuck in the flaps or find boxes without flaps.  As your dog gains confidence and is comfortable with the game, you can add in boxes with a flap out and build on adding more exposed flaps.

 

 

 

Mixing it up we are now working two rooms!

 

 

The above video was a challening "find" for D'light. Because the box was under the table.  Working in small spaces takes some bravery on D'light's part.  Way to be brave sweet boy!

 

It's time for an easy "find" and in the below video, he locates both "finds".  Good boy D'light.

 

 

 

See how easy this is to do at home!

 

 

Nose work - Part 1

Wondering what to do with all those boxes from the holidays?!  Here's a great idea - use them for nose work!

 

 

 I've been doing nose work in our house with our dogs & foster dogs for a couple of years.  I did this a lot with foster boy Gramercy since he couldn't exercises due to his spine issues.  All dogs that have passed through my house have loved this game and it's perfect for any dog as the dog is always successful! 

 

You might ask, "What is nose work?" Here's an overview of Nose Work  The activity and sport of K9 Nose Work is designed to develop your dog's natural scenting abilities by using their desire to hunt and their love of toys, food and exercise. It's a great way for your dog to have fun, build confidence and burn mental and physical energy.  At a lecture I attend it was said that a dog doing 20 minutes of nose work is equivalent to a 2 mile walk.  At first I thought that was crazy. However, watching how much a dog "works/searches" I can see how it wears them out.   So, on those rainy days when my dogs are getting stir crazy, out come the boxes!

 

Last year I decided that I wanted to broaden D'light's world so,  I looked to enrolling him into a formal nosework class. One might ask why I made this decision since doing it at home is a lot of fun for him. One of the ways D'light moves forward in life is by having positive experiences.  New environments are still hard for D'light so, finding new environments where he is safe, successful and can excel is what I'm always looking for.  Nose work provides all of this and so much more.  From January 2013 through late July D'light and I were spending the bulk of our Saturday driving to Lacey to attend a nosework class.  While it was a lot of drive time, it was well worth the trips!

 

Anyone in the South Puget Sound looking for a great nose work class I would hands down recommend Rachelle Bailey-Austin, CNWI & Dorothy Turley, CPDT-KA, CNWI There are two other NR foster parents in a nosework class with Dorothy Turley - YEAH!  Check this post talking about their Nose work experince

 

D'light did wonderful in the nosework class and I decided that I wanted to get Catty involved as well. She too struggle with new environments so, I knew this would be perfect for her. My challenge was that Catty gets car sick and has car anxiety. So, the long drive to Lacey or Gig Harbor wasn't an option for her.  

 

I am lucky enough to have built a strong trusting relationship with Lori Stevens who is very connected to the force free trainers in the Puget Sound area.  Lori is who recommended Rachelle and Dorothy to me.  Lori's suggestion of someone closer was through a great force free training school Dog's Day Out with locations in Ballard and Georgetown.  I contacted Erica Wells  (who is a certified Nose Work Instructor) asking her a number of questions and then she invited me come observe one of her classes.  You know you will likely be getting a good trainer/instructor when this is offered!  So, I went and observed the class and the next step was getting both D'light and Catty signed up. 

 

Stay tuned for a series of posts talking more about D'light, Soos and Catty's nosework adventures!  Yes, Soos has gone home but, hey might as well show off his cute self  since I had the video.

 

Getting the boxes ready for nose work at home...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Soos has been adopted!

Little Soos has found himself a wonderful new home and he's going to have an older rattie brother to look up to and of course a set of very loving parents.  Soos' new brother is a very sweet and spry 11 year old rattie.  We have no doubt he's going to be a great influence and help with building Soos' confidence.  Soos' parents are pretty great too and they are very excited to work with Soos helping him be even more amazing.  Soos won't be living to far from us and we wouldn't be surprised if we see them when we are out walking.

 

So way to go Soos - we are thrilled to have been a bridge to your new wonderful life!

My favorite picture of Soos!

And because Soos' parents look to rescue they were able to help out this rattie in need.  This sweet boy will be our next foster and he will arrive on January 31st so stay tuned!

 

We are looking forward to fostering another rattie!




 

More fun inside while it's raining outside!

And its still raining so, what did Soos and I do for fun and an energy burn?  We played with the Tail Teaser! 

 

"WHAT is this thing?!"

 

Because of it's long handle, the tail teaser can be a bit scary for dogs.  So, we introduce it laying on the floor.  Soos can take as much time as he needs to look, sniff and walk around the tail teaser. 

 

As you can see Soos was ready to play!

 

 

Let the teasing begin! I start with keeping the sessions short and letting him grab ahold of tail.  This encourages play and it builds his confidence. 

 

 

  

Watch Soos in the first couple of seconds. You can see from his head that he was unsure about the tail moving over his head.  And he recovers quickly and is having a lot of fun.

 

Soos says "lets get playing!"  This is really wearing him out with all the jumping and the thinking about how to get ahold of the tail.

 

 

Run rattie run! 

We played this game for a good amount of time and then he was ready for a nap!

 

 

What's a dog to do on rainy days...

Wondering what to do with your pup(s) when the weather is wet or to cold to go for a walk?

 

  Here's a great link giving you some ideas to try at home:

Rain or Shine: 10 Ways to Engage Your Dog Indoors

 

Here's a good video on playing "find it" - this is a fun and super easy game!

 

 

 

 And what did Soos do to burn some energy during the pouring down rain?  He played fetch while jumping over cavalettis. The boy has skill!

 

"What is this crazy thing?"

"Do I go under or over it?!"

We walked back and forth over the cavalettis, slowing raising the height.  This gave Soos a mental workout - thinking about how to maneuver over these new thing in the hallway.

 

After a bit we were ready to play fetch!

Then we tried it from the other direction with an added twist!  The ball was caught behind the baby gate...

 



Off to do more jumping and fetching!






 

 

 

Working the walk

While Soos generally walks well on or walks, he does get more excited than I like when he sees other dogs.  This is pretty common with foster pups that come to us for fostering.  I believe it's likely a result of their very limited experience of walking on leash in environments with a good amount of stimuli.  This being something I want to work on with him, I needed to come up with a plan. My main goal is to set him up for success which means breaking the work down into small parts so that WE are successful.  I've learned the hard way that it doesn't make sense to just start the work outside/once we see a dog.  That's frustrating for both the dog and myself.

 

So, in our house I've been rewarding Soos when he looks at me.  Basically the work is:  Soos looks at me, I mark that behavior with a verbal "yes" or a click of the clicker and then he gets a treat.  Once he had that down, we then added in the next step - walking down the hallway in his walking gear.  When I stop, I want Soos to look at me.  By doing this work in the house there are less environmental distractions.  Soos is super smart and it took him no time at all to figure out what I was wanting from him.  Remember - reward the behavior you want!  These little "training sessions" last just a couple of minute and happen 3-4 times a day.  These training sessions are fun for Soos and it reinforces our teamwork and connection.

Here's a great post on 8 tips for successful dog training

 

Over the course of a week and seeing that Soos had this skill down, we were ready to take it to the street.  I opted to try this out on a quiet street where we rarely run into dogs.

 

"I'm ready!"

 

So, when we are walking and I stop, I want Soos to look at me.  I'm marking the behavior (with a "yes" since I can't video, click and reward all at one) and rewarding him when he looks at me.  Good boy Soos!

 

And then our work pays off despite me not being aware of what's coming... foster mom trying to do too much with getting a video for this blog post.  And I'm very lucky this didn't go south!  As you can see, Soos did great - there was no barking or getting overly excited about seeing that dog.

As with anything training requires practice, repetition and an ongoing commitment.  Soos and I will keep at this in and out of the house and I have no doubt he's going to continue to do great! 

 

 

Amazing Coconut oil

Everyone (humans and dogs) in our house eats coconut oil!  It has a ton of

Health benefits and it tastes good too.

 

When Soos came to us his coat was dull and flaky.  I slowly started incorporating coconut oil in Soos' diet and sure enough, his coat is no longer flaky and it was soft and looked beautiful.

 

Here's the brand we eat and you can buy it on Amazon or at PCC in Seattle

When Gramercy was with us he had a funk to him that we couldn't get rid of.  I was talking with Lori Stevens about his funk and she suggested incorporating coconut oil in his diet.  We began feeding him coconut oil and the funk went away!   Here's the post on Coconut oil helps out Gramercy 

 

 

Below is Dr. Karen Becker talking about why coconut oil is so good for pets

 

  

If you are going to incorporate coconut oil into your pets diet you will want to start out slow.  The optimum dose for dogs is about 1 teaspoon per 10lbs of body weight daily.  This is a general guideline some dogs need less and others a little more.  Beginners can start with around 1/3 of a teaspoon a day.  Because coconut oil kills harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites, yeast and fungi, the burden of removing dead organisms can trigger symptoms of detoxification.  You can increase the dosage every few days until reaching the recommended quantity.  If your dog starts having diarrhea, you're increasing the amount to fast so, back of and go slower. 

Did you also know there are many other ways to use coconut oil?  You can apply it to fur, pads, noses, ears, cuts and scrapes!  We've been battling an ear issue with D'light - he shakes his head, clearly his ear bothering him, scratches at his ear and they gets red inside. We'd been cleaning out his ears on a frequent basis but it just wasn't going away.  Again... talking to Lori Stevens about this and she suggested we try putting a pea size amount of coconut oil in his ear and then massaging the base of his ear which worked the oil down his canal.  We've been doing this for a couple of weeks and I'm pleased to say it's helped a ton.  He doesn't scratch at his ear, he's not shaking his head and the redness is all gone.  And an added bonus is that he smells like coconut.  The biggest challenge is keeping Catty away from D'light's ears and she wants to lick out the coconut oil - silly rattie girl.

Here's another great video by Dr. Karen Becker what else you can do with coconut oil!