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...